Up early with a breakfast of dehydrated eggs, summer sausage and dehydrated peppers and onions plus some Starbucks instant coffee. The wind was much more manageable this morning. We did have a thunderstorm with rain overnight and before we started packing up to start the day we hunkered under the tarp and waited out a good lightning storm that hovered right over our heads. Thankfully no fires from this lightning!

After packing up we headed back towards Clove Lake and once across the portage we turned north towards our next target of either Gneiss Lake or the Devil's Elbow. We had heard some good fishing reports from another board member here so we were anxious to try our luck for some walleygators or smallies. It was a nice easy paddle up the Pine and Granite rivers. Some beautiful rapids and easy portages along the way. At each portage we were able to stop and munch on blueberries and raspberries. We made it to Gneiss lake around lunch time and as we entered the lake we came across a canoe with a couple people getting ready to fish the current at the entrance to the lake. A short paddle further and we found they had dropped their gear on the island site at the south end of Gneiss and made paddle to fish! I totally understand that logic!!

We continued to paddle north when Andrew, though his binoculars spotted a black bear on the Canadian shore on the north end of the lake. We glassed it for a couple minutes, then continued our paddle past a group of kids who were camped on the west side of the lake. From the smell coming from their campsite either there was a skunk nearby or..... well the Doritos may explain the smell.

It was early and we were feeling good so up to the Devil's Elbow we went. It all looked good and all the campsites were empty, but we had marked a 5 star site on the north side of a bay on Marabouf (actually the last campsite on the lake before Sag falls). We checked out every site on the DE and an Marabouf. All were empty! We were the only people on the lake. So we found the 5-star we were looking for on the north side of a point. It was a smaller site in the middle of a group of Cedar trees looking out on a rocky hill to one side and an island and Canada on the other. We were so excited and decided to make camp. Did I mention we were the only ones on the lake?

After setting up camp, we decided to head out and fish the shore for a bit. We hopped back in the canoe and fished the west side of the lake all the way down to the south end. The smallies were in the shadows and we did very well. We kept a smallie to make fish chowder with for supper. After cleaning the fish we headed back to camp, cooked some chowder using Camp Chow's chowder base, and settled in with some Cider, Fireball, and the Brewers game. (The Mizz was pitching). The bugs were only a minor nuisance in the bug net and the sunset was remarkable. After the game Andrew headed to the tent and I went back to my Haven Hammock hung between two cedar trees for a restful sleep after another wonderful day. Photo below is a view from the campsite on Marabouf Lake