9.5 miles, 5 portages, 129 rods

I woke up to the “Happy Birthday” song from Jason. We had a late start after a rainy night, but a beautiful morning to be out on the lakes. The large expanses of water are pretty amazing out here. They make me feel small in the landscape and like an explorer. It makes me think of the Ojibway (Native Americans) and Voyageurs who paddled these areas when that was the quickest and best form of transportation out here.

The portages were nicer today, with one pretty, flat, wide one lined with trees. We spent much of the day telling bad pirate jokes such as, “Why do pirates like Bill Clinton? Because he’s from ARRRkansas.” “Where do pirates live in the greater DC metropolitan area? In ARRRlington.”

Leaving the portage into Rib Lake we saw a moose trucking through the water with only its shoulders and head exposed. It heard us coming and swung its large head around to look at us, with its full antler rack facing our direction. Seeing us it decided to head for the far shore and into the brush, and fast. It bolted up the shore and out of sight. Most of the lake was ~5 feet deep and bull moose are usually 6 feet at the shoulder (according to Sparky), so we aren’t sure if it was walking or swimming. Our first moose! They also eat 50-60 pounds of vegetation a day and have green fur between their toes because of pheromones.

We traveled up Rib Lake to find a higher altitude and lower mosquito level camp. Alas, we read the map wrong and ended up in a very buggy site. Jason was silent throughout out foot party and repeatedly described the mosquitoes as “oppressive.” I even broke down and put on my bug shirt and paced during dinner so I could eat without ingesting too many mosquitoes.

More Sparky in the evening, finding out the leeches are hermaphrodites, as well more on loons who can barely walk on land and who can fly up to 108 MPH. Loonlets frequently ride on their parents’ backs, and have nearly equal parental investment in their young. After Sparky we fell asleep to the whine of mosquitoes.