I slept like the dead. Apparently, it had rained all night long, and although we were dry inside our tents, we'd be packing them up wet this morning. We had ten miles ahead of us today, but Dad and I took our time getting ready, making coffee, and checking out old moose rubs on the trees.
Today we were hiking to Hatchet Lake, which is located pretty much right in the center of Isle Royale. We climbed the trail up and away from Chickenbone Lake, and found ourselves on the Greenstone Ridge once again.
After a fairly flat and smooth start but also filled with a lot of tripping by Dad, we got into a hillier section with some steeper climbing. My dad said, "What the f&*%," several times out loud.
The top of the ridge was filled with sparse pine trees, birch, aspen, juniper bushes filled with berries, and so many rocks.
Although it was only the third day, both of us had noticed how loose our hiking pants had become. Maybe we didn't bring enough calories for this trip!
We chatted as we hiked, and I learned that my dad has never seen the movies Dumb and Dumber or Remember the Titans. Who is this person?!
At a slightly lower elevation, I was crossing a log and bashed my shin. Pain! It felt like I had split my leg open, but I didn't stop to check. Onward! Hours later at camp I discovered that I had, in fact, put a slit in my shin. Dad says it'll be my Isle Royale scar for life. I think it'll heal up just fine.
We took several pack breaks today, mostly just to sit and enjoy the sunshine. The day had turned out quite nicely and we had time to spare!
Finally, we came to the marker for Hatchet Lake. One thing I have to compliment Isle Royale on is the accuracy of their trail markers. They were 100% correct 100% of the time. If a marker said 7.2 miles, it was exactly that. On the Appalachian Trail and North Country Trail, I feel like the mile markers are estimates more than exact measurements. Haha!
As we entered the campground, we were greeted by more moose sheds! I will never pass up the opportunity to pose like a moose. Those sheds were so heavy, though!
We were seemingly the first hikers to arrive at Hatchet Lake on that day, so we had our choice of camping spots. We chose one right near the water and also close to the privy and bear box. It was a great spot! We made quick work of setting up our tents and getting settled.
After dinner, we sat down by the lake while the wind died down, hoping to see a moose come in. It seemed like a very "moose-y" area. It sure was chilly out of the sun!
Back at our campsite, Dad decided to whittle some wood to pass the time, and I decided to crawl into my sleeping bag to chase the chill away!
When the sky was finally completely dark, we snuck back down to the lake. It was a completely clear night, and the stars were out in full force. We pointed out the big and little dippers and even saw the international space station go by. The lake was without a ripple, and it seemed that the entire world was asleep except for us.
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