Forecast: Sunny, high of 71° Low of 49°

Lakes: Ensign, Splash, Sucker, New Found, and Moose

Total Miles Traveled: 7.7 (2.3 Paddle, 5.4 on tow)

Wake up in the morning and decide again to finish my breakfast bars and leave the Mountain House eggs in the bag. Our pick up is for our tow back to LaTourell’s is at 1pm on Splash so we have plenty of time to let our things dry before packing . I decided to write in my journal as I didn’t have a book. I started to reflect on what I learned this year and what I can do differently next year.

1. I am ready to try Grand Marais next year. 2. Less Freeze Dried Food! (esp. breakfast) 3. More Yard Guard! 4. Bring a book 5. Make my own trail mix, I always end up with one ingredient I don’t like in the store bought stuff. 6. I need to find some light weight durable tent stakes. Mine have had it after 2 trips. I think I will try the ones that MSR makes. 7. Bring a lighter. Bill had one but didn’t tell me till half way through the trip and a box of matches later. 8. Hand lotion to deal with dry skin. I had some pretty bad cracks that would bleed from time to time. 9. Sudafed Sinus in the Med Kit’.

We left our site at 11am and head to Splash, I make the suggestion to paddle up north just to check it out as we have time to kill. As we approach the campsite on the east side Bill see’s a giant butt running from us. A black bear we assume. We start talking in whispers and slowly paddle up 10 yards from the shore and finally see him looking at us. It is magnificent. This is the first time I have seen a black bear in the wild. He looks at us, as I grab my camera and zoom in; he huffs at us and walks into the trees and out of sight. The way he did it almost makes me think he told me where to stick my camera! We slowly paddle back and forth along the shore trying to get another glimpse of him, but he is gone. I then realize we are only 1 mile from where we camped the night before, and he could have easily gotten to that food under the canoe. So much for my theory!

We make the last portage and play in the rapids for a bit. I am able to set the camera up for a timer shot. I’m in the middle Bill on my right and Paul on my left. We pick up our tow and head to LaTourell’s for a fresh shower and fresh clothes.

We head back into town for beer and blue cheese mushroom burgers with bacon at the Chocolate Moose. The first thing Bill does is buy all of their cookies. I pick up some of Dorothy’s root beer at Piragis and then it’s on the road to go back home. Discussing and dreaming, of course, of our trip in 2009.