Sunday, August 26, 2018

Our last day of the trip, and we were headed home. It was a warm and sunny day, and with relatively little breeze we expected it to be hot. We took our time in the morning, trying our hand at fishing from camp without any success. It was nearly noon by the time we had packed up camp and were on the water. We chose to run both small rapids along our route out, and that only improved our time. Not wanting to end our trip too soon, we took our time paddling down the last unbroken stretch of the Kawishiwi before the portage to EP 32. Hats and bandanas were frequently dipped in the water to keep us cool in the cloudless sky. At some point a frisbee made its way out of someone's bag, and we tried our best to throw the disc back and forth between the canoes. Given that three out of the four group members play ultimate frisbee in the Twin Cities, you'd think that we would have success with this (we did not).
By 1:30pm by had reached the portage back to the parking lot. With seasoned shoulders and very little food weight the portage was much easier going. We passed another group just starting their own Kawishiwi adventure. Speaking for myself, I'd take sore shoulders at the start of a trip in the BWCA over breezing through a portage to end one. On the drive home I was already thinking about the next.

Daily Summary:

Lakes traveled: S. Kawishiwi River
Distance paddled: 4.95 mi
Distance portaged: 0.45 mi
Number of portages: 1

Trip Summary

People: 4
Canoes: 2 (16' Old Town Penobscot and 17' Wenonah Spirit II)
Total Distance Traveled: 33.48 mi
Total Distance Paddled: 30.18 mi
Total Distance Portaged: 3.30 mi (1056 rods)
Days/Nights in BWCAW: 4/3