DAY THREE
began as another gorgeous morning, but we knew the area was holding more
moisture than would be good for us.
Another valiant attempt to dry our gear was followed by a gentle trip east
toward the North Fork Kings. This area was deeply forested and fairly dry, but
Bill warned of swampier conditions ahead. The bugs made their first serious run
at us here, but our deterrents were for the most part effective. We reached the
North Fork and ate lunch, then set up our cameras for group photos. From there
we moved upstream, into just what Bill had promised: swampland. The recent
rainfall had not improved things, and just to be sure the cumulus clouds were
fully developed by noon. We crawled through the area at our best pace toward
Portal Lake, admiring the beautiful North Fork while swatting dozens of
mosquitoes and sinking in the muck. As we worked up the smaller stream to
Portal Lake the rain began again, and as before Bill and Del found us a good
site which Frank and I reached as the storm struck.
We had almost five minutes to select dry tentsites and nail down our gear before
the hail began. Bill had stashed some relatively dry wood under the trees, but
everything was soaked again very soon. As the thunder arrived for our
entertainment, I checked my campsite only to discover it was not staying dry in
the least, so I shifted to a less enchanting but more protected spot. I erected
the poles from underneath the fly to stay drier, but when I was finished the
rain had increased and my hands and gloves were thoroughly soaked. I rejoined
the others by the fire ring, and we waited another half-hour before the rain,
hail and thunder relented. This time the fire (with some white-gas coaxing) had
plenty of work to do, as so much gear needed to dry.
 Evening light below Portal Lake
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