Chapter 2

Monday, August 14th

The sun was already up when I woke up. Will's sleeping bag was empty. I opened the tent flap and pulled my bag of clothes inside. I dressed in my swim suit and t-shirt. I crawled out of the tent and headed for the woods. Justin was sitting on a log at the fire pit. I stopped when I reached the fire pit. "Sorry about listening to you and Sherry last night. We really couldn't help it."

"Well, I guess none of us will have much privacy on a trip like this. I'm not mad, dude." Justin answered.

I headed into the woods to take a piss. When I got back, Justin was rousting the crew for breakfast. Amy and I were cooks for breakfast. We made the pancakes, served them and cleaned the dishes while the rest of the crew tore down camp. I quickly packed my sleeping bag and personal gear in the pack I shared with Amy.

I sorted the bags of food into four piles and split the crew gear between the four piles of food. "Everyone, take one pile of food for your second Duluth Pack." I commanded.

"Everyone, let's get these packs loaded in the canoes. We have a long walk ahead of us today. Jon, you are the navigator today. Here is the map." Justin yelled.

Amy climbed in our canoe and I pushed the bow out into the lake. I hopped in when the water reached my knees. The rest of the group followed behind us.

We rounded the tip of our peninsula and turned northeast. I could see the yellow portage sign a couple hundred yards in front of us at the end of the lake. Navigating certainly wasn't going to be hard today.

Two minutes later we beached our canoes at the start of the portage. I jumped out of the canoe and steadied the canoe while Amy climbed out. I grabbed one pack and carried it out to the beach. Amy tried to lift the second one, but couldn't lift it over the gunwale of the canoe. "Amy, let me help you." I picked it up and rested it on my knee. It was a lot heavier than our other pack, the one that had our sleeping bags and personal gear. Amy slipped the shoulder straps on. She stood up a little unsteadily. I helped her snap the waist strap. "Are you going to be OK?" I asked.

"I guess so. This is way heavier than I expected." She answered.

Justin yelled, "Girls walk for twelve minutes and drop your packs. Come back for the second pack and carry it to the end of the portage. Take your time, this isn't a race."

Barb led the way with Sherry, Katie and Amy following up the path. Amy kind of struggled as she climbed the hill.

I walked back to my canoe, stretched my right arm across to the far gunwale, grabbed the near side with my left hand and lifted. I sort of lifted up and slid my body under the canoe at the same time while I flipped it upside down. I found myself under the canoe with the weight resting on the thwart setting on my shoulders. These 47 pound ABS canoes were much easier to carry than the old 90 pound aluminum Grumman we practiced with at the scout camp in the spring. Will, Joe and Justin were ready too. I led the way up the portage trail. This wasn't too bad, so far.

Then the mosquitoes attacked. It took both hands to steady the canoe. The mosquitoes had no mercy. They attacked my arms, legs, neck. One even landed on my nose. I tried to blow him away.

Within a few minutes, we passed Amy. She looked tired already. I said, "I'll see you soon. I'll come back and help when I get done with the canoe and my turn with that pack."

Amy tried to smile. "Thanks, Jon."

Twenty two minutes later we came down the hill to the shore of Proulx Lake. I walked into the water and flopped my canoe down. The other guys did the same. Joe directed, "Let go guys. The packs will be waiting for us back by the small pond at the middle of the portage.

It only took a few minutes to get back to the small pond. This was a lot easier without a pack or canoe. When we got there we found three packs waiting for us. I checked. My pack wasn't anywhere around. The girls weren't there either.

"Hey, guys. I'm going to go back and find Amy and our pack. I'll see you at the canoes in a while."

I walked for another five minutes towards Opeongo Lake. I finally found Amy sitting on a log looking despondent. "Hey, the cavalry is here." I announced.

"Thank God. I don't know if I can do this. I never worked so hard in my life!" Amy whimpered.

"This is the only portage we have for the next two days. This pack will be a lot lighter after we eat two days worth of food. The other pack is much lighter than this one. You can do this." I picked up the pack and strapped it on. Amy handed me the canoe paddles and life jackets. I headed for Proulx Lake while Amy walked back to the start of the portage. Climbing the hill to the small pond started to wear me down. I was happy when the trail started to slope down to Proulx Lake. When I reached the lake, I dropped the beastly pack in the bottom of my canoe.

I rested a few minutes. Barb, Sherry and Katie arrived with their packs. "Where is Amy?" I ask.

"She's back the trail behind us." Sherry replied.

"I'm going to go back to help her." I announced.

I walked for five minutes before I find Amy. She is stooped over and shuffling her feet along as she moved down the trail. "Let me carry that for you."

"Oh, Jon. Thank God." Amy said. "I don't know how I'll ever make it through this trip. If every day is like this, I want to go home."

"No, most days won't be this hard. Remember, last night Joe warned us about today. We'll get to camp. We can relax. Have a swim. Do anything you want. You can do this!" I said, trying to encourage Amy.

We walked quietly to Proulx Lake and the rest of our group.

I swung our canoe away from the shore and started east into the lake. Amy and I led the way for our crew. I saw about a mile ahead where the lake split into two parts. We wanted to stay to the left, go around the bend and find a campsite. This would put us closer to our destination for tomorrow, Big Crow Lake.

I took about 45 minutes to reach the area where the Crow River left the north end of Proulx Lake. The sky was a bright crystal blue. The wind was calm. Today was exactly the kind of day I pictured in my mind when I signed up to go on this trip. As we approached the lower end of the lake, Justin and Sherry pulled ahead of us.

"Let's see if the campsite on point just ahead is available." Justin announced.

Five minutes later we pulled into the campsite. No one was there. Justin started giving directions to the crew "Jon & Amy, look for the latrine. Will and Katie, check for an area for the tents. Sherry and I will check out the other side of the campsite. Meet back here in five minutes."

As Amy and I walked through the campsite, I saw that the fire pit wasn't as nice as our last campsite, but it certainly would do. The seats were small logs. They were so small that it was going to be like sitting on the ground. Amy led as we followed a trail out of the campsite into the woods. About 50 yards away we found the latrine box. We returned to the canoes.

"What did you find?" Justin asked.

"The campsite is kind of small compared to yesterday. I think we can fit our four tents in, but they will be really close together." Katie said. Will smiled when Katie said that.

"The latrine is up the hill. It's just like yesterdays. A box with a lid." I offered.

"This campsite is probably the best we'll find. It is on a point where we should get more wind. That will help keep the mosquitoes away. The other campsites at this end of the lake sit back in the woods and won't get much wind. Let's stay here." Justin asked.

"Yeah" "Sounds good" "OK" the rest of us replied.

Justin directed setting up the campsite. We got the dining fly and tents up much faster today than yesterday. Will hung back and waited until Justin and Sherry started to put up their tent to pick a spot four our tent. Naturally he chose a spot between Joe and Barb and near Justin and Sherry.

"You voyeur" I whispered, when I realized what he had in mind.

"So what." Will answered with a sly grin on his face.

When we were settled into the campsite, Justin gave more orders, "Will and Katie, fill the water bags. Jon, you and Amy put up the bear rope. Sherry and I will gather fire wood for dinner tonight."

Amy and I started into the woods and up the hill by our campsite. This was going to take a lot longer than yesterday. All of the trees were either small birches or pines. None of them had branches thick enough to hold our three 50 pound packs.

Amy seemed kind of down cast. I tried to cheer her up, "Wasn't the lake beautiful today?"

"I guess"

"The weather is perfect. Clear skies, the temperature feels like it is around 75 degrees. No wind. We couldn't have any better conditions."

"Yeah."

"Amy, what's wrong?"

"I had no idea that this would be so hard. Those Duluth packs feel like they weigh more than I do."

"They probably weigh around 50 or 60 pounds each. That's heavy, but not impossible." I offer.

"I was afraid if I fell over on my back, I would be like an upside down turtle and not be able to get up again." Amy whined.

"I'll help you through this." I said as I tried to comfort Amy.

"It's too hard. I can't do this." Amy started to cry.

I wrapped my arms over her shoulder and squeezed her close to my side. "Amy, today was supposed to be one of the hardest days. We'll make it through."

"I ... I ... don't ... know ... if I ... can ... do ... this." Amy sobbed. I turned to face her and gave her a hug.

"Amy, have I ever let you down in the eight years we have been friends?"

"No"

"I will help you through this." I said as I pulled her closer to me. I kissed her cheek as I held her close. I could feel her breasts pressing against my body. My cock started to twitch.

"Jon, thanks for being here." Amy said, starting to regain her composure.

"That's what friends are for." I answered as I stared into her green eyes. I leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. Amy wrapped her arms around me and started to rub my back. I kissed her again, a littler longer. The third time, I parted my lips and slid my tongue along Amy's lips. They parted! My tongue explored further into her mouth until it found her tongue. Our tongues wrestled together. My cock went fully rigid. It pressed into Amy's side. We held each other and kissed for minutes. Time no longer had any meaning.

Finally we had to stop to breathe. "Amy, are you OK with what we just did?"

"Yes Jon. I don't think I can consider you to 'just' be a friend anymore. I want more than that from you."

I give her one more kiss and then said, "I think we better find a spot for the bear rope soon. The rest of the group is going to wonder where we went. We found an old tree with a nice strong branch about 25 feet above the ground further up the hill. I threw the rope over and secured it until the night.

When Amy and I returned to camp, everything was set up. The fire was going, wood was stacked nearby, water bags were hanging from the tree in middle of the campsite. Joe had set up the backpacking stove on a rock near the fire. He had a cloth cover that looked like it was covered with metal foil.

I asked him, "What is that?"

"It's a Backpacker Oven. I won't say more, the rest is a surprise." Joe answered.

Justin was sitting on a log playing with his fishing rod. He looked up when he heard us come back to camp. "Hey, Jon, Want to go fishing with me? I need a buddy."

"Sure, why not." I followed Justin towards the canoes. I grabbed PFDs and paddles on the way to beach. Justin and I climbed in the canoe, shoved off the beach and paddled out into the lake.

"Let's go up to the northern end of the lake by the marsh." Justin suggested.

"OK, point the way." I answered. We headed north towards the end of the lake. When the water started to get shallow we coasted to a stop. Justin cast his line out.

"Justin, I have something to tell you. We have to keep an eye out for Amy. Today was rougher for her than she expected. She started crying when we were out looking for a place to hang the bear bags. I held her to try and comfort her. I think we may have gone too far. I hugged her when she stopped crying and then we started kissing. Amy has been my closest friend, beside you, for the past eight years. I don't want to risk losing her friendship. But she is beautiful, smart, and funny. I think I need more from her than friendship. What should I do?"

Justin answered, "You really like her, right?"

"Yes," I answer.

"Treat her decently, you can keep her friendship and have her as a girlfriend too. I know how much you care for her. I think you should take it one step at a time and see where things go."

I sat thinking about this for a few minutes.

"Justin, you never finished your story of your first time when Joe interrupted the night at the outfitters. Can you finish the story?" I inquired.

"I guess. Where was I when I stopped?"

"You and Sherry had just gone to Sam's little brother's bedroom and locked the door. You were naked and lying on top of Sherry." I answered.

"Oh, yeah. Well I lay between her legs, slid up and kissed Sherry's tits. I rubbed my cock up and down along the crease of her cunt lips. Sherry's cunt was super wet. She begged me, 'Put it in me, please. Put it in!' As you may have noticed, Sherry can get quite loud when we have sex."

"I may have heard that," I said, smirking.

"I took my cock in my hand and rubbed the tip up and down her cunt lips a couple times. Then I pushed it forward into her pussy. I went slow so it didn't hurt too much. It took a couple minutes to get my cock all the way in. It's hard to describe the feeling. It feels great when you jerk off right?"

"Well, duh!" I answered.

"Fucking is a million times better. I asked Sherry if she was ready. She said, 'Go to it.' I started to stroke in and out. The feeling was so intense. I didn't last very long. My orgasm when I was inside Sherry was the most intense of my life. My cock wilted quickly after I came. I asked Sherry how it was. She said, 'OK I guess.' Well, Joe had me well prepared. I leaned down and started to lick her pussy. Joe said you have to make sure your girl has a good time too when you have sex. The best way to get a girl off is to lick and rub her clit. It absolutely drives them crazy. I wasn't sure where it was but I kept licking and rubbing around until I felt a little bump near the top of her pussy lips. I rubbed and licked until she started to scream and squirm around. I asked her again, how she was. She purred, 'That was wonderful, Justin.' I always try to give Sherry an orgasm when we make love."