Neither of us slept very well. We woke up with the wind still blowing out of the west. After enjoying our bagels and Clif bars, we hit the water, intending to camp on Seagull for the last night. Thankfully, the wind was at our back and we breezed across Ogish and Kingfisher in no time at all. We even stopped at the place on Kingfisher we had visited the previous day, and Cam caught a pike. The buzz baits really produced for him this trip.

Once we were on Jasper the wind really picked up, and foot-high waves pushed us across the lake. It was uncomfortable to see about two or three inches between the top of the waves and the top of the canoe, but I managed to keep the canoe pointed straight and we made it across Jasper without taking on any water. Alpine Lake was worse. We made it to the portage landing again without taking on any water. Cam handled the conditions like a pro. He was a former Sea Scout, so wind and waves didn’t rock his boat, so to speak. We made a perfect landfall onto the portage. Someone was definitely looking out for us. If the waves had been any higher it may have been a different story. We were both grateful for God’s protection.

Despite the stiff wind out of the west, it was actually a nice day with sunny skies and puffy white clouds, and none of the portages gave us any problems. Both of us knew that the wind and waves would be awful on Seagull, and indeed they were. The entire lake was a sea of whitecaps. Seeing that the site right next to the Alpine portage was open, we claimed it at about 11 AM and stayed there for the rest of the day. We spent time reading, playing cards, and playing music. Camden shore fished (unsuccessfully) and made a small raft out of twigs and grass while I worked on organizing my gear and tackle box. One party with four canoes lashed their canoes together to make two catamarans and paddled by us, heading off into Seagull Lake singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in a round. Cam and I just looked at each other and laughed. Those people really were ingenious.

The wind continued almost without abating all day long. I have to admit that that afternoon I was ready for the trip to be over. I was nervous about the paddle we would have to take the next day. We had seen plenty of people throughout the trip and did right up until we left, but the fact that it was late September and not many people would be passing through after this kept my alertness level very high. However, I continued to keep myself busy while praying that the next day would produce good paddling conditions so we could make it across Seagull. Slowly I began to feel better as God’s peace began to fill me.

We enjoyed more ramen and some leftover bacon for dinner along with a couple cups of coffee. Cam then scrounged up some firewood and we got a fire going as the wind slowly died down. The wind had blown away all the clouds so we had a perfectly clear night. The stars came out one by one, and visibility was just about perfect, bringing back memories of seeing the starry host from a campsite not far from ours on my first trip back in 2013. I could even see traces of the Milky Way if I looked hard enough. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation about how God was working in our lives as we enjoyed watching the stars.

The outfitters had told me that there was a good northern lights forecast on the trip, and I had looked every night of the trip. That night, as we surveyed the heavens, we could definitely see a hazy light across the northern sky, and as we both looked we could see pulses of light. We were both happy to have seen even this small trace of the northern lights, and huddled closer to our fire as the moon rose and the temperature dropped.

All of a sudden, Cam and I both turned to see the aurora out in full force across the northern horizon. Strong lights shimmered in a curtain as a ring of greenish light formed around the northern horizon and continued revolving and pulsating, slowly withdrawing as the moon rose higher. The spectacle was strong and beautiful despite the moonlight, without which I’m sure the show would have been really amazing. At that moment, I realized that God was completely and totally sovereign over the weather that day. Had the wind not been blowing, we had intended to camp on a site that faced south, and moreover the skies may not have been clear for the display. It was an incredible faith-building moment for both of us as we realized that. There is no such thing as an accident in God’s way of doing things.

Still filled with the wonder of what we had seen we headed for bed. The night was chilly, and I was thankful for my warm sleeping bag, wool shirt, long underwear, and stocking cap.