Day Three: Poachers

  We were up and going early this morning to complete our goal of getting a layover day. We had a quick breakfast of oatmeal, joined by another deer friend, and then set out for Poachers Campsite.
  As we left Deadman’s we headed for Picture Rock and took a moment to admire the large carving of a face on the cliffs at the northern part of the lake. We also tried to see a few pictographs, but they have been painted over.
   We would have stayed at the site longer, but Kelby and I wanted to beat the winds if we had any chance of making it to our campsite. All morning the winds were at our heads and the paddling was slow, but we made it to La Verendre for lunch. We stopped for a long lunch of bay bread and oranges as we let a rain cloud move by.
   Once the wind changed directions, we took advantage of the tailwinds and made our way for Poachers. After a short while the winds shifted again and we had headwinds one more time. This only slowed us down some and we made it to our final campsite with plenty of time to spare.
   Being our last campsite and our hardest day of paddling we decided that tonight was the best night for pita pizzas and super s’mores. We made the super s’mores out of roasted marshmallows, girl scout cookies, Hershey’s chocolate and chips ahoy thin dipped cookies. We also took this time to do lightning questions to get to know each other and we ended the night with one and a half scary stories.
   The first story I told was the story of the Russian hikers that got lost. Next, I started to tell a story that takes place in the Umatilla Forest in Oregon. Unfortunately, I will not be sharing that story on here because it is a trail exclusive story only. As I was telling the story there comes a part were there is a dark spirit involved; a demon. At this part the campers decided that they did not want to hear the story tonight and the ending was left untold. At this point the mosquitoes started to come out and we all piled into our largest tent and finished the night with lighthearted stories and more lightning questions.
   Kelby and I stayed up late and talked in the tent as we have every night on trail. We talk about the day and how it went and we share stories of our lives in college. I am super grateful that I am on trail with her as my co-guide and only upset because it means I won’t be able to guide with her again this summer.