Birthday Girl

On the afternoon of Kiki’s birthday the kayaks were launched just below our campsite on the wind becalmed waters of the placid pond. Staying on the shaded western side of the lake we nonchalantly paddled along the shoreline admiring the wilderness scenery. Nearing the southernmost upper end of the pond we came upon a very large beaver lodge. Much like an iceberg much of the lodge was underwater where the “busy beaver” had amassed a huge cache of cut branches for future munching. The water was so clear you could read a golf ball label over ten feet down.

At the extreme southern end there was a portage sign where the upper and lower lakes are connected by a trail on one side and a stream that empties into the lower lake. Only about a 5 foot difference in the pool levels has led to conjecture that at one time the pair formed one body of water. All of this is of course very interesting indeed but to Kiki there was only one thing that caught her attention: why don’t we use the portage to kayak on Upper South Branch Pond? After checking out another beaver lodge we came back to the camp ground for a quick bike ride before having a birthday dinner of leftover crispy street tacos followed by chocolate cupcake and toasted coconut ice cream. After dinner the maps were all laid out for a planning session for tomorrow and Kiki’s Big Adventure!