Saturday, July 05, 2008

I always dread the last day of a canoe trip. I am not as motivated to get out of bed and tearing down camp seems to take longer. After camp is dismantled, we have a quick breakfast of bagels and cream cheese and load up the canoe. It is another great day on Seagull Lake--sunny, warm and a good breeze out of the west. At least the last day of paddling will be easy. We head northeast towards the palisades and the many islands in Seagull's northern bay.

It is a very scenic part of the lake and an area that hasn't seen fire recently. Most of the way we just coast with the wind and soak up the experience. There is no hurry today. At the palisades we see a group of young ladies setting ropes to climb the cliffs and another guy attempting to find a good cliff jumping spot. His wife, still in the canoe, was not pleased at all and muttered something about the idiot she married to us and we passed by.

I troll a Rapala most of the way across the lake with no luck. Oh well... We stop by "the chute" where Seagull Lake empties towards Gull Lake and then Saganaga. Man is the water really rushing. We watch a party struggle to paddle upstream and almost get turned and capsize. Eventually we paddle past the church camp on Fishhook Island. It is nice to see activity there and rebuilding after the Ham Lake Fire last year. Finally, we turn the corner into the small bay where Seagull Outfitters resides. I don't even want to paddle and part of me wanted to turn around. But the wind wouldn't have allowed it anyway as it was really started to gust. My mind relents to the fact that the trip is over and we ride the waves back to the dock.

The Seagull crew is really efficient. Before I know it all our packs are unloaded and I find myself standing on the dock watching the canoe get carried away. I appreciated their help, but part of me wanted to savor the moment a little longer. Sigh.... After sorting through the equipment, having a cold drink and a hot shower we are off to meet Cowdoc and family at Tuscarora Outfitters.

We have a nice dinner at Trail Center. A good crowd was enjoying a guy out back playing music and singing. Porterhouse steaks were the special and man did they taste great. Lauren had the fries and ketchup that I promised her for being such a good trooper. We exchange stories with Cowdoc's family about our trips and had a nice time. The time passes quickly and before we knew it the place was almost empty. At 2200, we drive in the dark back up the trail to the bunkhouse and retire for the night.

Here is our trip map.