Saturday, August 11, 2007. McIntyre, Pauline, Burt, Marj, Joyce, no-name, Kahshahpiwi. 7 portages, 7.5 miles.

Another brief morning shower before leaving the five-star campsite, but on the water by 9:00. portages into and out of Pauline were nice, and the lake is pretty with a couple nice campsites. From Pauline we portaged into Burt, where we saw pictographs in the narrows. From Burt we portaged into Marj, then a no-name, then Joyce, where we stopped for lunch before working our way into Kahshahpiwi. The 590 meter portage out of Joyce plays stair-master for a bit, then dumps you into a bog just when you're thinking the portage should be over. Because of the dry weather, this is the first bog we've had to deal with—glad it's not full-on moose muck! We took turns crossing the bog so the other could take photos. After the bog we had a short hop over a granite ridge into the no-name lake, then a 920 meter portage into Kahshahpiwi. Took us about 30 minutes to clear the last portage, which we referred to as 'the Sampler', because it had some of everything: climbs, drops, some bog-walking, some boulder gardens, then an incredible descent to the lake.

We didn't remember many sites on Kahshahpiwi, so planned to grab the first 'non-desperation' site we found. And what luck—directly across the lake from the portage was what looked like a small site at water's edge. When we paddled to it, we discovered that canoes can be secured at water's edge, but that the campsite is on a granite bluff above the landing. While most of the east shoreline was burned a couple years back, this point and campsite were spared, and we're spending the night in another five-star site. We have a fabulous view down the lake, and the site has an elevated stone cooking surface, log benches, and a nice fire ring. Home, sweet home! After quick site set-up, we relaxed with coffee for me, tea for Tia. Looking down the lake we saw a canoe approach, then spot our tent (or us) and turn around to camp at another site. Another night without the rain fly on the tent, light breeze for good sleeping temp, and views of the lake and stars from our sleeping bags.