Voyageurs National Park 2023, Tuesday, 9/26 (Layover Day)

0625-59F/55F. Solar 30%. House 11.9v. Power in all batteries is going downhill fast!

0740-Bible verse for the day from my study time: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?"

(Matthew 16:24-26)

0810-Prayer and reading time finished. Now it is time to make breakfast and make a plan for the day to ensure I have enough solar battery power to complete this trip. Sun is rising, skies are clear, thank you Lord! 71F/56F. Solar 27%. House 11.9v.

0950-Departed boat site in the kayak. Headed east to the portage trailhead for a hike. Looking for wildlife enroute.

Kayak Launch Into Long Slough

Kayak Trip Down Long Slu

1020-Arrived at the trailhead.

Portage Trailhead

View NW From Trailhead

1040-Took off on my hike over the portage. Arrived on the east side of the portage.  No significant critters observed.

East End Of Portage Trail

Portage Trail Hike

Large Pine On Trail

Reed Filled Low Land South Side Of Trail

1050-Started the return trip in the kayak, again nothing observed.

On My Way Back To Boat

1120-Arrived back at the boat site. The small back up solar battery was almost fully charged.  This is the small solar generator I primarily use for charging drone batteries and my laptop, but also serves as a back up to the back up battery which is now empty.

Approach To Boat Site

1230-Washed dishes, retrieved the re-charged small solar battery, and stowed the gear.

1310-Will have a glass of white wine with some nuts. 67F/68F. Solar 26%. House 11.9v. A

1340-Will go ashore and just enjoy the beautiful fall day reading and listening to music from my chair perch overlooking the bay.

Enjoying The Day - Reading And Listening To Music Ashore

1515-Read ashore while sipping some white wine. Re-positioned the solar panels to get max watts. I think I will be able to finish the trip with sufficient battery power.

Panels Tilted To Maximize Watt Input

Ready to begin dinner.

1600-Finnished chicken tortilla soup, salad, and a beer.  No roll tonight because I was short one (a mistake!).

I will wash dishes tonight so I don't have to do that in the morning.

Beautiful Site

2000-Put down the solar panels after sunset. Moved the kayak offshore into the tow position to be ready to go in the morning at first light.

Sat around the fire ring until well after dark watching the beautiful moon rising.  A beautiful last night for this trip. I wished I could capture it and take it home with me until next season!

Will enjoy a little Baileys, the drop that is left, then hit the sack. Alarm set for 0400. 66F/60F. Solar 28%. House 11.8v.

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Voyageurs National Park 2023, Monday, 9/25

0610-61F/57F. Solar 15%, House 11.9v. Caught sixth mouse of the trip last night.

Improving Sky In Morning

0725-Morning Bible study time is done. Verse of the day: "Then the Lord said, 'Because this nation approaches [Me only] with their words And honors Me [only] with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me is a tradition that is learned by rote [without any regard for its meaning],'" (Isaiah 29:13 AMP)

Here is a satellite text from Pastor Mike in reference to the adverse weather (wind and rain) I've been experiencing: "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm." (Mark 4:39)  My prayer for today!

Sunshine On Boat Bodes Better Weather Today!

0810-Addional morning reading finished, time to make breakfast. I will lower the solar panels afterward to capture as many watts as possible. The sun is shining through the clouds this morning with areas of blue helping to brighten the day. There is hope for better weather. Many have prayed as indicated by Pastor Mike's reference and this is an answer to those prayers!

0850-It is a very encouraging morning. Finished breakfast then put down the panels. Will prepare to depart. Looking forward to some outside activity!

0900-Departed the boat site. More sun and more blue skies!

Beautiful Fall Color

Barren Rock Island - Resting Gulls

A lot of boating activity this late compared to my experience in fall of 2021 on Rainy Lake.

1120-Arrived at the new site K15 (Long Slough) on Lake Kabetogama indicated by the letter "K". I plan to do some kayaking and hiking here, if the wind dies down. It is clouding up again. Will try to catch some rays.  I need to tilt the panels. Leg 11 was 11.3 miles.

Long Slough Boat Site (K15)

Navigation Map - Leg 11

Park Map - Leg 11 (Two Maps Combined)

Huge Tree At Landing`

Kayak Pulled Up - Preparing For Kayak Trip Across Slough

1320-Pulled the kayak up on shore and sponged out all the rain water collected in the bottom, despite having been covered! If the winds drop I might use it today, otherwise the morning will likely be calmer for kayaking.

Park Map Leg 11 - Destination Detail

1330-Had a glass of wine. I need to go up top and rearrange the panels for best watts.

Panels Adjusted For Max Watt Input

1740-Cut and split firewood for tonight, if it doesn't rain, or maybe tomorrow if it does. Mostly cloudy now. Wind dropped but it is too close to dark to kayak and hike as planned. I will try again in the morning. 71F/66F. Solar 15%. Will have to use the backup a 4th time. House 12.1v.

Fire Ring - Slough Behind

Wood Cut, Split, & Drying Out - Kindling Standing By

Dinner was grilled chicken, potatoes, salad, roll, and wine.

Listening to my audio book "The Gray Ghost Murders". Will have some more red wine and maybe dessert later.

2040-Came back from a relaxing time by the fire. Almost a full moon rising. Heard a splash while listening to my audio book ashore. I silenced the audio to listen more closely in case it was a moose though beaver seemed more likely. Sure enough a second slap of a tail confirmed it. 

Beautiful night but the fire is going out so I will head to the boat, have a Baileys, and hit the sack. 66F/60F. Solar 10%. House 12.0v.  Hooked up the backup battery to bring the solar up to 45% but no go! It was drained and only reached  a boost to 36%. Had to scramble and shutdown the freezer to make it to the end of this trip!  I did not expect this problem.  (Later I determined the solar battery was failing and had an unusually high internal consumption which drew it down more rapidly than normal.)

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Voyageurs National Park 2023, Sunday, 9/24 (Layover Day 2)

0700-62F/59F. 14% solar. House 12.1v. Gray, cloudy, rainy, and windy. Not a good day to move. Looks like another layover day.

0900-Study and prayer time finished. Verse of the day: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  I need to practice this verse with my current weather situation and being stuck a second day!

I will read Yancy's book before I make breakfast.

1015-After breakfast I put dishes out to soak.

1050-Filmed a cabin walk through. Used the phone since the P2 was not picking up enough light. Should have changed the settings but just used my phone instead.

1200-Washed dishes and did my daily hygiene. Listening to music, but will switch to reading for a bit.

A side note:  Last night a houseboat approached about 11 pm while I was reading in bed when I happened to notice a flashing light.  They were using a spot light to see if someone was at the boat site. Fortunately they moved on. Why on earth they were out roaming around at that hour in wind and rain is anybody's guess.  I've certainly seen some unusual night time behavior in this Park!

1215-Just got back from tightening the lines which loosened in the wind and rain.

A Second Layover Day At This Site Due To Weather

1400-Solar is down to 3% so I had to plug in the backup battery again for the third time. Same problem I had last fall! Running out of power and still no sun in the forecast! Not sure how long I can draw on the backup battery?

Heat is on. 59F outside but 69F in the cabin. House battery is down to 12.0v. I'm listening to the new audio book "The Gray Ghost Murders" by Keith McCafferty.

1500-Brought the solar up to 45% which buys me another day.  Backup battery is getting low, supposedly at 45% but I don't think that's accurate.

1530-A glimpse of sun through the clouds caused me to go out and reposition the boat angle to maximize watts.

I walked up the hill to port and an adult bald eagle and her young were calling back and forth. I observed the young eagle without adult plumage but couldn't spot the adult. This is the second time on this trip I've observed this calling behavior, a loud trilling call between family members.

Retrieved two pieces of firewood left behind in case it dries out tomorrow. Perhaps I can have a fire at the next site.

Time for dinner but I'm not hungry yet. I will hold off for now. Pork Roast tonight.

1640-Had dinner.  Port roast with potatoes, salad, hot roll, and red wine. 73F/62F. Solar 43%. House 12.0v.

1740-Finsihed my paperback "Scorpion in the Sea". Quite good. Thawing strawberries for dessert.

1800-Ate the last of the ice cream with strawberries on top. I will likely have to shut down the freezer to finish the trip. Listening to the new audio book.

1850-Will climb into bed and listen to the audio book or maybe read my e-book. 67F/60F. Solar 37%. House 12.0v.

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