Since we weren't going in that far we took a more leisurely pace on Friday morning and were to the entry point by 9:00 a.m. Temps were in the low 50's but the wind was starting to pick up. Thankfully we had all of a 40 minute paddle to our campsite--1710 on the north side of Gabbro. We were all very pleased with the site and would rate it much higher than the 3 stars schweady gave it in his review. Even with a group of 8 we found three nice tent pads and the view from kitchen to the east was awesome. The only drawback to the site was the lack of downed cedar and pine for the cooking fire. We found some, but it was a haul to bring it back to camp.

After we set up camp the weather took a turn for the worse. The wind picked up and it started to sprinkle, but that only seemed to help the fishing. Buzz17 and I fished a pool just off the current between Gabbro and Little Gabbro, and in the course of two hours I limited out. The rest of our group tried other areas without a lot of success. We were, however, pleasantly surprised when one of the guys came back to camp with some nice perch.

Probably the excitement for the first day was my battle with the food pack. I overloaded it, so while we were hanging it the handle snapped and it body slammed me into a small rock wall. I survived, but I really felt like a moron. Live and learn to never stand directly below the food pack.

Lakes: Knife, Amoeber, Topaz, Cherry Portages: 3 Rods: 22r, 17r, 7r Total Distance: 8.5 miles

I awoke early, perhaps 5:45am. I believe I was on the water just after 7am. There was hardly any wind to speak of and passed a gent fishing on a kayak at some distance. Then passed a group of three fishing from the shoreline of their campsite; which looked to be a nice site. Perhaps the kayaker was their 4th. The run through the narrow section of Knife Lake was interesting. The paddle toward the portage to Amoeber was uneventful, though still hot.

The portage into Amoeber wasn't difficult, though I remember some elevation gains. I also recall watching some mergansers play/court on the Knife side and seeing something large swim from land to the closest island. I thought a coyote or perhaps a wolf, but in retrospect it was probably a beaver, maybe a deer. It was to fast to be a loon or bird of some type. It's too bad I wasn't closer. I triple-carried this portage because my back told me to.

Amoeber Lake is certainly pretty. The lake was calm and it was a nice paddle. One group of perhaps a father/son combo was camped on the island site and fishing the western narrows. This was the last group of people I saw this day.

I made the quick triple-carry into Topaz and was delighted by this lake with it's bluffs and islands. The campsite looked deserted and if I was forced to camp there I wouldn't complain. bwca.com has a 1-star rating though.

The next portage was into Cherry Lake and I can see why it's called Cherry Lake. What a cherry! I got an early rise in hopes of getting a site so took the first site, the western-most. A definite 4-star site with a perfectly placed fire grate. I would have liked to check the other site out, but this one suited me fine. I paddled around the larger island just to see what I could see and fought a little wind then set up camp. I intended on exploring this gem of a lake but decided instead for some R&R in the hammock with a book. Some surfacing smallmouth bass caught my attention occasionally and I wet the line. A black spinner yielded two, but I released them.

As the afternoon wore on I gathered firewood and made some dinner of more dehydrated and forgettable. I typically eat two packages and dessert is a handful of M&M's. I meant to check out the east side of Cherry Lake. I know there is a fantastic cliff to see over there. But the mood did not strike me.

I delighted in watching a pair of loons cruise past between the campsite and far shore. I made a fire and really enjoyed the peace and quiet. As dusk fell I took some photos of the fire, stars and opposite island cliffs. Responsible adult beverages enjoyed by all.

I had planned on sailing right through Gabimichigami into Little Sag the next day. My goal was to get into the Boulder/Adams Lake area. My lower back was telling me it would not be a good idea. I listened and made plans for Kekekabic Lake.

Lakes: Cherry, Topaz, Amoeber, Knife Lake, South Arm-Knife Lake, Eddy, Kek Ponds, Kekakabic Lake Portages: 11 Rods: 5, 20, 75, 30, 25, 15, 10, 20, 15, 5 Total Distance: 14 miles

The morning began cold and it was tough getting out of my sleeping bag. I made some coffee and oatmeal and was surprised to hear a human. A lone paddler in a tandem canoe paddled by, cursing his stringer for getting tangled up with his transducer. I whispered a kind hello and he returned it. He had caught a walleye.

I packed up and got moving soon enough. I had a lot of water to cover and several portages. I wasn't looking forward to the Kek Pond portages. I zipped through Topaz and Amoeber and decided on the northern, shorter of the two portages into the north side of Knife Lake. The southern looked swampy, though longer, and the northern looked steeper, but shorter. I was making good time and found it best to keep my pack weight low so I triple-carried over this 75 rod portage.

After loading up I paddled south into a bay that looked promising for solitude and perhaps some diversity. I stumbled on a bear cub at the waters edge. He scampered into the brush and I could hear two distinct animals crashing away. I turned around and paddled west toward my next portage, the portage into the South Arm. The wind was blowing harder now and I was glad it would be at my back for most of the way east along the south arm.

I had lunch at the shores of the south arm, making some fry pan bread under a tree. It was quite warm and the sun was beating down during this mid-afternoon. I read later that a marauding bear that was unafraid of humans lurked the area. I wondered if it was the same bear and cub I bumped into earlier. I doubted it though as they were quite afraid of me.

I paddled east along the southern shores of the south arm and noted the change in forest. I don't remember if it was fire or wind damage, but there was damage. I took note of a group of four canoes paddling out of the Eddy portage, probably toward Hanson. I soon got to the portage and made quick work of the triple-carry up that beast. It was short, but took the wind out of me. I took a few photos of the falls from the top.

I quickly paddled to the Kek Ponds and it took me a few hours to get through them. I marveled in the diversity they offered though.

I got onto Kek and was astounded at the size of the lake. The wind was blowing from the west and I had a nice headwind to contend with. This lake was my destination and I knew it was busier than others and wanted to find a site. And I wanted one close to the next days portage into Strup. It took a while to paddle Kek, and I dodged the wind when I could. I tried for a campsite on the northeast corner of the large body, but it was fully exposed to every element I could think of. The weather was changing and I wanted to get some cover and shelter. I feared it would storm. I was pretty tired by now. Not as tired as I would be the next day, but pretty tired.

The next campsite I checked was the south side of the large island. It was occupied, I think with a couple. I didn't want to continue paddling into the wind and was left with three alternatives. One I already saw. I paddled south a bit and found that campsite to just be unappealing. I settled on the site east and just south of the large island. It had a rocky shore and some nice pines lining the edge. I wasn't a big fan of how amazingly un-level it was, and wasn't a fan of how far the fire area was from the water, but found a tent pad nestled against some foliage.

I broke my handsaw trying to cut a dead-fall down. It would be stick-breaking by hand from here on out.

I washed up and made some dinner. Checked the weather on the weather radio and had some more dehydrated forgettable for dinner. Made a fire and listened to the night sounds.

It got even colder on Sunday night. According to WeatherChannel.com, the temp dropped to 28 degrees. Thankfully I packed enough warm gear that it wasn't that bad. Temps rebounded to the 50's but once again the wind picked up and fishing during the day was slow. We fished the northeast bays of Gabbro and produced a few walleyes, but once again, the best bite was in the evening after the wind died down. We went up into the end of the northern most bay and found a school of walleye, crappie and perch.

The temp dropped to 32 degrees Saturday night and Sunday morning was windy. In the morning we threw out slip bobbers with ciscos and I landed a 34" northern. But once we left camp, this was probably the slowest day of fishing. We tried between Gabbro and Little Gabbro without much success. And then tried several points in Little Gabbro with just a few small walleye. The wind finally subsided in the evening and the lake became glass. The best part of Sunday, though, was the moonrise and then the bite picked up from camp. Caught two nice walleye and a 14" crappie on slip bobber rigs. A few guys went out in the canoes and caught walleye, crappies and more perch. One of the perch was just over 12". A nice way to end an otherwise very frustrating day.