Monday, August 01, 2022 Monday was a layover day for fishing and exploration, and we spent most of the morning and afternoon doing just that after portaging into Malberg. We caught plenty of pike and some small bass and checked out a few different campsites around the lake. Both Jaden and I really liked the campsite in the NW part of the lake (1042), with its long beach area, rocky dropoffs near camp, and large shaded area for tents. We made an extended stop there for lunch and relaxation.

We also explored another nice site (1051) that had a full Caribbean style walkout beach with the camping area and tent pads way up under the cedars next to a small rocky cliff.

Near the beach site we watched 3 trumpeter swans feeding and moving around the lake. We were able to get close enough to listen to them and Jaden decided they don't know how to play the trumpet very well. We were quite entertained when the swans decided to fly away from us as each bird had a different escape plan. One flew up high, one got enough air to just barely skim the surface of the water, but the star of the show was the swan that apparently had too much to eat that morning. Instead of getting any air, it simply ran across the water in a loud thrashing mess of wings and feet for a full 200 yards before stopping where the other 2 swans had already landed. It was a comical display for sure.

Later in the afternoon we headed back to Koma and I took a nap in the hammock. It was a last minute addition to our packs as we had never brought one before and it turned out to be a great choice when put to use throughout the remainder of the trip.

After my nap it was time for dinner, but when we brought the food bag down we were suddenly faced with our first "forgotten" item of the trip. We were going to make some instant mashed potatoes, and although we were supposed to have 3 different packs of them along, none were anywhere to be found. All we could figure was that we had somehow left an entire package of food behind, so I spent quite some time going through our list and trying to decide what else might be missing with them and what food to substitute at future meals so we wouldn't run short.

While waiting for me to figure this all out, Jaden got hungry. He knew we had an extra package of pop-tarts along so he was going to substitute them for his mashed potatoes that night. He opened the box and immediately started laughing and tossed something my way. Tucked into the what would have been a 1/2 empty pop tart box were 3 packets of instant potatoes we had put around the pop-tarts for extra padding while getting the food pack ready back on Thursday night. Well, problem solved- we did have all the food we were supposed to have. Jaden made plenty of remarks about us both being pretty dumb for not remembering where we had put them.