Creak, groan. We are out of bed. Moan. And have to pack up again. At least we only have to do a little bit of paddling today and a small(ish) portage.
Packing up time again. Tarp is going down...that's usually a step near the end.
Daniel is our faithful water-pumper. He can always be counted on to pump us some clean fresh water, even after a long day. It's important, so we appreciate his contribution.
And off we go! After one last look through the campsite for any forgotten gear.
Melanie and I strategizing how we are going to load our canoes in the muck here. When we returned our canoes the guy was like "where did you get all the muck? It's not supposed to be that bad!" So we explained about the "lost" portage which he was going to report. Maybe next trip it won't be an optional route anymore, because they just decide it's not a viable route anymore.
The mucky muck. I ended up lining two rotting logs in the muck beside each other, and we got to balance on the two while loading. Then you could walk along them and climb in. After that you could use your paddles as punting poles to push along into deep enough water to paddle in. Standing in at the very very edge was easily over your knees...I know because I slipped. And I didn't really touch the a solid bottom at that point.
Off we cruise through Great Mountain Lake. See the mountains? They look pretty lovely...not quite mountain worthy, but beautiful anyways.
We have to be here for two nights, so the girls collect pine needles before setting up their tent. Finding three tent spots is pretty challenging...assuming you don't want to lay on rocks and roots, that is.
Spots are set up for the tents. The next step is a wind breaker. We are all feeling really chilly and the wind is just barreling down the lake to us. And it's starting to get to us.
The wind break is up. It definitely helps. But to truly warm up it's better to go fetch some firewood or chop up wood for the fire. Plus eight people crowded under a tarp gets old really fast.
The fire got roaring. It was big enough to feel warm if you sat nice and close. Which we did.
Still smiling. (Sort of)
Nothing like a fire to keep the kids busy. This time the kids used some metal rods, heated them in the coals and used them for various things. Melanie decided to make a hole through a tree root.
Matthew tried it out too.
Nathan used a rod to decorate a staff.
Evelyn practiced some of the skills she learned at the pioneer village in PEI. Her future career just might be a blacksmith.
We brought some cards along. Which can be fun.
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