There was no need to crawl out of the hammock too early this morning. The sound of the howling wind was all I needed to hear. We kept the breakfast menu very simplified this trip, mostly just granola or oatmeal. None of us really wanted to spend our precious time cleaning up in the morning. We were in no particular hurry today, we only planned on moving eastward to McKenzie Bay area of Kawnipi, so no portaging, just paddling and fishing where we could. We had our canoes loaded and shoved off about 10 AM. Thankfully, we had a really nice tailwind and we cruised down the main body of the lake trolling and catching plenty of walleye. We slowed down and fished a "fishy" looking area and did well catching and releasing some nice bass.

We rounded the corner to head north into McKenzie Bay, finally back in some familiar territory. This is the area we spent a good bit of time in back in 2011 so I knew where we were headed. We aimed for the fantastic 5* site that we so enjoyed years ago, but alas, it was occupied. We hadnt seen another canoe in 72 hours, but, improvise and adapt. We paddled to check out another site and deemed it another 4* so we beached the canoes and set up camp. We fished from shore for a bit and I picked up a nice 21 inch bass and a few others. Wes is a very techie young man, as opposed to the elder members of the group, and through his communication with his family back in Maryland, he informed us that severe storms were imminent. We take the time to secure camp and watch as the storms approach from the southwest. We hear what we assume is torrential rain coming across the lake, but as it nears, we realize its hailing. We take cover under the tarp as penny sized hail pelts us followed by 30 minutes of downpouring rain. Wesley then informs us that even though that was intense, it wasnt the worst storm in the vicinity. He was correct, about 30 minutes later we endure another doozy of a T storm. Oh joy!

Later, it clears up and we decide to go evening fishing but probably due to the weather change, fishing was a tough bite this evening. Clouds were brewing again, but way off in the distance so we continued to try to coax them into the canoe. Then, out of nowhere a lighting bolt strikes maybe a quarter mile from us followed by an immediate powerful clap of thunder. Im very cognizant of storms while on the water at all times, but this one gave us no warning whatsoever, no lightning and thunder approaching or anything. It was on us just like that. Wes and I paddled at a breakneck pace back to camp which thankfully was not too far away. Scott and Dad were back waiting for us and they were relieved we had returned hastily. I didnt even know a canoe could move so fast, we may have broken some sort of speed record. The storm hit us, more hail (it covered the ground) and torrential rain. I personally, laid in my hammock reflected on life and thanked God for watching out for us. It was incredibly nerve racking.