Paddling at Echo Lake with Jorge

Jorge and I.  He's wearing an oreo beret.

Jorge as our masthead.  The feather flew out so I had to poke it deeper into his head.  He didn't complain.

Jorge roasting a marshmallow.  He wanted a s'more too.

When you're doing primitive camping, it's odd how quickly normal standards of cleanliness dissipate.  The first night, if an onion fell off the cutting board onto our rock (table), we put in in the trash.  By the third night, that piece of onion goes back into the other diced onions without a second thought.  The first night the dishwater was pumped through the filter.  By the third night, the dishwater is taken straight from the lake.  Pumping all that water is just too much work.  As our standards changed, Jorge became a more important member of the group.  His opinion was sought on decisions.  He was offered meals.  When he refused to eat, he was told he wasn't going to get anymore until what he had was gone.  People smiled at him and patted his orange head.  One night he spoke and his voice sounded a lot like Mr. Bill from Saturday Night Live.  Today the wind was calmer and the waves more manageable.  We paddled into a bay and walked a long portage into Echo Lake.  Echo Lake is a two mile long and narrow lake with steep cliffs on one side.  And sounds do echo here, we tried it.  We saw blue flag iris and pitcher plants in bloom.  I saw a garter snake twice in the same spot in the portage.  Echo Lake has no campsites so we had a snack of gorp and oreos while floating peacefully (see middle photo).  At the far end of Echo Lake, a stream empties the water.  We paddled down the stream as far as we could before a fallen log blocked our path.  This would be an excellent place to see moose and moose have been seen here before.  Yet we saw no moose.  Echo Lake had one tiny island with a rocky surface and about a dozen small trees.  We thought about having lunch there but decided against it because of the lack of privacy if someone had to use the latrine.  We had our lunch at the portage - hummus, tabbouli, oranges, summer sausage, and some cheddar cheese that had been warm for so long it was very greasy and almost liquid.  Warm cheese tastes delicious!  Our lunch was at 3 o'clock.  When we got back, we all went swimming and relaxed for a few hours.  We had spaghetti and some excellent garlic bread for supper.  The sunset was beautiful.  A skinny moon rose over Brule Lake.  Some of us stayed up late talking and listening to the loons calling.