Around United States Point
by Soledad
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
05/25/2006
Entry & Exit Point:
Wood Lake (EP 26)
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
3
Day 4 of 5
Sunday, May 28, 2006
My brother Ryan had to leave us a day early. So at about 5:00am he woke me up asking questions about a map. I helped him pack his gear and wished him good luck. I watched him paddle off, hoping that he had enough sense to make it back. He had four portages and 12 miles to cover and he is a Civil Engineer(that counts against him). I went back to sleep. Since we really had an easy day planned Brent and I slept in. At about 9 or 10 we woke up and started getting breakfast cooked and thought about breaking camp. We heard some thunder off in the distance and decided to leave our hammocks setup, but get our gear together. The storm eventually did get to us and with it came the winds. We each took shelter under the hammock tarps, I took out my poncho and spread it out over my gear to keep it dry. We heard lots of thunder and saw some small hail. It probably dropped close to twenty degrees during the storm and eventually we got cold and bored enough to jump back into the hammocks and wait the storm out. That is one drawback to hammock camping. If we would have had a tent, we could have played cards or at least had a conversation.
After the storm rolled on by, we loaded up the canoe and started our days’ paddle. The first open campsite we saw, we decided to take. The wind was blowing pretty strong, and we only needed to make about six or seven miles which we had already done. The site that we stayed at was the nicest of the three. It faced west, and I always enjoy watching sunsets. There were a couple nice red pines to provide shade, and it was the only campsite on the island.
Since we had some extra time, we decided to spend it fishing. We caught some sunfish and a few northerns. I managed to land a smaller northern and as I grabbed the Rapala with my left hand, the fish started flopping and before I knew it I was holding the fish in the air with one finger. The hook had gone deep, well passed the barb which I should have bent. It took two good pulls with a pliers to get the hook out. Builds character though right?
As expected the sunset was nice, and I went to bed thinking about my wife and son. Tomorrow I would get to see them again
My brother Ryan had to leave us a day early. So at about 5:00am he woke me up asking questions about a map. I helped him pack his gear and wished him good luck. I watched him paddle off, hoping that he had enough sense to make it back. He had four portages and 12 miles to cover and he is a Civil Engineer(that counts against him). I went back to sleep. Since we really had an easy day planned Brent and I slept in. At about 9 or 10 we woke up and started getting breakfast cooked and thought about breaking camp. We heard some thunder off in the distance and decided to leave our hammocks setup, but get our gear together. The storm eventually did get to us and with it came the winds. We each took shelter under the hammock tarps, I took out my poncho and spread it out over my gear to keep it dry. We heard lots of thunder and saw some small hail. It probably dropped close to twenty degrees during the storm and eventually we got cold and bored enough to jump back into the hammocks and wait the storm out. That is one drawback to hammock camping. If we would have had a tent, we could have played cards or at least had a conversation.
After the storm rolled on by, we loaded up the canoe and started our days’ paddle. The first open campsite we saw, we decided to take. The wind was blowing pretty strong, and we only needed to make about six or seven miles which we had already done. The site that we stayed at was the nicest of the three. It faced west, and I always enjoy watching sunsets. There were a couple nice red pines to provide shade, and it was the only campsite on the island.
Since we had some extra time, we decided to spend it fishing. We caught some sunfish and a few northerns. I managed to land a smaller northern and as I grabbed the Rapala with my left hand, the fish started flopping and before I knew it I was holding the fish in the air with one finger. The hook had gone deep, well passed the barb which I should have bent. It took two good pulls with a pliers to get the hook out. Builds character though right?
As expected the sunset was nice, and I went to bed thinking about my wife and son. Tomorrow I would get to see them again
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