We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning. We made coffee and ate a leisurely breakfast. We packed up camp and loaded the canoes one last time. The paddle to Mudro was uneventful.

On the portage from Sandpit to Mudro, we ran into a group of boy scouts from Illinois. They were climbing the portage after dropping their gear in Sandpit and were on their way back across for a second load. Their leader stopped all the young men and had a discussion with them about being kind in the BWCA. Suddenly all the guys came over and asked if they could carry some of our gear over. They said it was a waste to walk without anything. We have been double portaging the entire trip (6 trips neeeded betweeen the 4 of us) and so had some "extra gear" to give them. One of the gals with me was 60, and has a head of white hair. They guys all ran over to her to "help." They were surprised when she told them that she didn't need help. We obviously didn't "need" help with our gear. But I understood that the leader was teaching these young men to be kind and generous. So we let them help, and were able to single portage. They were impressed to see us "wet foot" into the lake to quietly drop our canoes into the water. No banging or slamming of our canoes.

We made our way across Mudro. It was around 10am and it was very crowded. A couple other groups were crossing on their way out... so we just enjoyed the sun and took our time.

We did the last portage into the parking lot, packed everything in the car, and changed into clean clothes. (not that it makes much of a difference when you're so smelly, but at least there aren't stains all over!) We drove to Ely and enjoyed a last lunch at the Chocolate Moose before heading home.

What a great trip!

A couple of notes: We made it through the entire trip without using one band aid. That's a first for any trip that I've been on!

This was the first year that we decided against bringing cheese to have for lunch. I usually pack 2 string cheeses per person for each lunch. For a week, it ends up weighing about 5 pounds. We decided to cut that weight this year and just take jerkey and nut butters. (almond and peanut)

Jelly beans are much better tasting than GU power gel when my blood sugar is low. (I have type 1 diabetes and need to pack food that is easily accessible and lightweight for hypoglycemia) Gu is nice to have, because it's in single serving containers and can be slurped down quickly. This year I also brought some individual packs of Power Beans. Next trip I'll bring more of those.

Slap straps ROCK. I can't believe I spent all those years rigging hammocks up with rope. Never again.

We used a new food pack this year. A CCS deluxe food pack. I loaded all the food into the containers that fit inside the pack. It was a dream to carry and easy to keep meals/food organized. LOVE IT.

We used a thermacell, but only when it wasn't windy. It really works, but the slightest bit of wind and it isn't effective.