It rained a little overnight, but we woke refreshed and ready to tackle the day. Eighth Lake looked calm and beautiful. Calvin made breakfast and I went down to the water to soak in the peacefulness.
We were ready to go around 8:30am and made the portage into Browns Tract Inlet. There was a neat boardwalk to get there. Browns Tract Inlet was a small winding section of stream that led us into Raquette Lake. We skipped the town and paddled on. We knew it was windy today, but as we made to cut across a cove, the waves and wind really kicked up. I’ve been in some big water before, but never like this in a loaded boat with gear not strapped down (normally, we would). I wondered what would happen if we did flip. Did Calvin know what he was doing in the stern? For what seemed like hours, we battled the wind to cross Raquette, zigging and zagging to get around points on the land and to keep the side of our canoe from getting hit.
Finally, we were able to take a break in a safe spot. Most of the lake was private, but it was early season, so we pulled up to someone’s dock to take a quick break. (Normally, we would not do this, but we needed to so that we wouldn’t get slammed into rocks.)
We regrouped and I felt better after. Calvin calmed me down. I will admit that I was nervous in the big waves and I knew it wasn’t going to be the last time on this trip. Mother Nature sure is powerful! Calvin explained to me how he had done big water in his solo canoe and knew what he was doing. I told him how I wanted to minimize big crossings as much as possible and stay close to shore where possible. Without having the GPS or maps, I felt clueless as to where we were headed and that made me feel uncomfortable. I wanted to know what the game plan was so that I could be a part of it too. This kind of trip takes a lot of trust and communication, especially in a tandem canoe. After we talked, I felt a lot better about heading out again.
From that point, it was still windy, but the lake narrowed down and the waves were less. Calvin communicated better to me and I felt more comfortable. We lunched on the portage to Forked Lake. I was nervous that Forked would be the same as Raquette. The lake was smaller and still kicked up, but the wind was at our back the whole way which helped. It worked us, and we sped along to the end of the lake.
We checked the sign-in box there and found that Calvin’s mom had left us a note from her log in from the day before. After dropping us off yesterday, she came to Forked to solo canoe. We hiked the road portage around the Class III rapids on Raquette River which brought us to our campsite for the night at the end of the portage. A nice lean-to. It was only 4pm, but we opted to not push on.
We are hoping that the canoe wheels that Calvin has built will hold up. They’re rolling well, but the bumps and jerks are starting to push the metal and wheels out of alignment.
I must say that I can’t imagine being very happy doing much of this with anyone but Calvin. He keeps me grounded and I feel safe with him. So far, we are making good time if we continue this way. But, it’s not a race…
