It took six hours to go 3.5 miles today! There are two channels that put one on the lake. The river goes to either side of what is called the Knob, creating an island. The upstream channel was blocked by ice and the other channel ran out of water! Pat and John walked all the way around the Knob to see if we could get through but they decided that the ice was too thick to get the raft through. So when the boat would no longer float down the downstream channel we did a fairly short portage to the next puddle and floated the raft. We did this three times to get to the fat side of the Knob. At this point the raft had a channel to go around the Knob to the camp that we wanted.
John, Pat and I decided to go down the upstream channel with the ice. They had scouted it on the circumnavigation and found that there was 30 to 40 yards packed with brash ice (small, table sized and smaller bergs, floating) that they thought the smaller boats could push through. John made it through pretty easily, he would paddle up on top of the larger chunks and slide off pushing the chunks to the side. Pat and I got caught up just a few yards in between rocks on shore and a larger chunk of ice that we couldn’t move enough to allow the boat to go through. John jumped out of his kayak and took the bowline of our boat and pulled while Pat and I used our paddles to push the smaller ice away from the large chunk, once there was a little room the large chunk could move over more and the boat fit right through.Ice water is very cold on the feet, even in a drysuit, especially if the feet of your drysuit leak like Pat’s do but it was super cool to paddle through the ice! It is also very surreal paddling in the ice. The sky has been crystal clear for most of the day but clouds came upstream during the raft portage so we didn't have as much sunshine during our ice travels which gave the whole thing a moody feeling.
Anita and Michael reached camp from the other side of the Knob (N59 11.085 W138 10.616 (7V 661291 6564038) alt:34) and Anita walked up to meet us. Instead of letting her clamber back across the rocks we give her a ride back to camp. She sat on the center thwart with a leg over each side, leaning back on the drybags, not super comfortable but very non-strenuous.
I scared myself while off peeing. As I am squatting with my clothing around my ankles, I hear a noise that sounds like growling! It is coming from the vegetation in front of me and it seems to be coming my way. At this point I realize that I left camp without bear spray. In an attempt to save my a@! I shout “hey bear!” I wait two or three seconds and I hear it again! So again I shout “hey bear!” By this time my heart is pounding and in my head I am giving myself a severe reprimand for being such an idiot! As I am trying to quickly rearrange my layers and close up my pants so that I can get back to camp and the others I hear it again! I am frantically looking around because it seems to be behind me now and as I turn my head I catch a small flash of movement in the air right behind me. There is a hummingbird investigating the blue fleece hat that I am wearing! Feeling totally ridiculous but relieved I fan myself because I have broken out in a sweat and I take a deep breath to calm my racing heart before heading back to camp.
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