I woke up this morning a lot earlier than I wanted to, but just couldn't fall back asleep, so I just laid there in my tent and listened to all the sounds of nature. It was around 5:30 am when I first woke up. While I was laying there, I could hear several loons that were calling to each other, and somewhere off in the distance I could hear a noise that I think was an elk. I laid there until around 7:00 am just enjoying the peace and quiet.
I finally got out of my tent and woke the boys up around 7:00 am. We had our breakfast, which consisted of Oatmeal, slim Jims, trail mix, and drink mix. I also had a cappuccino to drink. That was my one luxury that I brought along with me.
We didn't really have any sort of agenda that we had to stick to today, so we just decided to stay there on the island for a couple of days. The campsite was nice, and there were plenty of interesting places that we could paddle to in a pretty short time, so we weren't in any big hurry to get anything done today
I decided to wash some of my clothes, so after breakfast I did some laundry. Washing your clothes in the woods is really a lot easier than most people think it is. I use Camp Suds for everything. You can wash dishes with it, you can bathe with it, and you can do laundry with it. You just have to do it well away from your water source. The soap is biodegradable, but it's still a good idea to keep it away from the water. I have a portable water container that folds down and fits in a little bag, so I got it out and filled it with warm water. I added a little camp suds soap to the water and I was ready to go. After washing the clothing I just scattered the soapy water in the woods and refilled it with clean water to rinse the clothes out in. Then I just hung them up to dry on my clothesline.
Right after I got all my clothing washed, it started to rain, so I took everything down and took it to my tent. It only rained for a couple of hours, so after it quit raining I hung everything up again.
The boys built another fire after the rain stopped, and then did some fishing. The fish started biting, so the boys caught some really nice sized Northern Pike. I've never cleaned one before, but I guess it's time to learn. Here is a picture of my son, Tommy, with the Pike he caught.
After the boys got done fishing we decided it was time to eat lunch. They all had so much fun fishing that we all sort of forgot about lunch, so by around 2:00 pm we were all starting to get hungry. We had a bagel with Nutella on it, along with some fruit snacks and some Pringles. We all had water with some drink mix added. The boys originally thought it was really fun to pump water into their water bottles, but it's starting to be a little bit of a chore now. Hopefully they'll all drink plenty of water though. We don't need anyone getting dehydrated.
After lunch the boys took the canoes over to one of the other islands to do a little exploring. I stayed and just relaxed while they were out exploring. I've decided that 1 thing I really miss is a chair with a back on it. I never really thought much about it until now, but sitting on a log with no place to lean is really starting to get old.
After the boys got back we decided to clean the fish and make dinner. They had caught 4 really nice Pike that we kept. It should be more than enough fish for everyone to get their fill. Our original dinner plan was to have mac & cheese. Now we're having some fish with our mac & cheese. It should be a great dinner. I cleaned the fish by cutting the fillets from it. I really didn't know how to fillet a Pike, but I got the job done. I discovered that they have several tiny bones in the fillet much like a Trout does. Hopefully we can get them all out with cooking.
While I was preparing the fish, one of the boys began making the mac & cheese. After the mac & cheese was done I fried the fish. I cut it into smaller peaces that were easier to fit in the skillet, and fried it in some butter I had brought. After it was done we all sat down and ate. There was so much fish and mac & cheese we just couldn't eat it all. I couldn't believe how much fish we got off those Pike. We finally had to call it quits as we were all stuffed beyond our limits.
After dinner the boys settled down around the fire and sang several Scout songs. If anyone was within hearing distance I would bet they got a good chuckle. We all sat around the fire until around 10:00 pm and then decided to call it a day. Everyone should sleep well tonight with such full bellies!
This is my 100 Days Strong. What's yours?
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