Sunday, September 09, 2012 Well, the last full day of my trip is today but I am not out of the woods yet, pun intended! I got a late start thinking that today would be easier than yesterday. Wrong! Temperatures hung around the upper 40’s at first. Today I faced two long portages, the first a half mile long and the last almost nine tenths of a mile (280 rods). Horse portage at 340 rods was a little easier than the second portage despite the heavier food pack. Those contemplating Horse Portage some day should not be too intimidated, it is gradually downhill and almost all of that portage is relatively smooth. My second portage would be rougher with delightful dispersions of “sidewalk” along the top of the granite monolith ridge before dropping down to a swamp. The punishments my body was taking all along the journey seemed to be adding up by now. My arthritic right knee was throbbing a little now and I felt blisters developing on my left foot. This quadruple portaging thing was getting to me. One foot forward, then the next, trudge on and on. Come on pack mule! At last Basswood Lake with all accoutrements plus self arrived! The four-mile paddle down the lake was like traveling from a lonely backcountry road since leaving the Basswood River to suddenly being thrusted on a busy highway at rush hour. People were everywhere! What a shock! I paddled to a illegal, since I did not have an overnight permit, campsite just past the “paddle only” marker on Jackfish Bay at 6:15 in the evening. After dishwashing under headlamp and lantern was over, I turned in weary again after watching a nice sunset.