Carter took Pat and I out for pike. Weather was great with little wind and cooler, drier air. I brought in one decent pike and had a few other hits, but fishing was a bit slow.
Back in camp we had shore lunch for lunch. It was exceedingly good, even if the amount of food was more appropriate for about 30 people. Since it takes a bit of extra time for that, the guides made the decision to push back bears a bit; this allowed me to get a real nap in which was absolutely splendid. By the time we left for bears, I felt like a million bucks.
Chris took Pat and I up in a boat overfilled with bags of bait popcorn. I was dropped off at the Holiday Rapids stand. I was sure I had sat at the stand previously, but I can't find when that might have been. The stand was comfortable with my cushion and tucked back into the trees, which I like.
The mosquitoes were absolutely arrogant. I was glad I had my Thermacell; I don't remember the last time I used it, so I was equally glad that it still worked. It only took a few seconds before the annoying buzzing was gone. I've already gotten a lot of bites on my hands, so I do not need anymore.
The weather was almost perfect with pleasent temperatures for sitting and a mix of sun and cloud. The little wind there was calmed down to almost nothing early in the afternoon. It was one of the quietest and most serene afternoons of hunting I can recall. With no wind and in an area where there were probably less than five people within five miles of me, it was almost too quiet. Every movement felt like it was making as much noise as a firecracker.
It was also quiet on the bear front. It was mildly amusing watching an industrious squirrel spend most of the afternoon, taking popcorn pieces one-by-one to its midden and other hiding places behind me.
I went in to the afternoon nearly sure this was going to be the afternoon with a bear on the ground for me, but there was little movement.
One bear did come in late. It came out by the roll barrel and flopped down next to it to eat. In my zeal to get a bear on such an amazing afternoon, I tried to make the bear bigger, but I also had to heed the principle: Never shoot a bear lying down. I lost light before there was any chance to get a good clear look at it.
I was glad I paid attention, on looking at the pictures after, while it looks smaller than it is lying on the ground eating, I can't see how I didn't see it as anything but a very small bear.
After dark, some combination of me moving (it was still very calm), the boat coming in and another bear the in area scared away the small bear. I positive I saw another black blob in the bait for a few minutes before I heard the boat actually beach, but by that point it was just too dark to be sure of anything.
The boat ride home was as pleasant as it was going on ... at least with respect to temperature. I was feeling a bit bummed that Day 3 of hunting wasn't the day.
Back in camp Allie had taken a really nice bear. Carla had shot a bear, but in the dark it wasn't found immediately, and Carter said they would look for it the following morning.
Dinner was ribs and wild rice; the ribs were quite good, but after oral surgery a few months ago, I'm still paranoid so they were hard to eat. I made it work, even if it was a bit messy.
As dinner wound down, I felt myself mentally sinking. I had such high hopes going into the afternoon, that the inevitable crash when reality triumphs over anticipation is brutal. I was glad I had my own cabin to go to and let what little remained of the day quietly fragment into sleep.
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