Morning brought with it the sound of more rain and wind. It was very cold and we were all reluctant to leave the warmth of our sleeping bags. The call of nature eventually forced me out of the tent only to discovered it was not rain I was hearing. It was snow. A nice dusting of snow had covered the camp and it was still snowing sideways! Jan and Kyle seemed content to stay in their tents for a while, so I took the time to capture some video and pictures of the moment. Definitely a first for me being snowed on during a canoe trip!

It continued to be very windy that morning so we set up an additional tarp as a wind shield to our eating area. It worked to a degree, but when the wind is swirling that much no tarp set up is perfect. We spent most of the morning huddled in our tents or under the tarp drinking coffee in an attempt to stay warm. The official temperature according to Jan's thermometer was 32 degrees. The wind chill certainly made it feel colder. I think we all had every layer of clothing on possible.

The snow finally stopped around lunch time and the sun started peaking out. After some lunch we hung up all our wet stuff. With camp in order I headed out to fish while Jan and Kyle stayed in camp enjoying the improved weather. Fishing in a solo canoe on a gusty day can be difficult. I managed to catch a pike before retreating back to camp for a break from being blown around on the lake.

The weather continued to improve and by mid-afternoon the snow was completely gone. We managed to gather some wood for the evening fire and take some photos. The island camp on Other Man Lake is truly a 5 star site. It sits high above the water on a point with a commanding 270 degree view of the area. A large cliff and deep water in front of camp would make this a great place for some cliff jumping on hot mid-summer days. The tent pads are small, but we managed to fit in 3 tents easily and have room to set up our tarp near the fire pit. The sitting area around the fire pit is also very nice.

One of the nice features of a group solo trip is that you can pretty much do you own thing without impacting the rest of the group. While Jan and Kyle seemed content to hang around camp I was getting a little antsy. I guess being confined to one spot by the weather all morning got to me more than I realized. The wind had pretty much died down, so I decided to head out for a little exploration trip. I had been on Other Man Lake previously in 2003 and attempted to bushwhack my way to nearby Bock Lake. Not making it then was always a big regret for me, so I was eager to make another attempt this time. Bock Lake is connected to Other Man by a shallow boggy creek that runs between a pair of cedar and pine lined ridges. High water enabled me to paddle about a 1/3 of the way before a series of beaver dams and waterfalls forced me to walk the rest of the way. The trek was a combination wading through knee deep muck and balancing on floating bogs, but after about an hour I made it to Bock. Finally! Mission complete! By now the day had really warmed up and the sun shone brightly. I enjoyed a cold one from "Bock" Lake taking my relief on a nearby rock while enjoying the view of the sun sparking on Bock's crystal clear water. I was pretty proud of myself for finally making it especially after such a challenging start to the day. Someday I'll have to return to Bock Lake with a canoe, wet my line and see what I can pull from the depths.

I returned to Other Man Lake the way I came and being near dinner time I decided to troll my way back to camp. With my trusty blue and silver Wiggle Wart I caught 5 pike on the way with one being a nice size and losing another alongside the canoe. The barbless hook ban in Quetico is really no big deal and being able to land several pike in a row is a testament to that. The one I lost was not even hooked as the fish was just holding the lure in its mouth. I met up with Jan and Kyle at camp just in time for dinner. It turned out to be a clear still night with a nice sunset. What a contrast to the start of this day! The remaining daylight passed away as we enjoyed a nice fire and told stories.