We had a day off on Gail Lake. Originally I’d intended to do some ridge running and climb one of the nearby peaks, but we were both pretty exhausted after the last three days so we just lazed about at the campsite and other than a short walk and some camp chores we took it easy.
I’d had a hard time sleeping that night before. Initially I’d attributed my sore shoulders to a poor hammock hang, but a few days later I realized it was just the wear and tear of the portages. Once they toughened up I didn’t have any more discomfort at night. While I tossed and turned I could see lightning flashes illuminating the horizon in all directions, but there was no thunder. When I crawled out of my hammock in the morning the sky was an ominous grey and I could hear distant rumbling.
I retrieved the food bag and started some morning chores, but something told me that it might be a good idea to set up the tarp. I was just tightening some of the guy lines when I felt the first few spits of rain. The thunder got really loud and woke Xander. He joined me under the tarp as a huge storm drifted across the tiny lake and swept overhead. We could see the wall of rain slamming into the water before it reached us and then there was a roar as the tarp took the force of the water. We stayed dry under the tarp as we watched the storm roll past. Soon the rain stopped, and the thunder was no longer overhead, but we could hear it in the distance. Within an hour the sky was blue and it was another beautiful Killarney day.
Because it had been an easy day it was tough to eat our food ration, but the bag was getting noticeably lighter, which was a relief since we were nearing the toughest portages of the trip.