I rose at about six to a beautiful morning. Grandpa was sleeping pretty hard so I busied myself preparing our day pack and breakfast. When he finally woke up, he told me that he had been up for a good part of the night with a bad headache. Breakfast that morning put him off to a good start – French toast bagels with bacon and coffee, a classic on our trips. I buttered the bagels and toasted them in the frying pan before adding syrup.

This day’s expedition was a day trip to Ester Lake. Ester is Grandpa’s favorite lake and for years he has told me about his many adventures climbing the mountain, camping on the south side of the lake, and swimming at the sand bar and sand beach. We camped on Ester on the second day of my first Boundary Waters trip back in 2013 but rain and clouds dampened our spirits that day. I had wanted to bring Grandpa back to make some good memories ever since that day, and four years later I was able to fulfill that dream. It was surreal.

The sun was shining overhead and the wind was in our face, but with an empty canoe we were able to make good time. On the portages, Grandpa carried my Duluth pack and the paddles, and I managed the canoe. As we tackled Monument Portage and the Ottertrack-Ester portage, we relived the memories of our first trip together with our family. I once again was able to carry a canoe over the Ottertrack-Ester portage, the portage that I believe made a man out of me a few years ago. We took plenty of rests and water breaks and Grandpa did great. I also enjoyed seeing the high rocky shorelines of Ottertrack once again. I need to come back to that lake.

Grandpa was ecstatic once we reached Ester. He was so happy to be on his favorite lake again. Memory after memory began rising to his mind. He first told me that we had to follow the north shoreline of the lake to find the sand beach. I asked him if he was thinking about the sandbar near the campsites, which I remembered, but he wasn’t. We paddled along the north shoreline of the lake and lo and behold a big beautiful sand beach sat tucked away in a cove. Grandpa’s still with it!

We paddled across the lake to the high bluff, which Grandpa always refers to as Ester Mountain, to try to find the trail that led to the top. When he brought school groups up in the 1970s, they always made a trip to the top of Ester Mountain. We were planning to eat our lunch up there while enjoying the view. We investigated several likely locations and bushwhacked a little but were unable to find the trail. Grandpa was a little disappointed, but neither of us wanted to take any chances. We were able to find a nice overlook over Ester Lake and get a taste of the mountaintop experience. My outfitter later told me that the trail had probably grown over. I may go back in a few years, bushwhack to the top myself, and experience it for both of us.

We returned to the sand beach, which we both affectionately referred to as Maui of the North, and enjoyed our trail lunch. After that, Grandpa and I went in for a refreshing swim. This swim may have been the highlight of my whole summer. The sand was soft and easy on the feet, and the water was cool, pure, and refreshing. It was a real kick for me to see Grandpa enjoying one of his favorite spots in the Boundary Waters once again at age seventy-five. I sat on the shoreline and watched as he waded out into the lake and sat down in the water with ecstasy and joy radiating from him, knowing that age seventy-five he was able to return once again to his favorite lake. It was an incredible moment that I’ll never forget. I hope I live through my old age with the same vigor and vitality that he has.

We had our prayer time sitting on the beach, loaded up the canoe, and headed back for our campsite on Saganaga which we reached at about 2 PM, once again taking many breaks on the way home. Thankfully the wind was at our back now. The portages were a little more difficult now that we were not fresh, but it wasn’t too bad. Grandpa was tired, but we were both pleased at our accomplishment.

That afternoon, Grandpa rested while I prepared firewood for the evening campfire, read, and fished from shore. After he got up, we enjoyed a stimulating conversation while I prepared dinner, which was Mountain House chicken teriyaki with rice. This meal is pretty slick. All you have to do is add two cups of boiling water to the pouch, let it stand for about ten minutes, and stir and serve. It was relaxing not to have a pot to clean out that evening.

Once again we enjoyed a wonderful campfire. We quietly played my guitar and sang a few songs but as silence settled over the lake and the wind died down, we put it away and listened to the loons calling all over the lake. Both Grandpa and I are always filled with awe and wonder at the beauty of the Boundary Waters. We really appreciate having a place that frees us from distractions and puts us far away from the fast pace and problems that so define our world, instead allowing us to completely focus on God, His Word, and His works. Grandpa turned in early, and I nursed the coals for a little while longer before joining him.