Day 11 Friday, August 16

We packed up under another beautiful morning and paddled down Louisa Lake to the Louisa Falls Portage.

Having been warned that this portage can be treacherous when wet we scouted the steep sections before moving the boats down, but everything proved to be dry and negotiated carefully with a few big steps. We met an older couple in their 70's moving up the portage from Agnus Lake, exchanged a few greetings, and helped them move a couple of packs up the steep slope on our return trip for more gear. They sent us off with a big thanks as they were just heading in with full rations and appreciated the help. We snapped a few pictures at the falls but skipped the swim and headed onward to the much anticipated (dreaded) Meadows portages. Though long, the portages were straight forward. It helped that we were down to our last 24 hours of food. Everyone worked hard but Zach and Ryan in particular were in “mission mode” grabbing boats and bags and just making it happen. Sammy carried forward easily with the quiet competence and team spirit that we have come to expect from her. We lunched and paddled down Sunday Lake in the sunshine toward the scenic Singing Brook portage we lamented the fact that tomorrow was our last day on the water and shared thoughts on how much fun we were having. Ryan and Zach spent time planning their first trip to the Quetico sans parental units. We set up camp on an island across from the portage into Bayley Bay, went for a swim and dried our socks. Mark and Tony made one last expedition for fish but came back empty with similar findings to those on Louisa Lake. They’re out there but they are VERY deep.