Day 6: Waiting

We woke up at our normal time of about 6:00 or 6:30 and the waves on the lake already looked too big to try and make it anywhere.  We decided to wait it out and possibly make it to Bena around sunset if the weather calmed down.
With this decision made, I used the break as an opportunity to treat myself to some coffee out of the French press Shannon gave me (thanks Shannon!).  While sipping coffee, and gaining energy, I decided to gather up my fishing supplies and take a hike to a nearby lake my Dad had said would be good fishing, Sugar Lake.  What I thought would be a short hike turned into a 5 hour trudge fest in which I only got about an hour of fishing in.  It started out easy enough hiking through West Winnie Campground but it quickly turned into marshland and thick woods.  I followed the shore of Winnie to the shore of Sugar Lake and then further down the shore to a place where there weren't an abundance of weeds.  Throughout this two hour hike I saw an eagle nest, plenty of eagles, and also bear poop.  At least I think it was bear poop.  It was green and there was a lot of it.  I briefly thought, "Hey, maybe I should have brought the bear mace."  But all is well.  I saw no bears.
After an hour of unsuccessful fishing I took out my phone and brought up my map app.  There was a road less than a half mile from where I was at!  I opened my compass app, because I didn't think to bring the real compass, and used to find the direction I should go.  I got immensely lost.  I couldn't go in a straight line because of all the downed trees and marshes so I had to keep pulling out the compass app which seemed to tell me a new direction every time. On top of this, my phone was low on battery at about 20%.  I finally found a forestry road, although not the one on the map, and followed it until it turned left which was not the direction I wanted to go. I went that way anyway. It dead ended, I saw a porcupine, I turned around. I took out the compass again and found south towards the campsite. Feeling a little bit worried, I marched directly south into the woods determined to stay walking in a straight line no matter what was in my way. Luckily for me, a forest road was directly in front of me! After another mile or so thought the woods I saw pavement. Pavement! Such a glorious thing. It almost certainly leads somewhere. Unlike forest roads that dead end for no reason.  This pavement led to West Winnie Campground. Alas, I was home! Extremely exhausted I made it back to camp where anders was not the least bit worried about me.
Day 6 complete. 0 river miles, but still quite the adventure.