I just came back from my first solo trip. it was a last minute thing so I took a permit out of Fall lake up to Pipestone bay. Well, it was an eye opener, 1st it was raining and windy. I got started at 4:30 am then (in my own defense it was my 1st time in this area) I lost my way within 5 minutes it wasn't till an hour later I started thinking where the #ell am I, when I realized that I made a mistake right at the beginning, I started to laugh then I started to call myself every name in the book. nothing like getting lost in the early morning in rain and wind. Then I corrected my path and all was right. I am not used to these portages they were like roads the whole way. I trolled on the way in, I caught a walleye in Newton then when I hit Pipestone it was so windy I put the fishing rod away. I found out I like my Prism it handles waves a lot better than my Mad river explorer. This being my 1st solo I wore my PFD all the time and good thing... I took chances, If I were with anybody else they would've talked me out of it. there were times when I was pretty far from shore I questioned my decision but I prevailed. campsite after campsite was taken then finally I got one right after Hidden bay it was pretty nice I rate it 3 out of 5 stars. It was only a 4 hour paddle but after getting started so early and fighting the wind I needed to take a nap. when I woke up the winds calmed down a little so I went out and caught some Smallies and Northerns nothing big but it was a good start. I ran into a group from Iowa they were catching walleyes at the mouth of Hidden bay. I tried to start a fire, but I am disappointed in my fire making skills this day, all the wood was saturated. I give up and I am tired I go to sleep at 8:00 pm.

1 Eagle, 6 Smallies, 2 Northerns and a million mosquitoes.