The morning on Lake Nipigon brought cool air, clear skies, and a few faint wisps of cloud to color the sunrise. I unzipped the tent and crawled out onto this narrow beach on Murchison Island. There was a line of fresh moose tracks between me and the water’s edge, barely 3' from my front door. So much for thinking of myself as a light sleeper.Until last night I had been sleeping aboard at anchor. This was the first beach I had seen in 80 miles, and only the second island I’d managed to set foot on. Everywhere else, the lake ran right up against thick forest or steep cliffs, making it almost impossible to get ashore, much less find a place to set up the tent. I'd been confined to a 15′ boat for five days and nights so when I noticed the bright fringe of sand at the head of the bay, I hadn’t hesitated —I just sheeted in to gather speed and ran the boat, a Phoenix III I’d borrowed from my brother, right up onto the beach, eager to step ashore for a while but unambitious enough that “a while” soon changed to “for the night.”

Murchison Island’s narrow sand beach offered a rare opportunity to camp ashore. I didn’t have to think twice about stopping here when I saw it—I hadn’t set foot on land in two days.all photographs by the author

Murchison Island’s narrow sand beach offered a rare opportunity to camp ashore. I didn’t have to think twice about stopping here when I saw it—I hadn’t set foot on land in two days.

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