Saturday, July 28, 2012 We were up and broke camp and on the water by 8:30am. Traveled the route to Phoebe, Grace, Ella, Beth, Alton over to Sawbill. Did some trolling along the way, but raised only some small smallies. At the Ella to Beth portage, Tom gets to the end first and I meet him coming back with a load for a young family with two little girls who passed us going the other way. I get to the end and follow his lead, bringing the rest of their stuff. The little girls appear to be having a ball, and it is fun to help out and great to see these families getting youngsters into the woods. Got to Sawbill landing about 3 pm and carried stuff up to the Subaru. We dig out beers and, even warm, they taste great. Tom goes up to grab a shower at Sawbill Outfitters while I start packing and loading the canoe. 'Bout this time, I figure out what has been lost, this trip (no matter how careful, it always seems we leave something). It is a section of the 4-piece yak paddle that we carry for a spare. It was lashed under the rear seat, but apparently came out along some portage, somewhere. Tom says: shoulda put the lash cord through a hole in the piece... Dang! Wish he woulda said that about 10 days ago. [we never did break out that yak paddle, but it works well, per other trips]. Anyhow, we get loaded up and head down the road to try a little Temperance River troutfishing before the road south to Iowa and California...
[Back at home, it isn't long before I am researching other PMA opportunities... I think I've spotted some good ones, and I email Tom about some of these. His reply: "sounds interesting but, I think portages to hell with fish pretty much absent are off my list." No problem, I've got a year or more to work on him.]