ET's Info-Stew

09:51: For two days, we have been fishing with powerbait. Yesterday, Mr. Cleek started fishing with a lure and fifteen minutes later, he caught a thirteen inch trout just in time to make up for his missing dinner. He said it was really good. I hope it was because he brought a pound of spices just for the occasion. This morning I woke up at 9:15 AM, pretty late considering being up here. Gear: a daypack is necessary. I need good moleskin for my first-aid kit. Last night we skipped some rocks and Mr. Cleek found one shaped like a heart so I'm bringing it home to Jenny. We went fishing with lures on the bank near our campsite. I snagged on a rock and tried for 10 minutes to get it loose but I never did and I lost the lure. I'm ready to make my tackle and repair kit. Look in books for the repair kit. Tackle: lures, swivels, hooks, slider weights, extra string, powerbait. I've got one day to eat one sleeve of fig newtons, ½ salami, one sleeve of crackers and 2/3 can of cheese. Today is partly cloudy so I will enjoy it more.

12:36: We put on our shoes and hiked more up the Loon Lake trail a few more miles. First we walked up to this river, which is normally a creek which is all but impossible to go through. They have a little trolley on a rope for which you can pull yourself hand over hand to cross the river. It was on the other side of the river so we had to find another way around. The river comes from the Rubicon Resivour through some pipes which opens up about one hundred yards upstream from the trolley. We went over that. Then we hiked up to the Rubicon Resivour where Mr. Cleek dipped in the lake. Walking along the dam we saw a marmot and two canadian geese which were flying. They came so close, you could hear the wind from under the flapping wings. It was cool. We hiked past the Rubicon Resivour a bit, went off the trail and found the Rubicon River flowing pretty fast. Look at the picture for 6-12 at 12:33 PM for the view. I am wearing my hiking boots right now which are much better than the tennis shoes. I have five tiny blisters on my left big toe but they don't hurt. Things are going good. It's weird to think that thirteen years ago, Mr. Cleek and Randy were walking the exact same trail at the exact same places we were hiking. Anyways, we got to the river and of course Mr. Cleek had to go swimming.

16:13: Back at camp and I'm exahsted. We left at 10:40 AM and came back at 3:40 PM. We were gone 5 hours, 4 ½ half was spent walking. On he way back up, we had to recross a creek about 40 ft. wide and knee deep. I didn't want my boots all slushy so I took them off along with my socks. Upon approaching the river barefoot, I stepped on a sharp rock which make a little cut on the bottom of my left foot. I got some medicine on it and I hope it doesn't bother me on the hike back to civilization tomorrow. When we get back, Mr. Cleek will probably tell a story that I was crossing a creek (a different smaller one that is closer to camp) and I was stepping on rocks to stay dry and halfway through, the creek I lost my footing and my right foot went under water. I quickly pulled it out and stepped on a nearby rock. On this I lost my balance and was flailing my arms wildly about for a good five seconds, all the while Mr. Cleek was cracking up. I finally caught my balance and crossed the rest of the creek. Now I'm going to sit back, relax and read my book.

20:52: I had some inspiring moments a few hours ago. We went to the point for the last time for at least a year. Out on the point there is a large tree growing out of the rocks, its roots splitting and forceing up large chunks of rock. Lodged in the side of the tree is a huge boulder that appears to be floating in mid-air besides the part stuck in the tree. As the tree grew, it surrounded a small corner of a large boulder and snapped off, hundreds of years ago, a thousand pound chunk or rock, holding it in place. The inspiring thoughts were the passage of time and the strength of nature. That tree has pushed up tons and tons of rock with its roots and it is till young compared to a lot of other trees yet still hundreds of year old. Awesome.

21:14: Well, I almost cought my head on fire. I was gonna go for a second cup of hot cocoa and the water left over from the first was luke warm. I put some fuel in the primer cup and lit it. When it got pretty low, I turned the stove up to light the upper part. Huge flames started coming out of the stove some almost touching my hair. It was so hot I jerked my head back and turned off the stove. The stove wasn't hot enough so the primer cup was filing up with fuel and burning. Close call.