Friday Aug 3rd- 2012 Awoke to a rather sunny morning but I could tell with the east wind and cloud types that the rain and storms that was predicted would likely come to pass. Time to tear down camp and get the show on the road. I always bring a spare tent/pad etc to speed the process in the AM and the idea of packing a wet tent before the trip has really started. Instant oatmeal was on the menu this morning. 9:30am and on the way to Larch,,, not too bad. Unloaded the canoe/gear and believe we were under way at 10:15 or so. The Seagull Guard station intercom could be heard as we were loading the canoe ,, they were broadcasting the weather forecast.
The first couple hundred yards of Larch is very narrow. So narrow that your canoe bounces off the banks and if you were to meet another canoe in this area-- one would have to back up. It gradually widens and then underwater logs get to be a little bothersome as the water is very murky and you really can't see them until the last second. OH well. I think we did 2 or 3 lift overs with me only removing Joel and a heavy pack. I really like wearing Lacrosse rubber duckies for this kinda of stuff, plus they give more support on portages then one would think as long as the fit is tight. Rounded a big bend to the right and Larch Lake was in view!!! As we paddled out into the main lake I quickly noticed the campsite on the island was taken,, it looked quite nice. I then turned to my right and noticed the one in the SW corner of the lake was open. We paddled within about 200 yards just to check it out. Decision time! I had wanted to make Clove and ideally the sand beach campsite as a basecamp,, but realized that was not likely as I had counted the groups ahead of us for the week (starting on Tuesday) entering at both Larch and Magnetic at 8,, we would be the ninth. But this is were Larch only allowing 1 group a day is very nice with children,, I knew we could always come back and get the one in the SW bay if need be so we pressed on to the portage to Clove. As soon as I had the gear out of the canoe a group coming from Clove to fish Larch arrived. The first canoe in this group I thought was a tad rude as he put his canoe down and then quickly took prime real estate in putting it in the water. The landing is quite tight. My gear was out,, only an empty canoe with a child standing watching and myself holding the canoe straddling a log. Almost like a daytripper trumps the one fully loaded for Clevelend,, (Gordon Lightfoot). Oh well. I'll just wait. As he did this I asked if he knew if any of the sites on Clove were open. He said they were camped on the left as soon as the lake opens and he knew the sand beach site had been occupied for days and that "maybe" the site by the portage to the Pine River was open. "Maybe"?? That didn't cut it for me. "Maybe"? You should be able to see that site from the one he was staying at. I know it's campsites and they come and go quickly,, but I'am with a small child. Lost a lot of respect for the guy in the 5 minutes I dealt with him. Right then I knew the best thing was to turn around and go back to the empty site on Larch. I didn't feel like going all way to Devils Elbow with a 6 yr old on this day with weather on the way and at the moment with my canoe still setting in the water, I said, "Joel, we are going back." He was upset and as he had been looking forward to "portaging". The first canoe shoved off as it was kinda of an awkward moment as the 2nd canoe in the group arrived with no room,, and almost like the 2nd canoe frowned upon the actions of the first. It was an older couple and they waited (told) me to load my canoe and depart. During the canoe over, I just felt very content in my choice. Joel felt otherwise. I think we arrived at the site at very close to Noon.
The landing at this site really is sub par, but we made do and soon enough Joel was skipping around finding paths to and fro and had totally forgot about missing out on "portaging". I set up camp and Joel soon started to find raspberry bushes everywhere!!! -- including around the thunderbox which was covered in deadfall which I removed. Collecting these berries along with the events of the day was starting to take its effects on Joel!!! (He's faking it,, thinking it cool to be in a big hammock!) As the afternoon progressed the weather really didn't seem to be getting much worse as overcast skies would gradually clear and repeat itself. However I had noticed that since I calibrated my weather instrument at the elevation of Larch,, the pressure had continued to fall along with East winds and the dewpoint in the mid to upper 60's didn't bode well for the overnight. But at least camp was up and we were happy. We even went for a swim as it was quite uncomfortable out of the breeze. I believe this picture was from Saturday,, but it will do. I then collected water for my gravity feed and noticed that this water tasted as bad as it looked. The secchi disk reading of this lake according to the DNR is 3',, I say 3". I figured we would have to deal with it,, until I made a batch of pasta with it and it was almost uneatable. Well, we will have to go to Clove to get our water tomorrow. No-- we will go right now, before any storms arrive. Smart choice. Did the portage into Clove and it sure seemed longer then the 25 rods listed on the Mackenzie map but maybe that's because it's the first portage?? Sure enough the point on the left was taken, but the site next to the portage to Pine River was open. Oh well. Too late now. Filled up the 3 water bottles and my water bag only to notice several minutes later that I had not properly folded enough of the material together as I snapped the buckle over the thwart-- water was filling the back of the canoe. Oh well, another try and we on our way back to the portage. The return trip is where Joel would really have to help without having to take 3 trips. I took the water bladder on the first trip and snapped it to a very convenient LOW hanging log and then returned for the canoe. Joel would have to carry the 3 water bottles and paddles-- he really liked it when I carabined them together and clipped them on his life jacket. He did great!!,, except he tripped at the end of the portage and hit his head on a tree-- first battle scars of the B-DUB!!! Once back we cooked dinner and collected firewood for a fire for jiffy-pop and then Joel really enjoyed the peaceful evening. I wonder what's going through his brain here- Skitters were out,, but really not that bad. Ankle biters earlier were the bug of the day. Joel went to bed and I tidied up camp ahead of the impending storm which the NWS in Duluth said could approach severe levels and be in the area between 2am and 4am. They were right!!!! Larch Lake, Clove Lake