Thunder rumbles much longer in the BWCA, because of the echo of rocky shores on many lakes. Once it is past our immediate area, I love to lie and listen to the whole world growling and roaring, while the raindrops patter steadily on the rain fly above my head.

At this point I was beginning to have a problem that I hadn't yet shared with Spartan1. I was having severe head pain in the night, upon getting up to urinate. While I was worried, the pain was very specific and it subsided after relieving myself, so I didn't feel it was cause to cut our trip short. This particular night I didn't have much time to think about it, as we made a BIG mistake with the insulin and that caused immediate concern. When taking the Lantus (long-acting insulin) dose, I inadvertently handed Neil the Humalog bottle. He took 15 units, the normal Lantus dosage, which was triple the normal Humalog dosage! Because Humalog is very fast-acting, we remained awake for several hours; he tested often and kept eating granola bars. And because it was MY mistake, I had trouble sleeping even after things seemed to settle down. I felt pretty stupid, and more than a little bit guilty for adding to the concerns about insulin, which already had seemed pretty serious!

Day Three: Travel Day

After not enough sleep, and not being warm enough in the night, I awoke about 7:00 to 45 degrees in the tent and 41 outside. It was cloudy and breezy, so it seemed even colder. A small fire felt really good, and we enjoyed a hot breakfast of oatmeal, fresh eggs and bacon, and hot chocolate. The sun was peeking through in the east by 8:15. We were slow to get going this morning and didn't get on the water until after ten o'clock. The temperature was 52 at that point, and there were patches of blue sky, but mainly a cloudy sky overhead.

I hated to leave this special campsite. It seemed a welcoming and comfortable place, and my memories of it on a past trip long ago always triggered a smile.

The portage to Insula was very busy! There was one party paddling away as I went over on the first trip, and we shared the portage with a total of seven canoes. It is the busiest spot I ever remember on a BWCA portage, but we all managed. And, amazingly, once we were on our way, we didn't see those folks again or have a lot of traffic in our immediate view. By this time we had a bright sky again, and Lake Insula looked very beautiful. We stopped on a sandy beach for a leisurely lunch. Saw the only "moose berries" of the trip--this trip wasn't destined to give us views of any large wildlife at all! I photographed a gull on a rock, and later on, a solo canoeist paddling by. He waved at me.

Back on the water we saw one loon, and I missed the photo. This was a disappointment, as the loons aren't that plentiful at this time of year. We noticed a mink running along the shoreline, took note of "The Rock" (why would one rocky island merit a mention on all of the maps??) and chased a large gathering of common merganser ducks. We stopped for a break at a very pretty campsite about 2:30. I really wished we could just make camp, but I didn't say anything and we moved on.

The portage to this small section of the Kawishiwi River is a beautiful spot. I was getting too tired to really enjoy it, and still we paddled on. We arrived at our campsite on Alice Lake at 5 PM. I had "hit the wall" about 4 o'clock, so any site would have looked good. It was very hard to get in on the shoreline because of tricky winds and lots of wave action on a rocky beach. This campsite has a northern view, but we realized that we would probably be too tired to stay up for the chance of Northern Lights anyway.

It was cool, 56 degrees, and windy. We made camp quickly and cooked our supper on the stove: NH Honey Lime Chicken, MH corn, and BPP Apple Delite. Cappuccino and coffee warmed us up, too! Neil found the fork and spoons in the cook kit bag, so we each had a fork! Funny how the simple things can be a comfort!

The site is interesting, with two "bedrooms" on a lower level in the cedar groves, and two up above. We had opted for the high ground; with the tent near the fire grate area. I set up the tripod for some night shots--still hoping to see Aurora borealis once before I die--but it wasn't to happen on this trip.

The full moon rose as we were getting ready to retire. Actually, the full moon had been on September 7th, but this was the closest we came to seeing it, and it was a dramatic sight over the water. I got impatient trying to get a good photo and gave up easily, deciding to just enjoy the sight instead.

I was up several times in the night, and finally had to tell Spartan1 of my problem, because my pain was becoming much more intense. It was a very cold and uncomfortable night for me, and having to get up, go outdoors, and face bladder spasms and head pain made it worse. I had the sleeping bag liner on top of me, my wool shirt over my midsection, and in the night I awoke and put on two wool sweaters. Keeping warm was almost impossible. Another cool-weather trip? A new sleeping bag for me!