Up at 5:00, and used headlamps to make coffee, breakfast, and to load up gear. Were on the water at 6:20—only that late because we each wanted a second cup of coffee! The skies were still grey, and after only paddling 10 minutes or so, the wind started up again. Took North Portage (640 meters) from Sunday into Bailey Bay, where we encountered heavy cross-winds, but soon turned into Inlet Bay, which was more protected. Made it from our Sunday Lake campsite to Prairie Portage—about 7 miles—in 2 hours, so we're way ahead of the schedule we need to maintain to meet our Moose Lake shuttle. Across the top of Sucker we had the wind at our backs. Expected Newfound and Moose to have less wind, but winds were a mixed bag of direction and strength. Stopped on Newfound for a 'brunch' break—cranked up the stove for ramen, and ate our last crackers and trail mix. Food planning was perfect this trip—we'll get back to Ely with only a package of ramen, a pudding mix, and a few tea bags. Began meeting lots of canoes headed into Canoe Country as we paddled down Newfound. Wind was stronger on Moose, and waves were getting bigger. We stopped at Charles L Sommers canoe base, where I started/ended my first visit to BWCA/Quetico in 1978, and during our visit the winds calmed. Of course, it's only a couple hundred yards from Sommers to the public landing on Moose, and we were there well before our shuttle's appointed time. Another crew of four was also waiting for pickup, and talking with them made our wait time fly by. The Piragis shuttle was right on time, and we stopped at US Customs on our way into Ely. Picked up our car at Piragis, checked into our room, and delighted in a shave and hot showers. Walked to the Chocolate Moose, where we ran into Darryl and Isaac, who had shared our Ted Lake site—shared trip notes with them while enjoying coffee and desserts.

Our last trip day was capped off with dinner at Grand Ely Lodge, where we critiqued every aspect of the trip—food, gear, route, etc. Tomorrow will begin with breakfast at Britton's, after which we'll have two days' driving to get back to Pisgah Forest, NC.