Day 7 – Sunday 10-02-16 I made a short travel day, traveling to Malberg Lake site 1056. I opted to take the northeast route into Malberg. The yellow of the fall birch trees was really popping along the Kawishiwi as the morning fog lifted. One particular birch on Trapline Lake really popped against the contrasting evergreens behind. I stopped below the falls out of Malberg into the Kawishiwi River to toss a No. 0 Mepps spinner. A jerk on the line and I landed a beautiful smallmouth. Not a record breaker, but exactly what I needed. On a bed of wild rice and baked beans, this made for a delicious amazing shore lunch. As I entered Malberg, I saw the first people I had seen since Thursday. It was the warmest day yet, temperatures must have been in the upper 60’s with plenty of sunshine. I had enjoyed my solitude and long days of travel. I was feeling wore out though, and needed an afternoon of rest. I spent the remainder of the day leaned against a tree with my #2 Duluth pack as a backrest, writing in my journal and reading deep into Listening Point. As I wrote in my journal, a Kevlar Wenonah canoe came down the narrows of Malberg towards me. The voices of its three paddlers carried with the wind across the water. They were a quarter mile away, but might as well have been right in camp with me. They clicked their gunnels as they passed, carried south by the breeze. I heard one say, “Lone wolf.” I guess that’s me. A sip of fresh Malberg water and I immersed myself back into my novel, enjoying the best sunset of the trip.