SE of Wool Bay to Misery Island (SE of Cabin Islands)
Distance: 29km [cumulative total 59 km ]
InReach: Day 2 Steady rain all night and much of today Rugged rocky shores make unloading and camping difficult Did 29km part with headwind All well but wet J&K
Camp: 62.080°N 113.689°W
Who would have thought we would need a “pilot biscuit” night [my cop out from cooking] on only our second night into the trip! It rained all night and despite sleeping like rocks we were up getting breakfast and packing up by 5 am. We enjoyed a hot breakfast and packed up our sopping gear and were on the water after 7am. It was not raining as we got under way but was overcast and miserable. We spent the morning battling a moderate headwind, making fairly slow progress, by late morning the wind had turned and it had started raining in earnest and we were experiencing significant swell from across the lake, it felt like being at sea. Watching the shoreline it was apparent there was a dearth of suitable camping places. Exit sites for the canoe were rare as the shore was mostly steeply sloping with slippery rocks or spongy and wet. We couldn’t find anywhere to stop for lunch so ate in the canoe in pouring rain, it was cold and we were getting soaked despite our rain gear. By about 3pm. we had done 29 km and were getting desperate for somewhere to camp, finally we stopped in an inhospitable place where we had to leave the canoe and food drums a distance from the tent something we try not to do. I was soaked and shivering uncontrollably, hence a pilot biscuit night. I was in bed by 7pm with none of the usual preparation for tomorrow morning done. This was a camp site with definite potential for the worst camp spots ever list. I will always think of this place as Misery Island.
A hot meal was the only good thing about Misery Island! The cold mist seemed to chill us to the bone