Saturday, June 17, 2006. Mostly sunny with temps in the mid 70s.

Rising early the last morning, we decided to just get up and go. We were now out of coffee and oatmeal. For the trip out, we would have to rely on whatever remaining snacks we each had left.

We spotted a couple of deer along this stretch of river. As we approached the island campsite just east of Twin Falls, we noticed a large eagle nest with an eaglet standing on the edge. His parents watched us from trees flanking the nest.

After crossing the Twin Falls portage, we paused to take a few pictures. We then made our way to the floating dock on the north side of Bell Island. This was the agreed upon pickup location. We were a little early. There was an Anderson shuttle tied up to the dock. We spoke with the friendly pilot until his party of canoes showed up. As they were loading, another boat arrived. It was Randy. As he boated up to us, he stuck his head out a hole in the canvas roof and asked “Are you guys real smelly?” We assured him we were.

On the trip back we would be sharing the boat with 4 other guys Randy had picked up at the Bottle Portage earlier. They had been up to Crooked Lake and Iron. They too had good success fishing. Eleven guys, all their gear and 5 canoes. We were loaded. We crossed two mechanized portages on the way back. The Beaty Portage pulled us out of Lac La Croix and dropped us into Loon Lake. The Loon River Portage pulled us out of Loon Lake and dropped us into the Loon River. Both consisted of a rail car with a padded boat cradle that rides on a railroad track. A cable was used the pull the loaded rail car up one side of the portage and then let it down the other. Simple but effective.

The boat trip down the Loon River was like a Disneyland ride. There is little room for error. Randy, up on one knee and cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, guided the jet boat through the narrow channels sometimes with just a couple of feet clearance on either side. NASCAR drivers have nothing on this guy. It was an exhilarating ride. The older gentleman riding shotgun looked pale. The younger guy in the back of the boat had a grin from ear to ear. The rest of us were somewhere in between.

After a stop at the American Customs station on Crane Lake, we found ourselves safely back at Gateway Resort. Gus was there and welcomed us back. We unloaded the boat then loaded the gear and canoes onto our vehicles. We settled up our bill and, at Gus’s recommendation, headed up to the Trail’s End Resort located on Echo Lake. They served cold beer there and Gus told us they had the best burgers in the county. He was right.

Soon, with our bellies full, our senses of adventure satisfied, and with the memories of Quetico still fresh in our minds, we headed for home.
Snakecharmer