Tuesday August 17 1999
Jeremy woke us at 6:36am. 4 of us promptly looked at our watches at the same time. Started hiking at 8:09am nice and dry and rested and tummies full. The climb out of McCargo Cove was steep and long. I expected a grueling day. But we were fresh and had an early start. Jeremy for some reason took the lead. The rest of us had to really hustle to keep up. After 1 hour we reached the mother of all blueberry patches where we ate our fill. Lalasa got out a gallon zip lock that we filled in no time. Oatmeal and fresh blueberries will be great in the morning. Jeremy took the lead again right to Todd harbor. This is over 1/2 our 11 miles by noon with 1/2 hour on picking berries on the ridge. Great time. Jeremy led us to Hatchet lake by 3:00pm. Wow. The trail today was a mix of changes, swamp, bog, dense cedar forest, mixed hard woods, new growth of poplar, birch ect. Some old growth forest. The Hatchet lake area had huge burnt out stumps. The poplar and birch are 12"-14" in diameter. So the fire was a while ago. We saw more mushrooms than I've ever seen in my life. Reds, yellows, pinks, orange, white ect. From short and fat to tall and skinny all sorts. I wished I knew which were edible. Oh well. Still no moose or wolf sighting. We've saw wolf and moose tracks and scats today. They were fresh after the storm. But still no sign, not even a howl yet. Arius had Duct tape shoes today after one ripped. Lunch at Todd harbor was at a water fall. Nice setting but the bagels were molding. We only ate a few. The rest looked too gross. So we went back to our packs and into the Gorp. It was really nice to be in the camp early. But no one had energy to do much. We made dinner, ate, washed a few socks, played a little chess and cards and were in bed by 8:00pm. Jeremy wasn't quiet until 9:00pm. Ben was going to write in this journal today and play chess and...... But he took a nap after dinner and then woke up long enough to go to bed for the night. I hope we don't have any camp foxes here because I see some dishes laying out. A red sky at night sailors delight. Should be good weather tomorrow.
Day 5 Randy Wildman
My thought of the day came from a book titled There is Greatness Within You, My Son. A collection of poems by various authors. WORK HARD, SON... BUT HAVE FUN, TOO
It's important to be serious about your goals but I'm hoping you'll also remember the enjoyable side of life. Include some time-outs in your bust schedule; don't let life rush by. I'm hoping your quests will be successful, bet I'd also like to see you spending good times with friends, making special moments, and doing things you want to do just for the pleasure it brings to your heart. Do the things that make you happy to be you; You are living in a world filled with opportunities for good things in life. Stay as special as you are and filled with hopes and dreams as you are today, but please keep that boyish grin in place, and always remember to make special room for happiness in tour life- the kind that keeps you in touch with your friends, your dreams, and the world around you. I'm very proud of you, and I'll always be wishing for your greatest happiness. (Barbara J. Hall)
As you Scoutmaster, this poem says what I feel and wish for each one of you. I would also add that I wish for you the greatest success and hope you can apply some of these words to this adventure. May God be with each of you.
Yours in Scouting
Randy Wildman, Scoutmaster
