Day 9 – Tuesday 10-04-16 I was up before the sun and on the water at 6:30. I had fine-tuned my routine throughout the week and made the earliest start of my trip. The winds picked up throughout the morning, but remained manageable. That was of course, until I reached the final mile of my trip. The headwind across Kawishiwi Lake must have been twenty miles per hour. These were by far the worst seas of my trip, but the end was in sight and I pushed through. I had full confidence in my Northstar Magic and made it safely to the entry point with my bailing sponge still dry. 
The day may have been getting too windy to paddle, but it was still a beautiful day to drive home. I stopped in Duluth to have a half inch tear mended in my dad’s Duluth Pack and continued home to the waiting arms of my family. 
“And so it will be for centuries to come. Men will always be drawn to the last frontiers, where they can recapture some of the basic satisfactions and joys of the race, renew the sense of mystery and wonder and even some of the dreams their forebears had known. Some will embark on wilderness expeditions, but most will content themselves with a fleeting look at places that are still wild and unchanged. Even those who cannot travel will gain comfort from knowing far horizons are there.” Sigurd F Olson – Listening Point