 |
Searching for a campsite on
the islands. The western shore didn't offer any clearings and it
wasn't until we rounded the south end of a small double island that we
found a great spot. |
Day 6 - Agnes
Lake
Made it on the water at 7:30am after a good night's sleep in a quiet
camp. The first portage was blocked by a few small, downed trees, which we
cleared. The next portage was a mess, but do-able. Lots of fresh storm
damage in this area. The next portage, however, was a nightmare. The first
20 rods of this 48-rod trail were covered with downed trees, all of them
too large to cut through and most at waist height. To get the packs
through this, a Scout walked up to a tree, turned and rested the pack on
it while another Scout steadied it and put on the pack while the other
climbed over the tree. They'd take a couple steps to the next tree where
they repeated the process. It took two people per pack and two per canoe,
meaning a double portage for most and a triple for some, but at least the
canoes slid over the trees. The next portage before reaching Bird Lake was
in good shape, but incredibly long. One more portage and we made it onto
Agnes Lake. The wind was up, even in the cove we were in, so we're a
little worried about what the main lake will be like. It will be a long,
hard haul south no matter what. When we reach the main body, the whitecaps
and waves are much worse than Kawnipi and we have to do a 3-mile run
across open water to reach the lee side of some islands. After crossing
two rough water channels between islands that opened up into the lake, we
made it to the big island and slogged on south. When we reached the
southwestern tip, we ran into dangerous water again but were able to round
the point into a channel with two small islands, where we set up camp and
started to dry everything out. Everyone agreed that "Agnes was a
b***h!". Mark L. had brought dehydrated beef and potatoes from OKC,
so tonight we ate beef stew, which was a big hit … meat we could chew
on! It rained from 7pm until 9, but cool winds followed it and brought a
wind shift. Everyone appreciated the temperature change to sleep in. |