Day 7 Saturda,y August 21st
•9.04 miles
•Portages- 1) 165m 2) 124m 3) 130m
We slept in a bit and rose to a light, clearing mist. I think this was a much better camp once. About a dozen large trees have crashed onto a second tent/tarp spot blocking the path to a sandy spit and beach. I crawled through to attend to some “personal business” while Tony cleared a "stepover" route for future travelers and maybe himself. The beach is very pretty. We launched late after drying our gear over “coffee on the knob.” Just slightly north, we discovered a second small camp on the opposite shore attached to another sandy spit. Enjoying the stillness, we paddled north past the outpost cabin (no one home but 4 boats pulled up) and on toward the first portage (165m) on river left. We moved across on an easy trail that dwindled into the mucky edge of a small weedy pond. We cruised across the pond to a second marshy landing near an old blaze and took a 125m brushy walk to the put- in below a broad falls. Being that it was 1230pm we munched on a stick of antelope jerky and caught a handful of walleye to reward ourselves for our efforts, then finished our lunch on a rock and headed to the final 130m portage. We stopped first at the nearby (marginal camp) and walked the connecting trail to the portage but it’s not much of a trail anymore. Lots of down trees of the waist to chest high variety-needs chainsaw work. From the portage we spied a couple of fishing boats at the bottom of the final falls. We portaged around to a nice landing on the far side and paddled on past the two boats watching them pull in nice big walleye from the depths. (Gotta love that fish finder.) We exchanged pleasantries and paddled on to the camp directly across from the narrows. It’s a big site with lots of room for tents but we decided it was too early to camp and also, we had a tailwind, so we decided to make some tracks across Wabakimi Lake while we could. We paddled on past several small sites on points or islands and finally decided on one about four miles down the lake on the south shore. It wasn’t indicated on our maps but it’s a nice site at the top of a long sloping slab with a small fire pit and room for tents/tarp at the summit. We set up camp in the sunshine and went for a swim as is our custom, then picked blueberries while our clothes dried. We had Peanut Curry Noodles and Blueberry Cinnamon Coffee Cake while enjoying a beautiful orange sunset. We went to bed with the fly back admiring the stars, which in hindsight was a bad decision (foreshadowing).

Day 8 Monday, August 22
•11.51 Miles
•Portages 0
Tony nudged me at 100am to report that clouds were approaching and obscuring the stars. Sure enough thunder and lightning soon followed (Along with “a herd of caribou splashing in the water” but maybe that was the wind?) Leaping lightly out of the tent (Uh-huh) we clipped the fly on and did a quick check of the gear (AOK) and the caribou (nope) and then slid back into the tent drifting off to the pitter-patter of rain throughout the night. We arose to a misty cloudy morning and scoffed the rest of the blueberry coffeecake with our “international coffee.” The clouds dropped as we packed up and a light wind grew suspiciously from the east. We launched early planning to get a head start across the wide expanse of Wabakimi Lake. It was not to be. At 1030 we were hit by a sudden squall and decided to sit it out at a nearby camp. Throwing up our tarp we played cards for an hour debating the prudence of continuing but ultimately, we decided to carry on. We paddled onward through bumpy seas into a medium headwind avoiding most of the weather and whitecaps by hugging the south shore and hiding behind islands where feasible and persevering when not. We paused for lunch at a small site in a cove-rested, stretched-even napped in the rain a bit and then headed out across the mouth of the arm that houses the Allenwater River. Here we saw an eagle and two fishing boats speeding south toward the outpost. They buzzed past us with an incredulous wave. Continuing on we paddled past Rusty Meyer’s outpost looking for “good site” across the bay but the area had been ravaged by fire and though there was some regrowth given the conditions it looked inhospitable, so we weaved our way toward the narrows and into Lower Wabakimi. Floating through a riffle with small camps on both shores where we were welcomed into the island pocked area in a dying wind (Phew.) At this point either fatigue or the “Wabakimi Triangle” took hold of us, and we got turned around a bit in the islands looking for a camp. We eventually found it right where the map indicated. ? A nice BiG camp with a shallow weedy landing. It’s a beautiful spot with blueberries the size of small cherries hanging in grapelike clusters from the bushes. Really. A two-sided fireplace with funky rock chairs hosted our kitchen as we set up in the dense cloud cover happy to be “home” among the scenic islands. We’re thinking we may take a rest day tomorrow and dry out a bit. Regardless, blueberry pancakes are definitely on the breakfast menu. Chicken Curry with spicy nut dust, then tea and cookies warmed us before we hit the tent. Ok, maybe a little nip of our treasured Scotch helped out too. Beavers slapped us goodnight and the loons joined in as well. It was another good day in the Wabakimi.
Day 9 Tuesday, August 23rd
•2.56 miles
200am- Tony nudged me and whispered, “Do you have your whistle?” “Yes, why?” I whispered back. “Mew, Grunt, Sniff, Sniff.” “There is a bear near the tent,” Tony responded. “Then why are we whispering? I thought we were supposed to be loud,” I countered. “I thought you might want to see it,” Tony whispered back. “Nope,” I said in a very loud voice as I launched into our “bad bear routine” sending the bear back into the bush where good bears belong.
After some additional loud talking we got up to check the camp (food) discovering all intact and no sign of the intruder. Light sleeping ensued for the remainder of the night as we dozed, half listening for the “bear alarm” to sound at our booby-trapped packs but it never happened. “Good bear.” Kinda impossible not to camp in or near the blueberries in Wabakimi. I mean, they carpet the ground. In the morning, Tony whipped up some blueberry cornmeal pancakes (our favorite) and we decided to chance a rest day here as planned. By 1030am the sky was trying to clear off and the wind was growing from the west (figures.) At 1100am a floatplane took a long turn overhead and landed over on Wabakimi Lake, taking off about 30 minutes later. While Tony snoozed in the tent, I lounged on a rock relaxing in the growing sunshine with a crossword puzzle for company. Another plane flying a similar pattern cruised over around 1200pm. After lunch we hung our food and cooking gear in our Ursacks and went for a short explore (with fishing) around the islands then back to camp for another short nap. Around 400pm our motorboat buddies from Alabama (2 boats) trolled back and forth then stopped to chat. Fisherfolks are consistently curious that we can survive with only a canoe and a few bags of gear or that we want to. . .Later we picked 4 cups of blueberries in 15 minutes and tried to make Blueberry Cobbler but there were too many blueberries for the amount of “crisp” and it turned into a syrupy blueberry “compote.” Oh well, it will come in handy I guess ? Chicken Pad Thai was a winner for dinner. We hung the food in the Ursacks and went to bed shortly after a gorgeous sunset. “It’s so quiet my ears hurt.” No bears stopped by or if they did they were very quiet.