It is a sunny Sunday - a perfect day for everyone who has not seen their kayak in the last year to put it in the water. The big water will be overrun with the Mai Tai navy. S wants to go canoeing and I have to get slightly creative - shade would be nice, but better would be a river with no motorboats.
We put in on the Lieutenant River, at the usual spot with no issues other than Mr. Doofus who, most likely being a rookie, hasn't figured out that he shouldn't block the access with his car. He asks me if I need help, as I carry the canoe from the far end of the parking area (I don't), and slip past his car, and set the canoe down in the water next to his rear bumper. "He will learn our ways," unless he drowns first.
We head up river, and the pleasant aspects of this route return from my memory. The boundaries are a little bit of cliffs and a lot of cattails. We pass a couple kayakers on the way up, but considering the weather, I would expect more people.
The tide is up and Boulder Swamp is easy with all except the largest boulders submerged. It takes me a few minutes, but I finally locate the Eagle nest. It is quiet and hard to see when the trees are leafed out. The parental units are definitely not up there, but I can't see well enough to determine if any young are at home. We continue up the ever narrowing river.
S asks, "How far are we going?"
"To the blocking log jam."
This is only two or three hundred yards of narrow forested river. A couple miles of this would be nice.
We return to the Boulder Swamp and take the other fork that enters. Some maps call it the Lieutenant River, but I think they are in error. The narrow section we were in is the actual river, running down from Rogers Lake. Anyway, it is a meander through the cattails until it peters out.
We have a headwind on the return, but with the warm day the cooling breeze is well worth the extra effort. We have successfully dodged the barbarian horde, again.
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