With 5 days at my disposal, I made plans with D.Denn to paddle Lake Lila. He was available for 3 nights so I would shorten my drive by spending the first night along the Raquette River near Jamestown falls. Just a drive up campsite but it would be my first time camping in the Raquette River Wild Forest. It was rainy the entire drive up as expected and really came down hard when I stopped for a late breakfast near Star Lake. When I arrived at the campsite the rain had stopped. It would come and go in little bits all afternoon and evening. Over night it poured. I slept well in the hammock.
An early wake-up with the sun allowed me to stop for breakfast on the way. I let Dan know I would probably be a bit early which would allow me to dry out the tarp. The road into Lila was long. I forgot how ong it was to get there. Forty-five minutes on a dirt road with a max speed of 15mph. There were a few cars at the put-in, the register showed most were leaving today or tomorrow. I unrolled my tarp and laeyd it out to dry. I carried canoe, paddles and fishing gear the 0.3 miles down to the beach. By the time I returned, the tarp was mostly dry, so I packed it up. While I was readying the last of my gear Dan arrived.
He brought his canoe down to the water and I the rest of my gear. The lake was choppy and the sky dark to the south and west. While Dan was making his second trip, the sky opened up. I stood under a tree which blocked most of the rain. It was short lived. The lake was still choppy as we set out. We first planned on site #3 in a protected cove since #4 was occupied and the lake was choppier towards the west. Even some whitecaps. I fished a little in the cove and appropriated some firewood from the resident beaver lodge. The occupants of #4 departed so we moved in. They left a lot of trash. At least the stiff breeze would keep the skeeters away.
With camp set up and a small smoky fore for when the breeze let up we settled into camp. Since both of us were up early we knew it would be an early bedtime. Another rain storm over night but I slept soundly.
In the morning the skeeters were relentless. With a the fire going we were able to smoke most away, but any distance from the fire was miserable. The lake was rather calm so we ventured out for some exploring and fishing. Dan took towards rhe islands and I the Northern shore. No luck fishing. I found the lean-to un-occupied. Even after this trip I still have to spend the night in this one. A good reason to return to the lake. The shoreline where Chris and I had made landfall to hike Frederica mountain years ago was not as obvious as it was more than a dozen years ago. The sound of trucks and thr glint of the sun reflecting off the chrome gave a way just how close the dirt road contniued around the lake to the private land.
As it neared lunch time I paddled towards the islands figuring on the leeward side for my paddle back to camp. As I passed near Spruce Island I ran into Dan who had made an executive decision to move camp to site #20. This would be closer to Shingle Shanty Brook and was protected by the island. However the site was on a peninsula which allowed the wind to pass through it. A beautiful spot in a pine forest. I headed back to #4 to pack up my gear and moved in to #20. The afternoon winds picked up which kept the bugs away.
Near camp was a small cliff overlooking the lake to the west. This would be a good vantage point for the sunset. There were two landing spots, one on each side of the peninsula. The campsite is one of the best on the lake. It was early enough in the season that getting firewood was not too difficult. As a late lunch, I tested out a recipe for Chef Corso; "Bagel and Lox Dip". Was definitely a winner, although probably more of an appetizer than a full meal.
The recipe has been posted to Outdoor Eats: https://outdooreats.com/recipe/bagel-lox-smoked-salmon-dip/
With the winds picking up, we stayed in camp relaxing in the chairs with some beverages. It is possible I even took a small nap while sitting there. After dinner we moved the chairs up to the cliff to watch the sunset. Moments after the sun dropped below the horizon, the skeeters arrived. We quickly moved back to the smoky confines of the campfire. Surprised I was able to stay awake as long as I did.
The nights sleep was glorious. Only awoke once in the middle. Cloudy so no stars which also meant the comet P13 "something" would not be visible to the North. Unfortunately every night was clouded over, so we never did get to see it. In the morning I tried to stay vey quiet. I did not realize Dan was already up. He had coffee down by the beach. After breakfast we set out on the lake again. The water was like glass. The lake was quiet in the morning. The silence only interupted by the sound of the paddle cutting through the water.
The morning paddle was serene. No luck fishing except for a small one near the Harrington Brook inlet. I spotted the portage trail to the left of the rapids. Another truck came down the orad and stopped momentarily at the bridge. I paddled into a shallow cove with a beach. I considered a swim, but the water was so shallow I would have needed to lie down just to get submerged.Instead I took a short break on the beach. Continuing on around themost westerly island, Dan had come from the other side. We chatted a bit before we both took our separate ways back to camp for lunch.
Later that day, we paddled down the peninsula towards Shingle Shanty. A beaver dam blocked further progress unless we wanted to exit the canoes to get around it. We opted instead to check out the rest of the cove. A loon was in the area. We had heard her earlier in the trip. She popped up not far from my canoe but dove again soon before I could ready my camera. The eastern shore of the lake was not deep but rather rocky. I sharp eye was needed to not bottom out. The bass like these structures. We caught numerous small rock bass in the shallows, and few decent sized smallmouth. I had a really nice one about 11-12 inches. It was nice to finally feel the tug on the line.
Dan's water had run out so he was heading back to camp, so I joined him. It was getting close to dinner anyway. We counted out our remaining beer ration. We had a spare 4-pack at the car for an emergency if needed. We pulled out the maps to try to plan our trip for next year. Made dinner and relaxed by the fire. Stayed up as long as I could for the last night. Again I slept great.
Coffee in the the morning but no breakfast. We did not need to leave early, but we did. A quiet, slow paddle back to the put-in. Talked to a guide from Raquette Outfitters whio was waiting on his clients. We talked a bit about lean2rescue and some of the Rangers/Foresters we both knew. The the long drive back on the dirt road.
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