The rain continued through the night but ceased just long enough in the morning to let me fix breakfast and pack the canoe. Soon after hitting the water the rain returned. It kept coming down steady until about 10:00. There were five short portages and then I had a ten mile paddle before the portages between Glenn and Hansen Lakes. A bear surprised me on the portage into Glenn. It had apparently heard me first because my first view of it had it leaving the area. After it had disappeared I did some talking to let it know I was coming through. During the morning I had also seen beavers, loons, Common Mergansers, Mallards, Buffleheads and eagles.

It is 1:00 and I have stopped for a good break at the rapids draining Glenn Lake. The sun is out and drying things off. When the sun came out so did the flys. They are not biting much but I put on some Deet to avoid getting messed up by bug bites this early in the trip. A fish fry sounds good but it is such good traveling that I am going to keep on cruising. Twenty-five miles have slipped by since my put in yesterday and I have not seen anyone. There are a lot of Fly-in cabins along the Gammon River but so far there have only been a few float planes in the distance.

Mid-afternoon finds me windbound on Hansen Lake. It happened in a really nice place. A beautiful campsite 3/4 of the way up Hansen. There is a nice view, its out of the wind high on a rock by a small bay that just might have supper swimming in it. The white caps out on the lake are stunning in the bright sun. The next leg of my journey is all NW so if the wind does not let up tomorrow this will be a good spot to play.

As sundown nears I am sitting back against a big rock eating my pudding and sipping my tea. A big beaver is eyeing me from the water and ruffed grouse are drumming back in the forest. There is one less Northern in the lake this evening. Frying fish for one is a lot of hassle but the meal can’t be beat. The wind is quieting and the white caps are gone. There are a lot of moose droppings around the camp and I hope he doesn’t mind my being here. If they were bear droppings I would have moved on.

The evening is very warm and the bugs seem to be hatching like crazy. The sun has not set yet but it is time for bed. I want to be up and on the water before sunup. Since there is less than 8 hours of darkness I have to burn some daylight on one end or the other. Today I paddled 20 miles and portaged 1300 meters.

Friday May 18

What a beautiful morning! Hardly a breeze and no clouds. I paddled off at 5:05, well before the sun came up. My stomach was still stuffed from last nights fish fry so breakfast was postponed until later. The portage to Rostoul went around a very nice rapids. I have stopped for a break an hours paddle up the lake and I can still hear them. A pair of eagles have been chastising me for being on their lake. The loons are adding their part to the symphony. Red Breasted Nuthatches and a Pileated Woodpecker are joining in too.

The portage into Carroll Lake was finished by 12:30 and I made camp at the bottom of the rapids. Mac and Cheese was the lunch entree but I am hoping that supper is swimming at the base of the rapids just waiting for my Dardevle. Walleye season opens in the morning and I may give it a try.

I am now ahead of the schedule required so things will slow down for a while. I could get windbound for a day and still not have to rush. Today I kept moving because I wanted to get off the bigger and longer lakes where the wind could stop me. The next few days will be on winding streams and small lakes.

The weather is changing again so I had better get my bath done while the sun is out and get the tent set up. The days have really been warm. If it were not for the few flys that are around I would be in shorts.

I spotted the first person of the trip today. A man mowing a lawn on Donald Lake. There were a lot of cabins on Donald and this was at one of the nicer camps. Most of the cabins on the lakes did not seem to be ready for business yet. After leaving Carroll Lake tomorrow it is very unlikely that I will see anyone until I reach the Bloodvein River in a few days.

The Northern were really biting this afternoon. The first one to hit my Dardevle was 28 1/2 inches long so he had to go back in the water. 27 1/2 inches is the biggest you can keep unless they are over 35 inches. After losing several more I finally landed one just the right size. The meal was delicious, no surprise there. With a SW wind pushing me this morning there was little effort expended to cover the 18 miles. The 1400 meters of portage trail were all mild too.