Chapter 2

Monday, August 18th

I woke up to the sound of Joe's alarm going off. I could hear raining beating down on the roof of our cabin. Great just what we need. Rain! Joe woke up Rob and Alex. I grabbed my shower stuff and headed to the bathroom. Joe was right behind me.

It wasn't raining hard, just a drizzle. Abby and Cindy came out of there cabin just as Joe and I left ours. Joe greeted them with a smile and said, "Good morning girls."

I hugged Abby and tried to kiss her. She squirmed away. "Morning breath Will."

"Sorry." I said. Joe and I showered and cleaned up. Rob and Alex passed us on our way back to our tent. Joe and I packed our stuff and carried our bags out to the van. Abby and Cindy passed us. I gave Abby a big hug and a good morning kiss. Abby welcomed my advances this time.

About fifteen minutes later, Mr. Ritter had Gary and I gather our crews together for breakfast. We had a cold breakfast of cereal, orange juice and Danish. When breakfast was cleaned up, everyone loaded up in the two vans. We were off for our adventure!

The drive from the outfitters to the Opeongo Store would take an hour. Part way there, after we crested a hill, we saw a group of six cars pulled over on the side of the highway. The passengers were all standing along the edge of the road. When we got closer we could see a bull moose standing about 10 yards off the road at the edge of the woods. He was grazing. Mr. Ritter and Joe pulled off the highway so we could join the crowd of gawkers.

I warned the group to be quiet as we got out of the van. We watched the massive, beautiful creature for about five minutes. He mostly ignored us, unless someone tried to get closer to him. Then he would snort and walk further away. He stripped the low leaves off the trees branch by branch. Casually, like this crowd was an everyday occurrence. I guess this was for him. For the rest of us, this was a once or twice in a lifetime occurrence. We watched until the moose walked back into the woods out of sight.

When we climbed back into the vans, the books, headphones and game boys stayed away. Everyone stared out the windows at this beautiful wilderness. I think the rest of the group was beginning to understand the kinds sights we were going to enjoy this trip.

The rain started to pour down again just after we turned off the highway and started back the gravel road that led to Opeongo Store. Fifteen minutes on the gravel road brought us to the store and ranger's building. Mr. Ritter and Joe parked the vans in the front parking lot right by Lake Opeongo. They gathered up the paperwork for the permits and went to the ranger's office. Fortunately the rain stopped before we got out of the vans.

Gary and I gathered our crews in the parking lot. I took charge, announcing "Everyone, get the Duluth packs, paddles, PFDs, and anything else you are taking in the wilderness. Stack the gear along the back side of the dock. We'll load the canoes as soon as we get them. When the gear is on the dock, come with Gary and I to the store. They will issue us our canoes for the trip."

Five minutes of bustle got all the packs and other equipment unloaded. The two crews followed me to the back of the store. One of the staffers at the store took us out the boat yard behind the store. Gary's crew got three 17 1/2 foot canoes. My crew got four 16 foot canoes. I hefted my canoe up on my knees, stretched my arm across to the opposite gunwale and lifted the canoe and flipped it over onto my shoulders. I cried out, "Let's go guys. Get these canoes to the dock!"

Rob, Alex, Gary, Zack, Tony and Ron followed me with the other canoes. We set them down on the edge of dock. Everyone hung out until Mr. Ritter and Joe came back with our permits.

Mr. Ritter called everyone to gather around. "Listen up everyone. You are going to spend the next eight days in complete wilderness. This is going to be the experience of a lifetime. You are going to face physical and mental challenges harder than you have ever seen. Teamwork and the help of your friends will get all of you through the trip. Watch your surroundings. You never know when we will have another experience like we did with the bull moose earlier this morning." Mr. Ritter paused and looked at me. "Will, get your crew loaded up and get started. Gary's crew will follow you north."

I called out, "Crew 2, get the canoes in the water and loaded. Let's get out of here!" My crew went into action. I pulled Rob aside. "Are you ready? You're navigating today."

"I got it covered Will. I studied the map last night. We go around that point over there." Rob said pointing to the tree covered tip of land to the west of us. "Then we go north to the northern end of this lake. Right?"

"You got it buddy. Take us there." We put the packs in our canoes and climbed aboard. When everyone was aboard the canoes I said, "Rob, Cindy, lead the way."

Rob and Cindy pulled away from the dock. Abby and I followed with Alex and Terri behind us. Joe and Barb took up the rear. I watched the others looking around as we paddled north, trying to get used to this wilderness. I looked back. Gary's crew was a few hundred yards behind us. We paddled for twenty minutes when the rain started again. Our group paused for a minute to get our rain coats or ponchos out.

As we approached Windy Point about an hour after we left Opeongo Store. I warned, "Watch out when we pass this point. This is called Windy Point. Last time the wind nearly blew us over when we got here. Be ready."

We passed the point. The rain fell, but there wasn't even a puff of wind. The only motion on the water surface was the ripples caused by the rain drops. We paddled north across the bay towards the north arm of Opeongo Lake. I checked my watch. It was almost noon. I told Rob to head for the nearest island. We pulled the canoes onto the rocks along side the island.

I said, "Rob, get the lunches out for everyone. We're taking a half hour break here." The rain backed off a little, slowing to a drizzle. Gary's crew pulled in beside us a few minutes after we arrived. We ate our sandwiches and talked about the sights so far. The two crews enjoyed the last few minutes that we were going to have together until the end of the trip.

When lunch was done, we climbed back aboard our canoes and paddled north. When the two crews reached the last island at the entrance to the North Arm of Opeongo Lake, my crew headed to the northwest while Gary's crew veered off and went northeast. We waved to each other as we parted.

Gary's crew was following the same route my crew had taken two years ago. Proulx Lake, Big Crow Lake, a lay over on Lake Lavielle, Dickson Lake and back to the East Arm of Opeongo Lake. We wouldn't see them until we were back at Opeongo Store eight days from now.

It took our crew about an hour and half to cross to the far end of the North Arm of Opeongo Lake. The rain came and went as we paddled. The skies were gray as far as we could see. No let up looked likely today. I saw a campsite on a point about a 1/3 of a mile from the portage we would take tomorrow.

I said, "Rob, head for the orange sign. That sign marks a campsite. Let's check out it and see if we want to stay there." Rob and Cindy paddled to the campsite, followed by the rest of our crew. Everyone beached their canoe on the south side of the peninsula. I steadied the canoe for Abby when she stepped out.

"Everybody. Gather around the fire ring. I want to go over what we want when we choose a campsite." I directed. When the crew was circled around the ring I said, "We need to find the latrine box, check for good spots for four tents and to make sure that we won't have any streams flowing through the site from all this rain. Alex, you and Terri follow that trail. I bet it will lead to the latrine. Rob, you and Cindy check over there for tent spots. Abby and I will look over here. Meet back here in five minutes. Any questions?"

No one answered. "Let's go. I want to make a decision and get camp up before the next rainstorm."

Abby and I explored our assigned section of the campsite. We saw a nice big cleared area that would be a good place to set up our tents. We returned to the fire circle. Rob and Cindy were already there. Alex and Terri came back about a minute after us. We talked about what we found. We decided this campsite looked like a good place to stay for the night.

"Get the canoes unloaded. Unpack all the gear that belongs to the crew and put it over here." I said as I pointed to a small clearing near the fire circle.

I grabbed one of the packs from my canoe while Abby dragged the other pack up to the fire circle. We unloaded our share of crew gear. I said, "We need to set up the dining fly immediately. It will be our emergency shelter until we have our tents set up." The crew had the fly erected in a few minutes. Our training back in June at the local scout camp was paying off.

"Let's get our tents up now." Abby grabbed our tent. We went to the large clearing that we find when we explored the campsite. Rob and Cindy followed us. We picked two fairly flat spots. We unrolled the tents and started to work. The tents were from Eureka. They were similar to the tents we used back home, so it wasn't too hard to figure out how to set them up. We were nearly done when Alex and Terri came over.

Alex asked, "Is there room for us here too? Mr. & Mrs. Baer are setting up about 50 feet over there. There isn't enough room for two tents."

I answered, "Sure, there is plenty of room. One other thing Alex, they prefer Joe and Barb instead of Mr. & Mrs. Baer."

"Oh, OK."

Abby and I finished our tent and moved our sleeping bags and Therm-O-Rest mattresses into our tent. Rob and Cindy finished about 30 seconds after us. I looked over at Alex and Terri. They were almost done with their tent too. We had the three tents set up in a triangle with about 8-10 feet between tents.

I announced, "Everyone meet at the fire circle." when I saw Alex and Terri finish with their tent.

I pulled a zip lock bag with my important papers out of my pocket. I pulled one sheet out. It was the duty roster I had made up during some free time last week at scout camp. I wanted to make sure everyone did an equal share of work during the trip. "Alex and Terri, you are going to put up the bear rope tonight. Rob and Cindy, you are doing fire wood tonight. Abby and I are cooking and cleaning up tonight. Let's get to work."

Alex and Terri picked up the bear rope from under the dining fly and headed into the woods. I asked, "Rob, before you go for firewood, can you show me where dinner is packed?"

"Sure thing." he answered. Rob piled our dinner on a log by the campfire.

"Remember, if you find any rotted pine logs, get the knots. They burn great, even when they are wet." I said. He and Cindy disappeared into the woods. Abby and I gathered some sticks to use to start the fire. We carved off the bark and wet outer strips of wood to reach the dry center of the stick.

Abby and I had produced a large pile of dry wood shavings and thin strips of dry wood when Rob and Cindy returned ten minutes later. They had two large arm loads of wood and three pine knots.

Abby and Cindy broke the sticks down to appropriate size while Rob and I assembled the fire criss cross style. The pine knots were placed right above the wood shavings. Hopefully the knots burned long enough to dry the rest of the wood before our fire went out. Rob lit the wood shavings, which flared up and burned quickly. The pine knots lit, but burned slowly. The fire smoked and fizzled from all the wet wood on it. Rob blew gently on the base of the fire, trying to coax it to life.

After five minutes of coaxing and blowing the fire finally caught properly. The flames crackled and sparked as the damp wood burned. Abby and I started preparing dinner. I happened to look up towards the lake. A dark cloud was sitting on the horizon. A wall of rain was falling about a quarter of a mile to our northwest. It was coming our direction.

I yelled, "Get ready everyone! A storm is coming." We flew around the campsite dumping things under the dining fly or into the tents for cover. About ninety seconds later, the rain hit. It poured buckets. Rob and Cindy found shelter in their tent. The rest of us huddled under the dining fly trying to stay dry. The rain splashed mud over everything. The rain killed the fire. It didn't even smolder.

The deluge continued for about ten minutes. The rain slowly tapered off to a drizzle. Joe said, "Let's break out the backpacking stoves. We'll never get another fire going after that." Rob and Cindy came back out of their tent. Rob retrieved the backpacking stoves. Joe and I got them fueled and lit.

Abby fried up our steaks in the frying pan while I boiled water to cook the potatoes. About a half hour later we said grace and served our dinner. This was the last fresh food we would have for dinner until the trip ended eight days later. We enjoyed it greatly. When dinner was done, Abby and I washed the dishes while Rob, Cindy, Alex and Terri got the bear bags ready.

When the dishes were done, the whole crew carried three, very overweight Duluth packs full of food, soap, toothpaste and other pleasant smelling things into the woods where Alex and Terri had hung the ropes for the bear bags. It took all eight of us to hoist two of the packs. We used a second rope to hoist the third pack. When we were finished, the three packs were suspended over 15 feet above the floor of the woods and at least fifteen feet from any tree trunk. We shouldn't have any problems with the bears.

Everyone went back to camp. Joe and I checked to make sure all our gear was secured before we went to bed. Abby was already in our tent when I climbed in. Abby had arranged our two sleeping pads together to make one large bed for us to share. Abby pulled back the sleeping bag she was using as a blanket to reveal her nakedness. She greeted me with a huge grin. I stripped down and lay down beside her. We kissed and cuddled, our passion slowly rising. My tongue probed into Abby's mouth, rubbing over, around and under her tongue. I held her tight against my naked body. Her nipples pressed into my chest. My hard cock was trapped between Abby's legs.

As we kissed, I overheard Rob and Cindy. "Rob, rub a little higher. That's it. Ohhh..."

Rob asked, "How's this?"

"Ohhh... Ummm... yess... keep going... Ummmm..." Cindy cooed. I kissed my way down to Abby's neck. I kissed it a couple times and ran my tongue down her neck to her breast. I licked around her nipple and sucked it into my mouth. Abby started to moan.

"God Rob, keeeeep doing that. Ohhh... OOOHHHHH. OH MY GOD! OH! OhMyGod! AAAHHH!!!" Cindy nearly screamed. I squeezed Abby's right breast while I sucked on her left nipple.

Rob asked, "Are you ready for my cock honey?"

"God yes! Do it now Rob. Stick it in!" Cindy cried.

I kissed a trail down past Abby's belly button to her pussy. I licked up and down her lips a few times before starting on her clitoris.

I heard Rob say from his nearby tent, "Your pussy is so tight Cindy. God I love you."

Abby and I could hear Rob and Cindy grunting and moaning as they fucked in their tent only ten feet from us.

Rob moaned, "Ummm... this feels so goood... Ohhh... Cindy"

I slipped a finger in and out of Abby's pussy as we listened to Cindy and Rob moan and grunt. We clearly heard the sound of Rob's body slapping against Cindy's. The pace quickened.

"God Rob! Keep going. Ohhh... I'm amost... Ohhh... amost there... kkkeeppp it... oohh... up..." Cindy pleaded.

"Unnhh... Unhh... Unh... Ohhh..." Rob groaned. The sounds beside our tent ceased.

After about twenty seconds, Cindy asked, "Rob did you come?"

"Mmmm... yes. That was so good Cindy. Thank you." Rob answered. Within a minute I could hear the sound of my best friend snoring.

I turned my attentions to my love. I ran my tongue up and down along her labia, savoring her juices. Then I circled my tongue around her clit. I pushed a finger into her pussy as I stimulated her clit.

"That's the spot Will. Keep doing that." Abby exclaimed.

I stroked my finger in and out as I licked and kissed Abby's clit. I curled my finger and rubbed, looking for Abby's g-spot. She started to squirm from my stimlulation. I kept going.

"Ohh... yeah... that's so... oohhh... good... Willlll... ohhh..." Abby moaned, panting between each sylable. "Aaaaeeeiiii..." Abby hissed as her pussy spasmed and clenched my finger.

I rubbed her tummy as she came down from her sexual high. "Oh God Will. I can't believe we get to do this everyday for the week."

"I know. Are you ready for the next round Abby?" I asked.

"I guess, how do you want to do this this time?"

"Do you want to be on top lover?"

"OK. Let's switch positions." I lay down on our bed, while Abby climbed over me and got ready. I held my cock straight up for Abby. She straddled my hips and lowered herself towards me. I nudged my cock head into Abby's pussy. My cock burrowed into Abby, splitting her inner lips apart. My girlfriend slowly lowered herself until my cock disappeared.

Abby started pulling off me and dropping herself onto my erect cock. Abby's pussy drooled lubrication onto my cock as we fucked. Her pussy squelched and slurped as Abby impaled herself with my boner.

I reached up and fondled Abby's breasts as we fucked. Her breasts felt so smooth and soft as I squeezed and caressed them. I flicked my finger across her puffy nipples. Abby moaned as she continued her up and down motion.

Abby's rhythm was suffering from my stimulation. I thrust my hips up to meet Abby as she dropped down each time onto my cock. I switched my attention to her clit. I rubbed around it, enjoying the view of my cock disappearing and reappearing with each stroke. I rubbed Abby's clit.

"Ahhh... right there... oohhh... Willl... keee... ahh... keep doing... that... Aaaeeeiiiiii..." Abby screamed as she writhed, her cunt spasming on my cock. I was close but ready to keep going.

"Abby, let's keep going. I'm almost there." I pleaded. I put my hands on her hips and helped Abby keep a steady rhythm. I thrust up urgently, trying to climax too. Abby's over-stimulated pussy quivered and fluttered around my cock. My climax was approaching. My balls pulled up tight and I pushed in deep one last time. My cock blasted my sticky strings of semen into Abby's cunt.

Abby collapsed on top of me. We remained connected. Abby sighed and kissed me. I pushed my tongue into her mouth, feeling for her tongue. We probed each other's tongue and mouths as we recovered from our sexual ecstasy.

My cock started to wilt. I slipped out of Abby's cunt with a plop. I felt my cum and Abby's juices drip out of her pussy and make a puddle on my pubic hair. We rolled onto our sides, facing each other. Abby gave me loving pecks on the nose, cheeks and lips while we rested.

The scene in the Alex and Terri's tent to the south started to become clear when Abby and I became quiet. "Ummm... Terri, your tits feel great." I heard Alex say.

"Alex, rub my pussy, please. That felt so good last week." Terri purred.

"Yeah, right there Alex. That's it. Ohhh..."

"Terri, you're pussy is so tight. Is this what you want?"

"Ohh... yeah... right there... Ohhh..." Terri panted.

"I love you Terri."

"Keeping rubbing... ohhh... yeah... ooohhh... oohhh... unhh... ummmm... that's so good."

The two kids were silent for a minute. Then Alex asked, "Can I rub my cock along your pussy lips like last week? Please?"

"Just rub, right?" Terri asked hesitantly.

"Absolutely! I won't ry to put it in. I promise!" Alex declared.

"Be careful Alex." Terri said. A pause followed. "Ummm... that feels so good Alex. Keep rubbing, please!"

"Your pussy is so wet and slippery. This feels great. "

"Ohh... ummmm... rub the whole way to the top. Please hit my clit. Oh, yeah. That's it..." Terri said.

"Terri, can we try putting my cock in? Please?"

"I don't know Alex. Let's keep doing this. It feels wonderful."

"Ohh... I know this is good. But you heard how great it sounded when Will and Abby just had sex. I really would like to try it." Alex pleaded.

"Ohh... Ohh... I don't know. I'm afraid it will hurt. Keep rubbing against me. Please?"

"Terri, can I push my cock in a inch or two. Just to see what it feels like?"

"Alex, I don't know. Let me think about it tonight. Keep rubbing against me." Their talking stopped for about fifteen seconds. "ALEX, NO!"

"I'm sorry Terri, it just slipped. I didn't try that."

"Get off me. We're done for tonight. Go to sleep."

The kids were quiet for a couple minutes. "I'm really sorry Terri. I wasn't trying to stick my cock in. It was an accident. Please forgive me?"

"I do. I'm just nervous about having sex. I've heard how much it can hurt and I don't want to get pregnant." Terri explained.

"I can get condoms, if you change your mind. I'll make sure you don't get pregnant. Why don't you talk with Cindy and Abby? Maybe they can help you get ready."

"I'll do that. I do want to have sex with you eventually. I'm just scared. Please be patient with me. I love you Alex."

"I love you too Terri. Good night."

Tuesday, August 19th

Ka-boom. I woke up with a start. It was dark. Then lightening flashed outside the tent. It was quickly followed by thunder. Rain was pouring down outside. I checked my watch. It was 5:34 am. I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't. The sound of the rain and thunder kept me from returning to unconsciousness. The rain would slacken for a few minutes then another thunder storm would roll through our lake and the rain would pick up again. After the fourth storm, I checked my watch again. It was 6:30 am. We were supposed to get up in fifteen minutes. I desperately needed to pee. I put my swim suit on and unzipped the tent. I fished through my day pack that I kept under the overhang on my side of the tent. I put my raincoat on and left the shelter of my tent. I ran through the rain into the woods. I picked out a nice flat rock and let my stream of piss go. When I was done I ran back to the camp.

I decided to check with Joe about what we were going to do in this storm. "Joe, are you awake." I asked as I rattled his tent.

"Yes, Will I'm awake." Joe answered.

"Sorry to disturb you. What do you think we should do this morning? We won't be able to canoe until the thunderstorms are done. Why don't we let everyone sleep in a little?"

"Yeah, that sounds good Will. Let's do that." Joe said.

I went back to me tent. I left my swim suit and rain coat outside under the overhang. I slipped into the sleeping bag and cuddled with Abby. I finally dozed off.