Of Wind, Water, & Wilderness
Bill Kuntze
We pulled the canoe onto the sand beach at the southeast corner of Eden Island. It was now time for lunch and I wanted to inspect the campsite. Stories of pack raiding bears have been linked to the island's history. The view from within the campsite caused me to ponder. The thick forest provided cover right to its edge. A bear could approach undetected to within a few yards. Nonetheless it looked cozy and accommodating.
Down on the beach landing, the wind had become strong enough to whip sand up to face level. White caps were breaking along our intended path. A pair of westbound canoes came into view as we launched into the rolling surf. Passing close by, we exchanged greetings. They made a statement about fighting the wind throughout the morning. All their efforts now seemed concentrated on maintaining stride. We would have it made in comparison. I turned my thoughts back toward catching a trout and lowered the rig. Soon I began to see that landing a fish in this surf would not be easy. Maintaining direction had become a matter of keeping both paddles in the water, especially so in the stern position. Allowing the canoe to turn sideways in the waves would likely result in trouble. My anticipation of catching a lake trout would have to wait for another day. I reeled up and returned the rod into its case under the thwarts. I noticed John's digital camera laying on top a gear tote and stowed it as well into a dry bag.
The anticipated four hour paddle to our evening's destination would be shortened considerably by the conditions which seemingly had doubled our rate of travel. We held a due east course about twenty yards from the lake's northern edge. A point of land protruded up ahead from the otherwise straight shoreline. I altered course slightly right to a heading that would skirt us out and around the point without over exposing the canoe sideways to the direction of the waves.
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