Survived the thunderstorm (dry in the hammock), and awoke to a cooler, 47-degree morning.  Granola with reconstituted milk/oatmeal and toasted bagels for breakfast.  Lakes look windy, but not too bad – yet. 

It had mostly cleared before we headed south with the wind/waves coming onto our starboard quarter.  The wind picked up about halfway across, and I knew we were in for an “interesting” day.  We made it into the protection of that big island south of Williamson, and we started planning our route.  Stay in close to the island, round up the big bay on the south site of the island, through the gap northeast of the rock, and then recalculate.  It was a tough paddle into the whitecapped-waves as we rounded the island, but some hard paddling got us into relative protection.  Sometime during this period, the sun disappeared. 

Coming out from “The Rock” we ferried across upwind, then as we got near shore on the other side, the waves subsided a bit and we headed back southeast to round the peninsula.  We stayed in the protection of the peninsula, but decided we needed to cross over to the southern island that would provide some protection to the Hudson portage, but getting there would be hairy. 

Ethan had chilled in the wind, so we stopped to get some more clothes on him, and to have a granola bar for some calories before we tried the crossing.

Fortunately, there is a series of islands that, once we made the initial crossing, would provide for short paddles between rest breaks.  We followed that strategy, and it was what allowed us to make it to the relative protection of that big island.  A couple more island-hops, and we entered the calm area of the Insula-Hudson portage. 

We stood off the portage for a few minutes to see if the group who’d left their packs were going to show up shortly, but when they didn’t, we landed and started across the portage.  I took my personal and the the canoe the first trip over, leaving only the food pack.  We met the folks with the packs left at the Insula end as we were crossing; a group of fellows who had grown up in the area but had moved away.  They warned us of a tree down in the trail, one that hadn’t been down when we passed two days earlier. 

By the time I got back with the food pack, the other group was gone onto Hudson, and we followed, not a little bit concerned about the look of the lake.  It was, once again, rough – white caps, with occasional foot-plus waves.  We stayed close to the northern shore, since that provided a little protection, and we were headed up the north arm.  As we made our way up the lake, we saw the group that had left the portage before us start to cross the northern part of the lake headed for Four, but they though better of it and turned north to get into the protection of the north arm, and come down the northeast side of the lake rather than cross open water.

We reach the calm water of the north end of Hudson and turned up into the north arm.  Sunlight flirted with us slightly, then disappeared, replaced by hail!  I had a wide-brimmed hat on, but Steve said that stuff hurts when it hits your face!  Ethan: “I hope we can get some snow now so we’ll have had it all!”

More from my journal: “9-24-03 8:30 PM.  41 degrees.  As you can see by the temp, it’s gotten cool.  No – With the wind, it’s cold.  Shortly after we left Williamson Island it became overcast, and the wind only got worse.  Spit rain off and on, but the WIND.  Smarter people than I would have been wind-bound.” 

I had a difficult time getting the bear rope up, and a difficult time finding a place for my hammock.  I was so tired I couldn’t lift my arms above shoulder level.  I was depressed, and for the first time on a trip in the BW, wished I wasn’t there.  Fortunately, the beans ‘n rice and tortillas for dinner helped overcome the depression, and I felt OK by the time I got into the warm cocoon in my hammock.