After a short rest, Laurie and I paddled across Big Crow Lake towards the cabin, which has the fire tower behind it, way up on the ridge.

Heading across Big Crow Lake, towards the cabin and fire tower ...
can barely see the tower on top of the ridge

The cabin was vacant for Friday night. The cabin was locked up. A built up fire pit area and nice log bench with a backrest on the south shore. The shoreline here is all rocks, which make it hard to land the canoe.

The fire tower cabin

We headed up the trail to the fire tower. The trail is well worn and easy to follow. Some trees to climb over that fell over the path. Having long legs sure came in handy! I stopped a few times to watch Laurie maneuver over the obstacles that didn’t cause me a problem. The climb was steep all the way up, about 450 feet or 138 meters from the water. This trail will get the ticker working!

Yours truly on the trail to the fire tower

All the trees darkened the trail and in about 20 minutes we reached the base area of the tower. Sunny skies now, as we approach the tower. We walked around the base and took some pictures.

On approach of the tower

I noticed some moose prints right beside the tower. The bottom 12-foot section of the ladder lies on the ground. I looked at ways of climbing the tower. You would have to shimmy up the cross supports to reach the ladder. After thinking of it, I decided to keep my feet on the ground. I think Laurie was happy I decided not to.

The missing bottom section did not stop Dave!

I tried to take some pictures towards our campsite north, but too many trees block the view. Walking around and following paths, I found a path that leads west and opens right up on a rock cliff. "Holy cow, what a view!" Breathe taking. The hard climb was worth every step. I tried to find Hogan, where Markus and Joan would be coming from tomorrow. Only rolling hills can be seen from this height. Looking down below, the canoes in the water looked so small.

Looking north-west towards Hogan ... Salvelinus way below

One canoe came from the narrows and was making its way towards our camp. I knew Salvelinus was joining us today at some point. This canoe was green and only one person in it. I could see he was looking up and I waved. He waved his paddle. As it turns out, I was correct. It was Sal.

Sal looks like a stick in the water!

Another breathtaking view

Laurie and I enjoying the view. The clouds are history!

Half hour later we headed back down. We rounded the corner and our camp was in sight. We could see some guys along the beach and one guy in the water swimming. The guy in the water was Sal. We landed and I introduced Laurie and myself. He mentioned he saw us up on the cliffs. He just came from Redrock and had to double portage.

Not before long I made a fire and got supper started. We brought steaks and potatoes, it’s a tradition. I cut up the potatoes and put them in tinfoil with butter and cook them on the fire. (I pack out the tinfoil) At least 10 grills were left, leaning against a tree. We all made note of how many were left. It was funny. Sometimes you can’t find any and other times you have a selection like we had.

Supper time on Big Crow

Our first sunset on Big Crow .. so sweet!

The sun was setting about 7:20 pm now. Many were cooking on the fire and the grill was full with meat. I was starved. We finally got to eat by 8:30 pm. By 9 we were all sitting around the fire enjoying everyone’s stories. Stainless was standing by the waters edge looking up at the stars. I joined him and asked a few questions about the constellations. I was amazed of his knowledge of the skies. He also made note of the owls calling back and forth. By 10pm I turned in. I could not keep my eyes open any longer. Laurie and I were up at midnight, which made it a very long day. It was cool out now, about 50f (10c). The rest of the gang turned in an hour after us.

End of Part 2 - Mike and Laurie Burns