It's my last day and I get my earliest start. There is still some wind this morning which I have come to learn makes for a blustery day. For now though it's relatively tame. I make good time across Fourtown Lake and get to the first portage to Mudro Just as the sun has risen. It is quite a shock to see at first look. A very steep climb right out of the water but I am able to go up stream to a secondary take out. It involves pulling the canoe up some shallow rapids but it is worth it. It is a short portage but makes up for it by having a very short paddle to the next portage-another steep initial climb. This portage is long and difficult by my standards and doing triple portaging makes it that much longer. The last portage to Mudro Lake is short and level but has the worst footing of any portage I've ever done. When I land on Mudro Lake the wind has picked up but is still doable. I paddle across this smaller lake against the wind and soon find the creek that leads to the take out and my car where Jamie and I left it two weeks ago. After paddling up the creek and scraping a few rocks along the way I put in at a nice sand bar landing and begin the last portage-to my car. Soon it will be pizza and ice cream.

Epilogue: When I was sixteen, Mariel, I saw things quite differently just as I can only imagine you do now. Still, it doesn't hurt to see the views of an old man in the twilight of his working life. It's been asked why anyone would want to do a long solo canoe trip to the wilderness. For me, it is a rare chance to not look at what I have come to see my fellow man as, for the most part, an ape with language. I didn't bring a mirror with me.