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It rained all night. It continued to rain in the morning even until I was forced to vacate the tent for a call of
nature. Breakfast of granola and oatmeal was eaten in a slow drizzle. The wind from the north-east whipped up the
lake into good sized white caps. Fortunately, except for the first 600-700m crossing, we assumed we would be fairly
sheltered from the wind during todays paddle. We set out and paddled across Lake La Muir, bouncing around in the
waves, but otherwise a fairly managable crossing. We then took shelter between some small islands and paddled into a
sheltered bay where we reached the portage. This was a short carry and Rob took the canoe. One of the four bolts that
connect the center thwart to the gunnels is missing a nut, and is stressing the remaining single bolt on that side. We
noticed this yesterday, however it appears to be getting worse today. We finished this portage, but decided that we
are going to have to make some sort of repair, lest the thing break completely. We paddled out onto Redpine Lake in the
rain, however the wind had relaxed significantly. As we navigated the bays and channels we saw a group of four loons
bathing in the water. We also passed a solo canoeist and exchanged greetings. We paddled onto Burntroot Lake and found
a nice campsite on the eastern shore. It was early (about 10:00) so we set up camp and had some hot beverages in the
rain. I retired to the tent to read for a while in the small enclosed shelter. Got out briefly to eat some food
around 13:00 and then quickly got back into the tent as it was pouring still. Read and then snoozed for a couple of
hours. Now I write in this journal listening to the raindrops pound off of the fly and the wind blowing in the tree
tops. It would be a good day to be a loon. They do not seem to mind. Anyway, tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day
on this lake. There is supposedly some old farm equipment at the south end which we may explore. However, we have
decided that if the weather does not improve by morning, we are going to push on, possibly even pulling out of the
park a day early, as travelling in a rainstorm is much more pleasant than hunkering down in one. Around 17:00 the
rain began to slow so we got up and cooked an Indian curry supper. Rob managed to get a fire going so we warmed up
around that. As the evening wore on, the rain finally stopped so we spent the rest of the time drying out around
the fire and listening to the calls of the loons on the lake.
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