Today we would leave Argo and find another campsite on our 3-day/2-night return trip to civilization. The forecast had predicted rain overnight and through the morning, so we were in no hurry to break camp, except to pack up our personal gear inside the tents (which alone can be a major ordeal after 4 days). As a matter of fact, the weather radio allowed us to a) know that the rain was likely to end by late morning, and b) relax and simply wait it out. In my mind, this was invaluable information from a valuable piece of new equipment. Without this information, we would have likely broken camp in the rain. There's nothing worse.
The mood was light, and we continued the bandit banter until, sure enough, about 11 am, the winds picked up slightly and blew the rain out. We knew this was our time, so we got busy packing what was left, loaded the canoes, and headed south to the portage out of Argo back to Crooked Lake. On this reverse portage, the pull out was a steep-ish rock face of about 20 feet to a small ledge. After that, the portage climbed steeply for a good 1/8 mile, which was now muddy from the recent rains. We all carried what we could up to the top where the large Pinnacle Rock awaited us, making sure that nobody carried too much so as to avoid any slips, falls, twists of ankles, or sprains of knees. Once the big stuff was at the top, some started carrying down the long path to the put in spot, which was now even muddier than when we arrived a few days ago. It was getting hard to find places to set things down.
We knew this portage would take awhile, and we patiently lugged everything to the end. But wait - we were missing someone's Duluth pack - the one decked out in green camouflage. (Who's idea was it to create a camouflaged Duluth pack!) We had the portage to ourselves, so we knew it wasn't accidentally taken by another portaging party. It wasn't until 2-3 of us diligently searched the path that we finally found it perched on a rock in the foliage about 1/2 way back. One of us had set it aside as we are apt to do when we are carrying too much. We had all walked by it multiple times, focusing on the trail in front of us rather than to the sides!
With that resolved, it was time to resolve our growling stomachs. There was little space to sit at the end of the portage, so we all pretty much plopped down in the grass, surrounded by mud, water, gear, muddy boots and filthy pant legs. I just had to laugh as I looked around at the sorry state of our happy and contented lunch gang, munching away in our little pig pen. I still smile when I think of that scene, enjoying lunch in the mud, and not really giving a rats ass!
After lunch we loaded up the canoes, each trying different techniques to climb into, and launch, the canoes while rinsing our muddy boots to avoid a mess in the canoe. The day was sunny and warm, almost too warm as we paddled back down Crooked Lake. We all took turns razzing Joe as he liberally applied his sunscreen. His whole face would turn white because his beard would lather up the thick mess, looking very much like he had applied a cold cream mask. (All he lacked were cucumber slices on each eye.) All week we chided Joe with the general comment, "What's that discoloration on your face?", which would send him into paranoid hysterics.
Our destination was a 5-star campsite not far from Curtain Falls, but as we approached we could see people out on the beautiful rocky prominence, and more people farther back where the campsite must have been. Oh what a view it must be from there! Our backup plan was to check out the sandy beach site that Gary explored on our way in. Gary thought it would do, but it seemed too good to be true. We arrived, beached the canoes, then headed back into the woods to check out the camp situation. It wasn't spacious, but for 3 tents and one night, we could easily make it work. I imagined this location would be hot and buggy in the summer, but right now it was pretty ideal. And the beach! A few feet of nice sand gently sloping into the lake.
We set up our tents and broke out our wet gear for drying, then set up the bug shelter right on the sand next to the water. We anchored it down with rocks and the sand anchor method (tie guidelines to a rock or log, and bury it deep in the sand). We rolled up the sides and used it as a cabana for the rest of the time there since the bugs never really showed up to the party. We were too lazy to fish, so we broke out some Mt. House dinners, boiled some water, and made quick work of dinner and cleanup.
Winds were calm, skies were clear, we bathed and swam and watched the setting sun in our little slice of Caribbean paradise in the Quetico wilderness. It wasn't until I returned home and processed the video that I would dub this spot "Tequila Beach".
