Chapter 9

The whole extended Baer family was at the church when we pulled in. Joe and Barb; Justin and Sherry; and Joe's and Justin's dad with Joe's kids Betsy and Jeffrey and Justin's son Billy. Some of the kids had arrived too. The Edwards family pulled in right behind us. Will grabbed his duffle bag and headed over to meet the Baers. I grabbed my stuff and told Julie and Andy to follow me.

Penny and I met. She wanted us to collect kids by crew as they arrived. I sent Andy over to find out how Joe wanted us to pack the gear. Morgan Wentz from my crew was here. She hung out with Julie. As kids arrived, I sent them to Penny, who sorted them out by crew.

Jeremy made a beeline for me when he arrived. "Kyle! You're home. It's good to see you." He slapped me on the back.

"I'm happy to see you too, Jeremy."

"You're looking at the newest Eagle Scout in our Troop. I passed my Board of Review on Wednesday night," Jeremy bragged.

"Congratulations! "I said as I shook his hand.

Jeremy asked, "When are you going to finish?"

"I just need to do my write-up about my Eagle Project. I'll work on it when we get home from Canada." I replied. I sent Jeremy over to collect the kids from Hal's crew. Everyone in the three crews came within five minutes.

Penny, Hal and I sorted out everyone, loaded the gear and loaded the kids in the two vans we were using for the trip. Joe, Barb, Will and Abby rode in the fifteen passenger van. Justin and Sherry drove the twelve passenger van. Julie and I found seats in the back of the Justin's van.

We pulled out of the church parking lot to waves, and a few tears, from our families. We headed west for Lancaster and Harrisburg. Brandon, Penny and Paul Abbott sat in the seat in front of Mark Good, Julie and me. I didn't notice anything unusual for at first. Penny and Brandon spent the first hour talking about the trip and their crew. We had just crossed the bridge over the Susquehanna Rover at Clarks Ferry when I noticed it. Brandon had put his arm around Penny and she was snuggled up against him.

Penny gave Brandon a kiss and said, "I'm going to take a nap, honey."

"That's a good idea," Brandon replied. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and lay back to nap too.

I whispered to Julie, "Did you know that Penny and Brandon were going out?"

"No, I had no idea about it," Julie answered. The two of us followed their example.

We stopped at a fast food place for lunch on the way north. Julie and I sat near Penny and Brandon at lunch. I asked, "Penny, how long have you and Brandon been dating?"

Penny answered, "About three weeks. We decided to try a date since we were going to spend this trip together. We're comfortable together."

Brandon added, "I don't know why you ever let her go, Kyle. Penny's a great girlfriend."

"Yes, she is. I can't get over all the changes that happened while I was away at scout camp: you and Penny; Andy dating Heather Miller again; then there is my brother's friend Eric. I didn't think he even knew girls existed. If it wasn't digital, he wasn't interested. Now look at him." I said. I pointed across the room to Eric and Samantha. They had finished lunch and were holding hands, staring at each other.

Penny laughed. "I think Eric has figured out that girls exist. He and Sammy look good together."

I replied, "Yes, they do. There have been so many changes. I was only gone for seven weeks."

Will overheard me. "You think this is bad, Kyle, wait until you get to college. It's ten times worse. Life in Paradise continues, whether you are there to see it or not."

"Yeah, I guess," I said resignedly. "It just blows my mind."

It was late afternoon when we arrived at the state park outside Niagara Falls. We had six regular campsites at the park, two tents per site. We were out among the public so we had to sleep in all guy or all girl tents. No one got to have any bedtime fun.

Joe, Justin and Will had the whole group up at 6:30 the next morning. We wanted to get to the outfitters before lunch. We packed up and had breakfast at a little restaurant before we crossed the border into Canada. Nearly everyone went back to sleep for half the morning.

I watched the lakes, the trees and the small towns of eastern Ontario go by for the last hour of the trip. We pulled into the outfitter's parking lot at 11:30 am. The place hadn't changed. Cabins along the road on the right. The rustic store on the left. Racks of canoes along the edge of the parking lot.

Joe checked us in with the outfitter. We went down the road for lunch while they prepared our food and equipment. We returned an hour later and browsed through the retail store while they finished getting our food ready. They called us in a crew at a time to get our food and equipment. My crew, crew number 3 on Joe's roster, hung out in the store, browsing at all the goodies while we waited for our turn.

I couldn't help smiling at the look on Julie's, Lindsey's, Jake's and Morgan's faces when they saw the mountain of food and equipment we were going to carry for the next eight days. The outfitter reviewed our menu with us. We didn't make any changes from what they had for us. I had my crew load up everything in our Duluth packs and carry them back to our cabins along the lake. We spent the next hour sorting and packing our gear into our six packs.

Joe called our entire group together when we were done packing. He had us take canoes out and practice working with our canoe partners to demonstrate our canoeing skills. Since Will and I were the group's "experts" when it came to canoeing, we observed each canoe and offered advice to improve their strokes. We spent an hour practicing before Will and I were satisfied with everyone's canoeing skills. The whole crew went for a before dinner swim. We had dinner at the same restaurant where we had lunch.

Some of our crew went swimming after dinner, the rest of us built a small campfire and spent the evening hanging out and talking. Will, Ed, Jake and I shared a cabin that night. The accommodations at the outfitters were too public for any fun stuff with our girlfriends. I went to sleep early, dreaming of the nights to come.

I woke to the sound of Will gathering his shower things. Slivers of light peaked into our cabin at the edges of the curtains covering the windows in our cabin. I whispered, "What time is it, Will?"

"6:15, Kyle," Will answered.

"Thanks." We had fifteen minutes until everyone had to get up. I decided to take advantage of the hot shower one more time before we went into the wilderness.

Will and I returned to our cabin about five minutes after wake-up call. Jake and Ed were just getting out of bed. I told them to hustle. They headed off to the shower house. I rolled up my sleeping bag and packed it. I carried my stuff out and loaded it in the van. Julie, Lindsey, Morgan and Abby were returning from the shower house. I gave my lover a good morning kiss.

Hal, Penny and I got after our crew members to get packed. Everyone had their packs in the vans by 7 am. We had a cold breakfast and hit the road.

Our two vans traveled east from the outfitters for an hour before we turned off Route 64 and took the dirt road back to the entry point on Opeongo Lake. A shiver ran down my spine when we started down the last hill and I caught sight of the lake. The small bay at the southern end of Opengo Lake was visible along with the store and the ranger's station at its edge. Small hills covered with evergreens went on as far as I could see. God, I loved this place!

Joe and Justin pulled the vans into the lower parking lot beside the dock. Penny, Hal and I got our crews to stack our gear along the back edge of the dock while Joe, Will and Justin went to the ranger's station to pick up permits for the trip. Barb headed for the store to arrange for us to get our canoes. Barb called the group over to the store after a couple minutes.

We headed to the back of the building and picked up our 12 canoes. We carried them down to the dock and put them in the lake. We loaded things up while we waited for Joe, Justin and Will. As canoes were ready they pushed out and floated 20 or 30 yards off the dock until everyone was in the water. When Joe and Barb in our last canoe pulled away from the dock, Penny announced "Jeremy, lead us north."

Penny, Hal and I had agreed to have the crews take turns providing the navigator each day. Hal's crew went first since Jeremy and Kathy both had gone on the last trip and would know the way today.

The sky was mostly clear. We could hear the wind blowing the tops of the trees. The lake surface was calm. I expected that would change when we passed Windy Point in three miles. It took us an hour to reach a cove just south of Windy Point. Penny had everyone pull in for a break before we went out into the wind to cross the wide bay to the North Arm of Opeongo Lake.

Jeremy and Kathy led our group out of our shelter around the end of the point and into the bay. We found out how bad the wind was when we rounded the point. It was coming from the northwest, probably blowing at 20-25 mile an hour. Jeremy angled his canoe directly into the wind even though the entrance to the North Arm was due north of us. The wind was much too strong to canoe broad side to the wind. It took all our strength to move our canoes into the wind and to prevent the wind from spinning us around backwards.

We muscled our way across the bay slowly. Eric Connell and Samantha Hoover had problems keeping up with the rest of the group. Justin and Sherry; Will and Abby; and Julie and I positioned our canoes in a V formation around Eric's canoe to help block the wind and make it easier for Eric and Sammy to paddle.

We spent over an hour crossing the 1 1/2 miles before we reached the group of islands at the entrance to the North Arm. Penny had the group pull in at the first island we came to for lunch.

Ed pulled our sandwiches out of his pack and passed them around to our crew. We spent a half hour eating and resting before our next battle with the wind. Jeremy and Kathy led us north again after lunch. Will, Justin and I continued to "block" for Eric in a V formation to help him keep up.

We followed along the west edge of the lake since it was the only direction we could paddle. We ended up taking a break at a campsite a half mile south of the portage to Happy Isle Lake. This wasn't where we wanted to go, but it was the only direction the wind would let us go. After the break we hugged the north coast of the North Arm as we paddled towards tomorrow's portage and campsites for tonight.

It took an hour to make our way along the coast to a group of five campsites near the portage to Proulx Lake. Our three crews took adjoining campsites. Ed, Will, Abby and I helped train Julie, Jake, Lindsey and Morgan how to set up a campsite. I had Ed and Lindsey collect firewood while Julie and I found a spot for our bear bags.

Jake and Morgan were cooks for the first night. They prepared for dinner. Everyone helped Jake and Morgan get the cooking fire started. We grilled steaks over the fire and fried a big pan of potatoes. Dessert was a small chocolate cake. Everything was delicious. This was the last dinner that wouldn't be freeze dried for quite awhile.

When we were finished eating, Will asked, "What do you first-timers think of Algonquin so far?"

Julie answered first, "It's huge. I didn't realize how big it would be."

Lindsey asked, "Do all the lakes have so many people on them? I thought we were going to be pretty isolated here."

Abby explained, "We will be in a day or two. Opeongo Lake is the largest and easiest lake for novices to get to. The further into the interior we go, the fewer people we will see."

Jake asked, "Is it always so hard to paddle on the lake like it was today? I didn't think I'd have to work that hard."

Ed's girlfriend Lindsey added, "Yeah. I thought I was going to die today. The wind was horrible."

"Yes, it was today," Will agreed. "The wind was bad on Opeongo Lake for three of my four trips. The reach on this lake is large compared to most lakes in the park. A little wind works up some big waves. The lakes we will spend most of our time on are much smaller. The wind and waves won't be as big a problem."

"Isn't Lake Lavielle big too?" I asked. "Will waves be a problem on it?"

"I don't know. The only time I was on that lake, it was calm. Based on my experiences, the wind usually blows from the northwest. We will be paddling with the wind most of the time when we are on that lake." Will explained.

Ed said, "That's a relief."

Jake added, "If we have to paddle in wind like that every day, I think my arm will be strong enough to throw a football the length of the field when I get home."

"Don't worry about the wind too much," I said. "Last time the portages were more difficult than the paddling. We have a 1275 meter portage tomorrow morning." I went on to explain about the portage. We reviewed everyone's jobs when we did a portage. We had six sixty pound Duluth packs and four canoes to move every time we did a portage. We had about ten minutes of canoeing in the morning before we got to the portage tomorrow.

I finished with talking about the portage when Jake commented, "I think this is going to be an awesome trip. I still find it hard to believe I am going to be allowed to sleep with Morgan on this trip."

"I know some of you did that on the rafting trip last April, but it still amazes me," Morgan added. "Jake and I have a nearly impossible time finding privacy back home."

"Between my dad being a teacher and Morgan's mom not working, we almost never get to be alone," Jake said.

"You get eight nights together on this trip, assuming you two have protection," Will replied. "You do have protection right?"

Jake answered, "Yes. I brought a few condoms."

Will stared at Jake. "A few? Exactly how many do you have?"

"Um, six. I think," Jake answered.

"Six?" I asked, laughing. "What are you going to do on the third day? Six wouldn't last Julie and I more than two days."

Jake looked shocked. "You really think six isn't enough? Morgan and I have only had sex three times since our first time in the spring."

"Yeah. I think you are going to have more opportunities than you think," I answered. "Will, do you have any extra condoms? Something to help Jake and Morgan out?"

"Yes. See me when you run out Jake. I can fix you up with a couple dozen more." Will said.

I glanced at my watch. It was nearly seven o'clock. "I hate to break up the gab session, group, but we need to get the dishes cleaned and get our bear bag up. The mosquitoes will be coming out in an hour or so. Jake and Morgan, get the dishes cleaned. The rest of us will get the bear bags ready."

Everyone went to work. It took us forty-five minutes to get cleaned up and to get our three bear bags hung. The sun had set over the tops of the trees in the distance while we worked.

It was near dusk when our group gathered to do "Roses and Thorns" before we went to bed. We met in a circle and each member of the crew described their favorite thing that happened during the day, their rose, and the thing that needed improved or they didn't like, their thorn. This session was something we learned from groups coming back from the Philmont Scout Ranch. It is supposed to help our crew get to know each other better and give everyone an opportunity to share their feelings. It should help us get along better during the trip.

The girls headed out in the woods to take a before bed pee. Jake and Ed put their things in their tents. I took Will aside and asked, "Did I do OK as crew leader today?"

Will smiled at me. "Yeah, you did a good job, little brother, Uh, excuse me. Younger brother, you did a nice job."

"Thanks, Will. I wonder sometimes."

"Today has been a little weird for me. I'm used to running things like I did on the past two trips. I guess I'll get used to my role of watching. You'll do well as the crew leader."

"Thanks. Good night, Will," I said. I headed to my tent and climbed in. I stripped and waited for my lover to return. Julie joined me after a couple minutes.

Julie began disrobing. I asked, "Are you in the mood to make love tonight, sweetie?"

"You've got to be kidding, Kyle." Julie said, grinning. She put her clothes in a trash bag at the foot of our sleeping bags. She lay down on her side beside me. We wrapped our arms around each other and kissed.

I played with Julie's tits while we made out. After a few minutes, we moved on to some 69. Julie's newly discovered talent for deep throating my cock brought me to climax before I could get her off. I finished Julie after I recovered.

We pressed our bodies together and kissed. We were quiet enough to hear what was going on in the other tents. From the sounds Abby was making, Will probably was eating her pussy. Ed was grunting as he drove his cock into Lindsey, making her squeal. Morgan was directing Jake, helping him get his cock into her tight pussy. I chuckled. "You remember when we snuck over to pull a prank on Will's crew last time?"

"Kyle, this is my first trip. This was with Penny, wasn't it?"

"Um ... yeah. It was with Jeremy, Hal, and Kathy too. Sorry, honey."

"It's OK, Kyle." Julie said. Julie started to rub her body against mine. Her nipples pressed into my chest. My cock started to rise again.

"Anyway, my point was that we sound just like Will's crew of older kids last trip. When we got there, every tent had sounds of kids making love to each other, just like tonight." I explained.

"Do you think the other crews are doing this?"

"I'm sure Jeremy and Kathy are. Hal and Tammy too. Do you think Brandon and Penny have dated enough to try this?"

"I don't know, Kyle," Julie answered. She rubbed her pussy against my seven inch erection. "Goody. You're ready. I want you on top this time, Kyle."

Julie rolled over on her back and raised her knees to her chest. I positioned myself between her legs and pushed my cock into Julie's silky tunnel. We made love for about ten minutes. I managed to bring Julie to another orgasm as we mated.

We cuddled together after I finally splattered my load inside my lover. We lay on our sides and kissed while we recovered our senses. Julie got me worked up enough for one more coupling. Julie climbed on top of me and rode me through another of her orgasms before I fired the last of my sperm into her pussy. We fell asleep tangled together.

Will woke me up around 7 am. I got the rest of the crew up. Ed and Lindsey had cooking and clean-up duty that day. They made scrambled eggs and bacon. It was the last of the fresh food we would have for the rest of the trip. By 9 am all the camping gear was packed up and stowed in our packs. We launched our canoes and hung out in the water off Hal's campsite. Hal's crew had the campsite nearest to today's portage. Penny's crew joined us a few minutes later. Hal's crew was almost ready. They were loading their canoes when we got there. Low clouds hung in the air a couple thousand feet above us. The weather didn't look promising today. We were going to have a storm, hopefully after we got to camp.

Jake studied the map while we waited. He was the navigator for the group today. When Hal's crew was ready, Jake led us half a mile along the northern edge of the lake to a small bay. I spotted the yellow sign marking the portage as soon as we turned into the bay. We pulled our canoes up on the sand when we reached the portage. I helped Julie get our two packs out of the canoe and set them on the beach. She struggled a little but with my help she managed to put one pack on. Abby led Julie, Lindsey and Morgan up the hill at the beginning of the portage. Ed and Will had no difficulty picking up their canoes. Jake managed awkwardly, but he managed. Hal's crew had everything under control. Andy and Brandon picked their canoes up and followed Will, Ed, Hal, Jeremy and Mark on the trail. Eric was struggling to even pick up his canoe. I helped him lift it and put it on his shoulders. I asked, "Are you OK, Eric?"

He squeaked, "yeAH. I can DO thIS, kkYLE." I tried not to laugh at the way his voice cracked. Fourteen was a tough time for a guy. I hoisted my canoe and headed up the hill after our group. I heard Eric bang his canoe on the ground a couple times behind me.

"Take it easy with the canoe, Eric. We have to use it the whole trip," I called back.

"OK, Kyle," Eric answered.

I cruised up the hill with my burden. This felt much easier than two years ago. Portages were going to be easy with all the training I did. I passed Mark and Andy pretty quickly. I caught up to Hal and Brandon when they stopped at the small lake at the top of the hill. I felt good so I kept going. The girls passed me going back to Opeongo Lake for their second packs. A couple minutes later I passed the pile of packs the girls had left for us guys to take to the end of the portage. I felt good so I continued walking. I caught up to Will, Joe, Justin, Ed, Jeremy and Jake a couple minutes later. I walked at the back of the group until we got to Proulx Lake. The seven of us deposited our canoes in the lake and rested for a couple minutes.

We walked a couple minutes back the trail when we passed Hal and Brandon carrying their canoes to the lake. Mark and Andy passed us with their canoes about five minutes into the walk. It took us ten minutes to reach the pile of Duluth packs the girls left for us. We found our packs, hoisted them to our shoulders and started walking back to Proulx Lake. The remaining guys in our group passed us as we walked to Proulx Lake, except Eric. No one had seen Eric since we left Opeongo.

Eric is fourteen, extremely smart, but not a physical guy. He is a little small for his age and didn't do sports or other physical activities. I was worried about him. I decided the best thing I could do was get my pack to Proulx Lake and go back to help him as fast as possible. It took me twelve minutes to reach the end of the portage. I dropped my pack in my canoe.

I grabbed Ed, Jeremy and Will to come back with me to help Eric and anyone else who had difficulties on the trail. We passed Hal and Brandon a minute after we started back. A few minutes later Andy and Mark passed us. They were doing OK. Barb, Sherry, Abby, Paul, Julie and Lindsey passed us. They said they were fine. A couple minutes later Penny, Kathy, Tammy, Morgan, Heather and Samantha went by. They looked tired, but Penny sad they were doing OK.

We finally found Eric on the trail, just passing the last pack at the middle of the portage. He was walking slowly. Every couple of steps his canoe would bang the ground or glance off a tree on the trail. I felt bad for him.

"Hey, Eric. Help's here." I said as cheerily as I could. Will and Jeremy walked by us to get the last pack. Ed and I walked over to Eric. Ed steadied the front end of the canoe while I took Eric's place at the yoke. Eric ducked out from under the canoe.

"I ... I shouldn't have come," Eric gasped, nearly in tears.

"Nonsense. Everyone looks after each other on these trips," I responded.

Eric sniffled. "Maybe you should take me back. I shouldn't have come."

Will put his arm around Eric's shoulder. "You want to spend a week and a half sitting on the dock while the rest of us have fun? It isn't going to happen."

"We'll take care of you, Eric," Ed added. "We will help you get through the trip."

"This is the only portage we have for the next two days. By the time we get to the next one, we will have eaten a quarter of the food. The loads will be lighter. We will find someone to carry your canoe and get you a load you can handle. Everyone will help you, Eric. I know how it is. I was fourteen last trip. Actually I was even younger than you back then. My birthday is in July not April."

"Did ... did you have this much trouble, Kyle?" Eric asked.

"It was hard for me too. I didn't have quite as much trouble with the canoe. I was taller then than you. Why don't you try the pack? See if you can handle it," I suggested.

"OK," Eric answered uncertainly. Ed helped him strap it on. Ed cinched up the hip belt so the weight rode better on his back.

"How does that feel, Eric?" Ed asked.

"OK. I think I can do this," Eric responded. The five of us walked slowly down the hill towards Proulx Lake.

I helped Eric stow his pack in his canoe when we arrived at the lake. Penny gave Eric a few minutes to rest before we started across the lake.

Proulx Lake is shaped like an upside down T. We paddled across the bottom of the T to a peninsula where the base of the T headed north towards the Crow River. We found the two campsites on the end of the peninsula were empty. My crew and Penny's crew took them. Hal's crew paddled across the base of the T and took a campsite across the lake from us.

I had my crew get the dining fly and tents up quickly. Ed and Lindsey got our lunch out while I showed Jake and Morgan how to put up bear bag ropes. Julie collected a supply of fire wood for our dinner fire.

Ed had everything out by the time we returned to camp. We had an early lunch because the storm was blowing in from the west. It looked like we had at most a half hour before it hit us. We carved slices off the big hunk of salami we got from the outfitter and ate it with pita bread. The eight of us ran around and put everything under cover when we finished eating. The first fat drops of rain came down just as we finished. Everyone made a mad dash for their tents to keep dry while the storm blew through.

Julie and I set up our Therm-o-rest mats and spread our sleeping bags out so we could be comfortable. Both of us brought along books to read while the storm passed. The storm took nearly two hours to pass us. The wind howled in the trees and the rain poured down. We had chosen well when we set up camp. The inside of our tent stayed dry in spite of the storm.

I peeked out once in a while to make sure everything was OK in our campsite. The wind was blowing the rain at a forty-five degree angle. It had whipped good sized waves on the lake. We were fortunate to have been in camp when this storm hit. It would have been nasty if we were out on the lake in it. Eventually I got tired of reading and took a nap. Julie did the same.

I woke up an hour later to the sound of a girl squealing. I realized it was Abby's voice. I guess Will and Abby decided to take advantage of the enforced privacy to have a little afternoon fun. I glanced at my watch. It was close to three o'clock. We had plenty of time until supper. The rain was down to a drizzle, perhaps. Or was it just rain dripping off the trees?

I cuddled up to Julie while she slept and wrapped my arms around her. I nuzzled her neck. Julie sighed and whispered, "Don't stop now, Kyle. Keep doing that."

I kissed and licked the back of Julie's neck, nibbled on her ear lobe and kissed her cheek. I felt Julie's left tit with my hand, stroking the nipple with my finger. I started to say, "Do you want..." but Julie turned around and locked her lips on mine before I could finish my sentence. Our tongues met and danced together between our mouths.

Things escalated quickly. Julie and I stripped out of our clothes. Julie slipped between my legs and started to suck my cock. She licked around the head, down the shaft and finally all over my balls. She sucked one ball into her mouth, swirled it around and then switched to the other ball. Julie licked down below my balls across my perineum. This was quite new for me, well, actually quite new for Julie to do to me. It was wonderful. How far was she going to go?

I found out when she flicked her tongue between my cheeks and hit my asshole. "Ahhhh ... Jeee ... sus!" I moaned. Julie pried my cheeks apart and swirled her tongue around my hole. I squirmed as Julie licked and swirled her tongue around my back opening. Julie licked back up to my balls. I felt her place a finger against my hole, an unlubed finger. "Whoa! Whoa. You need lube, honey. Stop."

"Sorry, Kyle," Julie said. She stopped licking my balls and pulled her finger away from my butt.

I reached over my head and grabbed my knapsack. I fished out a small bottle of KY Jelly I brought along. It never hurts to be prepared. I passed the bottle to Julie. A few seconds later I felt a finger press against my hole again, a finger covered with cool lube. I tried to relax as Julie pressed her finger against my opening.

A few seconds later her finger popped inside me. She pushed her finger in and started to feel around. I asked, "Do you know what you're looking for?"

"Your prostate." Julie answered. "I'm not sure exactly where it is."

"It's on the front side of my..." I explained. Julie felt around. "AAaaeeeiiii..."I yelled when she found the spot.

"It's the bump isn't it?" Julie asked as she rubbed it again. I groaned in response as she continued rubbing it. Julie sucked the head of my cock into her mouth as she sent electric jolts through me by playing with my prostate. I doubt I lasted more than thirty seconds before I blasted a huge load of cum down Julie's throat. I saw stars when I came and nearly fainted from the intensity of my orgasm. I collapsed, completely spent, groaning and panting while I tried to recover.