Day 2 #highlights – August 2

Better wheels and bears.

We had a casual morning. I think it was close to 9am before I drug myself out of bed. Robyn spotted a bear about 30 yards from the outhouse while she was doing her morning ritual. Ted stormed over with his knife, Matt with his bear-spray, and the rest of us made a bunch of noise. The bear did not stick around. It was 10:30 by the time we were on the water. Jaron and Steven were first off the shore. I told them to go scout things out while the rest of us got moving.

Matt found a frog sleeping in his hat in the morning. Jaron picked it up and it promptly peed on him. Steven enjoyed showing the frog off.

Our portage went remarkably smooth. This despite the awkward exit points on either end. They put a dock at the exit from Indianpoint. The entrance to Isaac Lake is mud holes and tricky wood bridges barely wide enough for a cart. Matt and Vivian had a much better time with the new wheels. I am very glad that got sorted.

The weather was great as we took our time down the western arm of Isaac Lake. The wood lot was again empty. Jaron and Steven scouted it for us. Robyn and Ted kept us entertained with a small orange ball we’d throw out in front of the canoes and race for it. Ted made a great throw that skipped across the water and right into the back of the Chatterton’s canoe.

It was about 3:30 when we pulled into site 14. This gave us plenty of time to setup, carve little paddles, and go swimming, Ted and Matt paddled over to the ranger’s cabin to swipe some wood. They didn’t have any either. It turned out that there is a wood lot 200 meters from our camp (not marked on the map) and there is a pile of wood just past the outhouse at camp here.

We roasted marshmallows and played games around the fire. We moved back and forth between the shelter of a tarp and the fire a few times as the rain would start up and then stop. We played the nail and pin hammer game. Ted won the first round, followed by Matt.

At 3am Lisa woke me up to say there was a bear behind the tent. At least, that is what I heard. I was half asleep and apparently she was just asking if I heard what sounded to her like a bear. All I heard was “there is a bear.” So I was up yelling at a bear… Matt and Ted were soon by my side. I never saw a bear nor any sign of it. It was likely a false alarm. I’m sure our yelling and stomping around helped everyone sleep soundly…

Kirsten drew an impressive landscape with a long stick she burned in the fire. Lisa preserved it from the rain we had most of the morning by storing it under a bench before going to bed.