Paddling 101

Our day began fairly early with our last shower until Sunday night (thank goodness the dumpy motel had excellent water pressure). We loaded up all of our gear and packed the bus. Breakfast was the first stop at a little mom and pop diner. Most had the special of eggs, bacon, and toast. I had my last caffeinated beverage (Pepsi) while others drank copious amounts of coffee. We also had to make a last minute stop at Lucky Seven (gas, tackle, guns, ammo, mini mart) for fishing licenses and bottles of water. We had a bit of a drive up to Crane Lake and hit the water around 11 AM right after Paddling 101 class. We went over the parts of the canoe, basic strokes, and life jacket wear. Maggie is my canoe partner. She sat in the front with the job of being the motor. I sat in the back to do the steering. We started out a bit rough, zig zagging the lake, and mostly uncoordinated but got the hang of it after a while. Canoeing is fun but also takes some skill and physical work. I'm sure my arms and shoulders will be sore in the morning. Durning the last leg Maggie and I started to play games to distract ourselves from fatigue naming a camping or canoeing related item for each letter in the alphabet. 

We stopped for lunch on a giant rock by the shore. The beef jerky, apple sauce, trail mix and carrots definitely filled me up. Our first taste of lake water was next to refill out bottles before heading back on the water. We are using a gravity filtration device that works pretty quickly taking out all the stuff that will make you spend the next 5 days on the toilet. The color is still a bit brown but it tastes like mineral water and quenches the thirst. 

The scenery is amazing. I couldn't possibly explain it but try and picture large rock shoreline, pine trees, a blue sky, and big puffy white clouds everywhere you look. 

We had some wild life sightings today as well. A few deer on our drive up here including a button buck in velvet. A bald eagle (God Bless America). A few loons that also serenaded us this evening. A baby squirrel running around the campsite. A very small fish caught and released by one of the guys. 

Dinner at camp was uneventful. We did learn how to light the camp stoves and clean up after. Maggie and I are also meal partners. We had cheese quesadillas and rice. There was too much food but if you don't eat it then you pack it out so we stuffed ourselves. This may be a common theme this week. 

A camp fire and telling stories passed the time until the mosquitos got to bad and we climbed in our tents for shelter. Good night everybody. Yau Betcha!