Monday, August 12, 2024 Got up early, and drove from Cliff Wolds bunkhouse to the lake. When I got towards the end of the portage to the lake, I noticed the little stream next to the trail was running high. Got to the shore, and saw that it was quite a bit further up than last year. Not a problem, just a surprise. I actually triple portaged to the lake(I rigged up a dry sack so I could carry it with the canoe, and lighten pack weight). Despite all the work I did to carry heavy loads, my knee was barking a little bit. I was in no hurry, anyway. The weather was a little gray, and kind of muggy, but better than rain. I headed towards the south end, since I really had never been down there. It was already in my mind to just do 3 days, so I took the first open site. I went along the shore and spotted the fire grate, but no landing spot. I continued along the shore and came upon a little marshy area that looked like it. Not a bad landing, but it takes a little maneuvering to get in and out of. Unloaded the canoe, and lifted it up onto the shore, tied it to a tree and went for a look at the site. It is a short walk from the landing to the actual site. The first thing I noticed was that it is very rocky, And not a lot of topsoil so it was also pretty rooty. It is pretty open, with a lot of trees, perfect for hammocks, not so much for tents. I did manage to find a good pad for the tent, just about the only place for one. The rest of the site seemed to go on forever, but it was just the openness of the place. I did know that I was close to hiking trails, in fact, the entire area was riddled with trails. Which brings me to the latrine. It is back in the woods, which are really open, more of a park-like setting, but the damn thing is on a hill ! Looks like they piled up about 4-5 feet of earth, and capped it with the throne. You do have a great view of the surrounding area,which means you can be seen doing your business. Got the tent set up first, then brewed myself a cup of tea. It was getting on to lunch time, so I ate a sandwich(salmon&mayo, wrapped in a tortilla). I purchased a bunch of those foil packs of tuna and salmon. A lot cheaper, and probably healthier, than the freeze dried food. I liked the freeze dried(Mountain House, etc) stuff, but too much sodium in them. I did bring some along, though. I finished the unloading, found a place to stash my bear vaults, and went to do a little exploring around the camp. I wandered up in a northerly direction, and it was pretty cool. Like I mentioned, there is not a lot of undergrowth, so I was pretty easy walking. About 100 yards from camp, there are 2 big slabs of rock, and they both have trails leading off of them. My map showed the main trails, but not all of the other ones. Went back and grabbed my compass, and went for a walk. Hiked for about an hour, didn't see anyone, did hear them though. Since I didn't want to catch up to them, I turned around and headed back to camp. Made another cup of tea, got my book out, found a comfortable spot in the sun near the shore and relaxed. As evening approached, I made some dinner, ate that, had my nightcap as the sun went down, and headed for the tent. I will say that setting the tent up was fun. With my knee, you don't want to kneel on it(pain)or bend it too much(more pain)so when I set it up I have to splay my left leg out, and kneel down on my right knee. Or try to do it bending over. But at least I didn't have rain coming down on me, as was the case on my last 2 trips. Also, getting into the tent and then the sleeping bag are interesting exercises in contortionism.