The big day has arrived! We woke up at 5:00a.m. The weather was not good. It was raining like a bitch. I worry --the Badwater portage is a mother even in dry weather. I have heard horror stories about it when it is wet or raining. I tried not to worry Jody but I know he was apprehensive to say the least. The rain continued as we head into town. Along the way we saw 2 black bears, they were about a mile from each other along the side of the road. Pretty cool! We stopped at Robins Doughnuts for a quick doughnut and coffee as they were the only place open in the sleepy hamlet of Atikokan. The rain continued as we headed to our entry. I watched the sky closely and saw lightning in the distance. I think Jody sees it also. I assured him it is the northern lights again, and you cannot be killed by lightning in a Kevlar canoe. I felt bad-- I just lied to my buddy twice in thirty seconds. I hope God does not punish me! As we approached Beaverhouse, the rain stopped. What a miracle--the wind that I was worried about also stopped. I think how lucky we were at this moment. We quickly unloaded the truck and double portaged our gear to the put-in landing. The portage was an easy 160 rod carry. Thankfully very easy. We met the ranger at the landing and tell him we’ll see him in a half hour or so. The paddle across Beaverhouse was great. We had hardly any wind, and the new canoe handled well with the heavy load we bestowed upon it. We made it to the ranger station in quick manner, got our permit and headed to the first portage of the day. The portage links Beaverhouse to Quetico Lake. As we approached the portage, we were greeted by two guys that we will see throughout the trip. They assured us the best way to approach this portage was from the right side. After watching them struggle with their packs and canoe for a few minutes I decided to go to the left side. Much easier. We unloaded the canoe in the muddy muck. The portage required unloading in the water. There was a steep bank that you had to get the gear up. I stayed down below and handed Jody the packs up above. Our system worked well. We quickly traversed the short 60 rod portage into Quetico. There were flowers lining most of the portage, and the sun was shining now. To our left was a turbulent set of rapids that emptied from Quetico into Beaverhouse. Very beautiful spot. I love to hear the roar of rapids in canoe country. We quickly loaded the canoes and were off to our next portage-- the short west bay carry over that links Quetico’s main body to west bay. This portage is located on a beautiful long stretch of sandy beach. It is hard to tell if you are in the wilds of Quetico, or some nice tropical beach. This portage was short, maybe 30 yards. A quick snack of raspberries that lined the beach and a drink of water and we were on to the famous Badwater portage. We arrived at the portage that sat in the back of west bay. We were both nervous as we approached the dark spot along the shore that marked the portage. We silently unloaded the canoe with all gear. I put on my glasses that I should not have had with me in the first place, to check the maps and the time. I put my glasses back down and reached for my water bottle. I heard a splash in the water, I know it’s my glasses……..Dammit. I started to feel around the murky water and somehow find them. I cleaned them off and set them on my day pack. Jody and I discussed our strategy for this monster mile long portage. We decided to take the heavy Duluth packs first trip across. I would also carry paddles, and he would carry the 147 sets of fishing rods that we brought with us. I turned around to move my day pack and carried it the 20 feet to dry land, and remembered that I had my glasses sitting on it. No glasses to be found. I cussed myself severely. First of all, I should not have had these glasses with me! I have 4 pair of readers that would have work just fine. Secondly, I just lost them for the second time in 5 minutes. What a dumbass. I retraced my steps, and after a five minute search I found the glasses again. Jody was amazed… what luck! We were finally ready to start the portage. I helped Jody hoist his pack up on his back and asked if he was comfortable. He looked at me like the idiot I am and said yes, as comfortable as an overloaded cube of crap can be on a muddy bug infested, hot day. It was hot, getting close to 85 degrees. I loaded my pack up and off we went. About 300 feet into the portage I thought to myself, what the hell I have done. The portage started with a steep incline over some of the toughest terrain I have ever experienced in canoe country. About 600 feet into the portage I was laying on my ass, with the heavy Duluth pack on top of me, and three paddles stuck 2 feet in the mud. Jody heard me fall; he asked if I was o.k. I can’t believe he’s still talking to me at this point. I assured him I was O.K., I got up and started again. The next leg was not any better. Nothing but mud, rock, water, downed trees, and up and down. It was a %#@*&%^ nightmare. The bugs were thick. Thank God for Deet. I made it to the half way point. I set down the pack and dug for the water bottle. Man, was that needed! Jody was right behind me. He looked like death. He was sweating profusely and I could tell he had a rumble or two with the mud somewhere along the trail. We both rested for 10 minutes. Our initial plan was to leap frog our gear, but we decided to go ahead and finish the first carry all the way to the lake. The next half was not as bad--on a scale of 1-10 I would give it an 8. It was getting hot though… man it was hot. We reached the lake in a little over an hour. We sat and rested for 20 minutes, draink a ton of water and rehashed just what we have been through. Jody’s still talking to me, why… I don’t know. Another quick drink and we were on our way back for round two. As we got toward the end of the portage to retrieve the rest of the gear we passed a man with a heavy pack on his back and a solo canoe. He was miserable and asked if it gets any better. We told him not really. He yelled out something that I can’t print here and goes on his way. We got back to start round 2. I noticed that the guy we met on the portage had at least two more trips to get everything across. Poor guy… that’s a total of at least 5 miles across this hell hole. I loaded up the canoe with my day pack that weighed too much and headed out. I again made it about 600 feet up the slippery climb before I had to rest for water, and a break. Jody was not far behind me. I started my journey again and somehow I was able to make it through all the down trees without setting down the new canoe. What a way to break in a new canoe! Jody was right behind me, I heard him swearing; I don’t know if he was cussing me or the trail. Probably both. I made it to the half way point. Time for more water and a rest. I waited for Jody but he didn’t appear. Come to find out he fell off the corduroy and was waist deep in muck. (Took him a while to get out of it) I looked up ahead and saw our voyager friend had set his canoe down and took his pack across to the end. I too must do the same thing. I decided to leave the pack and just take the canoe. This sucked because now I’ve got to do half this monster again. It was getting hot… man it was hot. The mosquitoes were thick and the black flies were everywhere! Are we having fun yet??? Jody was not saying a word. I’m sure he was thinking “how the hell did I get in this predicament?” I know he wanted to kick my ass, he decided against it because I hid the car keys. I made it to the lake, gently set the canoe down and headed for the water. I dipped my head in the tannic blend and relished the cool water. I dug out the water bottle and drank, and drank, and drank. I rested for a few minutes and started back for the day pack. I passed Jody about ¼ of the way and asked if he was o.k. He didn’t answer me; he was staring into space with a river of sweat pouring off his entire body and a colony of assorted insects hovering over his every move. He finally assured he’s alright, as he slowly trudged toward the lake. I made it back to the pack and started my final trek to Badwater Lake. It was hot, so hot. As I approached the lake, I found Jody fully clothed and in the water. I thought he might be trying to drown himself to put him out of his misery. He assured me he was not, but he was thinking of drowning me. If he only had the truck key... We rested, collected our bearings and headed for a campsite. I wanted one that sits on a peninsula toward the middle of the lake. It will offer some protection from the bugs, and has some great tent pads. As we approached it from the south another group was approaching from the north. They were a group of young kids that were on their way out after a weeklong trip. We got to the site about the same time. I asked if they wanted to camp there, and they said yes. One of the young men asked if we wanted it, I think he could tell that we were about whipped. The other boys also agreed that we could have it. We gratefully accepted their hospitality. It took us about 3 hour to set up camp that night, a chore that usually takes us an hour. (We were moving mighty slow) We did have nice fire that night, and a wonderful meal. As we watched a beautiful sunset we were able to laugh about the day’s events. Glad we made it and happy to be where we were. I did secure my tent pretty good that night… Thought Jody still might want to kill me.