My parents fished me out of the lake, gave me a blanket, and put me back in the canoe with Uncle Bart. Finally, we left the first portage, but that didn't lift my spirit, and we started canoeing on Carrying Lake. Well, Uncle Bart steered while I dried off. Yeah, I can't believe I jumped into the water too. I just had to get out of there. That first portage was too creepy! I thought I saw the boy of my dreams, and then I heard him get tortured by the Ghost of Ontario. He was going to torture us just like he did with him once we got to Red Squirrel Lake.
Carrying Lake was a beautiful lake, but I was in too much of a bad mood to enjoy the scenery. All of Camp Juniper was a little mad at me, since I said some terrible things back at the first portage, so they didn't talk to me. Not even Uncle Bart. Everybody was also starting to wind down a bit on this lake. Everybody was starting to grow a little tired. The last portage did a number on us. However, Dad still smiled, and he still passed the Frisbee back and forth to each canoe.
Finally, somebody talked to me. It was Aunt Lydia. Although, all she yelled was, "Look out!" and the Frisbee hit me in the side and fell into the boat.
I flinched.
Aunt Lydia called to me again, "Sorry, Kylie! Here, toss it back!" She raised her hand and waved it.
Uncle Macon soon lifted his own hand, and he called, "No, pass it to your Uncle Macon, Kylie Wylie! Do you remember when he took you to a U2 concert?"
I didn't toss the Frisbee period. I refused to toss it back. I just paddled along.
I heard Uncle Bart behind me, "You've got to be kidding me," and he tossed the Frisbee instead.
Aunt Lydia caught it, and she yelled, "Yeah, Bart, I knew you'd understand!"
Carrying Lake was a small lake, so we made it to the next portage in a short amount of time. Oh no, I really did not want to do two portages in one day. However, we did. After about an hour and a half, we pulled up to the next portage. This one was in another small river. However, there wasn't a waterfall. It actually had a decent-sized beach, but the beach was also covered in rocks. This portage actually was a little more organized than the last one. When I say "organized," I mean it was a little cleaner.
Aunt Delia noticed this first. She, who was checking the map, said, "It looks like this portage is a little more organized than the last one, but it's also 920 meters long." Ugh! And I thought the 670 meter long portage was long!
I groaned.
Aunt Delia heard this, and she glanced at me, saying, "Oh don't give us that, Kylie. After we make it through this portage, we'll be on Red Squirrel Lake, and we'll find a campsite to stay at for the night."
I slowly lifted my hand and let the rays of the sun scan it. It was getting lower in the sky. It was dinnertime. I said this to my family, "It's dinnertime, though. I don't want to canoe on an empty stomach."
"Kylie!" Mom snapped at me. She held her finger up to her lips, "Shh! Wait until we get there. We'll eat at the campsite. We just had a chocolate break a half hour ago."
"That's right." Dad said. He got out of his canoe and pulled it up to the bank of the river. He started to pull out packs all over again.
I stood up in Uncle Bart and I's canoe and took my life jacket off. Then I slipped my bug jacket back over my head. I reached down to pick up my dry bag, but then my eyes landed on the drying mysterious pouch. I said, "Whatever," and picked it up, buckling it around my waist again.
I went ahead and started the hike, only so I wouldn't have to worry about it again. This portage wasn't as forestry as the last one, but it was rush hour for the mosquitoes since it was late. They also weren't as bad as the last portage, but they were still bad. They were mosquitoes. All mosquitoes were bad. Late afternoon meant that they were hungry for blood.
I felt like I walked a mile. I swore to myself that if the other portages were going to be just as bad, then I literally would swim back to Lake Anima Nipissing and hitchhike to Finlayson. Once at Finlayson, I would find a ride back home. I did not deserve to be trapped in the wilderness with just adults for six days. Why couldn't I have met Ihaan sooner? Like...in Finlayson?
I followed the path and tripped over a rock. However, I managed to catch myself at the last second. The only downside to this path, besides the mosquitoes, was that it was rocky. I moved out of the way as Uncle Macon passed me carrying a canoe. Aunt Lydia and Aunt Delia were close behind him. Both of them carried large dry bags, and I actually noticed that Aunt Delia was smiling. What? She was enjoying herself? How could she be enjoying herself? She even hummed as she walked. Yeah, Aunt Delia really, really liked the trip. She had a blast. Currently, I wasn't having a blast.
I dragged my feet on the ground and yawned. I was ready for bed. I also had to use the restroom, but I was scared that I would get bug bites on my butt just like last time. I decided that I would hold it until I got to the end of the trail. That was as if I did make it to the end.
The trail actually fed out to a campground in a wide open space.
Once I managed to make it out of the deepest part of the forest, I stepped onto the campground and gasped, asking, "What?" I stood on a grassy and rocky road, and I peered down on it. My eye caught more trees in front of me, and very faintly through the trees, I could see the water of the Death Lake. I had made it to the last leg of the portage. I next looked to the left, and in one campsite, I saw an RV from Quebec. Sitting in the site were two, young men who were roasting marshmallows.
They noticed me and waved.
I waved back. Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't we just camp here instead? We didn't. We just had to go all the way to Red Squirrel Lake.
Uncle Bart, who was carrying another canoe, soon passed me, and three more members of Camp Juniper appeared and hiked back in the direction of the deepest part of the forest.
I was actually pretty thunderstruck to see that I was actually standing in a campground. Perhaps it wasn't totally empty out here? I stepped forward, and Dad passed me.
Soon after he did, the two men roasting marshmallows got up and approached him. They started to chat with each other. Oh great, now I knew we wouldn't reach Red Squirrel Lake until dark. The thing is, when Dad gets involved in a conversation, he does not stop talking. He just "blah, blah, blahs" forever. Although, I guess it wasn't all bad. If he talked until dark, then we would stay here instead of on Red Squirrel Lake.
I kept my fingers crossed and did the last leg of the hike. I went through another line of trees, and before long, I made it to the end of the trail. I was standing in another wide open space, and a dock was in front of me. A dock! Maybe the bugs wouldn't be as bad on it as they were in the forest?
I dropped my luggage and hurried towards the dock, but I stopped momentarily to get bug bites on my butt because I couldn't hold it in any longer. Ugh, already I missed flushable toilets. After my restroom break, I cheered and shouted, "A dock! It's a dock!"
I didn't waste any time. I hurried onto the dock and approached the end of it. When I reached it, I froze right on my tracks and peered out.
This was it. This was Red Squirrel Lake.
Just looking at it, I shivered. The lake did look a lot spookier than Anima Nipissing and Carrying. It may have just been because it was getting dark. It was a little foggy out in the open lake, and I could see small waves rolling. I fell to my knees and slowly lifted my hand. I ran it through Red Squirrel Lake's cool water, and I shivered again. I knew that somewhere in it rested the Ghost of Ontario's canoe, broken in two pieces like the Titanic. It frightened me just to think about it. I wanted to go back, but at the same time, I didn't want to do the hike all over again. I just sat on the dock and covered up with my bug jacket because believe it or not, but the bugs were worse out here than they were in the forest.
This is it, audience. This is Red Squirrel Lake. Are you ready to see what happened next? What happened next was actually both very spooky but also helpful. Before we know it, we will be on Red Squirrel Lake, and Ihaan will finally make his debut!
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