Day 6: Everything was soaked, so we took our time packing up on our last day in the Boundary Waters. We didn’t have far to go to our exit point; we were to meet Travis from Piragis at 4:30 p.m. at exit point 84, Snake River. We didn’t get into the water until noon, and with a stiff west wind, we had to drop anchor just to slow down our progress up the Isabella River. The buzz bait was again the champ as I had maybe 30 more hits over the next few hours as we meandered toward Snake River. As we got there, Eric hooked into a monster smallmouth, which gave him everything he wanted before he landed it and measured it at 22 inches. It was by far the biggest bass he had ever caught, so he and Derek got out of their canoe to take a bunch of pictures. That put us behind on our timeline to get out by 4:30, but it didn’t look like we had too difficult a task ahead of us. If only we knew. Snake River is a tiny little stream, and we followed the turns on our map, making sure we knew how far we had traveled. We reached the first 62-rod portage, right where we thought it should be. It was a steep up-and-down portage, and we put in on the other side, in a small pond. The problem was, we couldn’t find where the pond continued on to the next 34-rod portage. We poked around for maybe 10 minutes, and couldn’t find any sign of a stream leaving this pond. We dropped off Eric, who found a path leading in the right general direction of where we were heading, so he followed it. We expected him back in 5 minutes,10 minutes max. Twenty-five minutes later, we were getting worried. Suddenly he comes panting down the trail, his face white. “If that’s a portage, it’s the longest portage ever. I ran all the way back, and I didn’t get to the end!” Great. It’s almost 4:30, and we’re stuck. We did another quick sweep and couldn’t find a stream that would get us any closer to our exit point, so we pulled the canoes back out of the water. We didn’t have time to double-portage, since we weren’t even sure where the trail led, so we shouldered our packs and carried the canoe right-side-up down a glorified game trail. We stopped every few minutes to check our compass, and it appeared we were heading in the right general direction, but all four of us were starting to get uneasy. At 5 p.m., we began to wonder how long Travis would wait for us. Knowing that time was against us, we finally ditched our canoes, which were really slowing us down, and picked up the pace down the trail. We suddenly came to a small clearing, where the trail ended. On the other side of the clearing was a much more well-used trail, which we guessed (with fingers crossed) was the 198-rod portage out to the exit point. With no other options, we half-walked, half jogged down the trail, sweating profusely in the heat, with head nets doing little to keep the mosquitoes and flies out of our faces. Finally, just after 5:40, we came over a small hill and saw the unmistakable glint of sunlight on a windshield. Travis jumped out of the van and was as excited to see us as we were to see him. He had gotten lost coming out to the portage (he had never been there before). Plus, on the sheet, we were listed as coming out at 75, Little Isabella River, but that was crossed out and 84 was scribbled in instead. Travis had been bouncing back and forth between the exit points, hoping to find us. Thank God he was still there, because there was no way we would have gotten out of the woods that night if he had left. We dropped our packs and started to head back for our canoes when Travis stopped us. “You guys want a cold drink before we go?” he asked, grabbing a cooler. Little did he know he could have made a lot of money that day. We would have paid an arm and a let for anything cold at that point. We retrieved our canoes, lashed them to the top of the van, and settled in for a drive back to Ely that lasted nearly an hour after Travis got lost again trying to find his way out of the labyrinth of back roads. A shower at the bunk house was amazing, although we had taken a few dips in the water during our trip to shed layers of bug dope, sun screen and general grime. Then it was back to Cranberry’s for dinner and beers with our friends, Crack and Sarah, before starting the long drive back to Michigan.

A few observations after my first trip to the Boundary Waters:

Shoes: I’ve read hundreds of conflicting opinions on footwear. Three of the four guys in our group wore Keen H2’s, and they were almost perfect. We didn’t every worry about keeping our feet dry. Once we got near shore, it was out of the canoes, and the Keens were fantastic. Great traction, in the water and on the portages, great foot support, extremely comfortable. How comfortable? I wore them the entire trip, in the shower at the end of the trip, and on our 14-hour ride home. The only downside is that sometimes a small rock would slip in between the webbing and settle between your foot and the footbed, which isn’t comfortable. And since the Keens fit so snug to your foot, it’s not easy to get those rocks out.

Clothes: I know, I know, no cotton clothes. Well, I did wear cotton shorts the first day, and they got drenched. They never dried out the entire trip. On the other hand, my nylon packable shorts that I wore the rest of the trip were fantastic. Get them wet, and in five minutes, they’re dry again. Do not wear cotton clothes, not shorts, not T-shirts, nothing. You don’t need Nike or Under Armor, just go buy cheap quick-drying moisture-wicking T-shirts and shorts. I wore a Gander Mountain long-sleeve nylon fishing shirt the entire trip, it was light enough to be comfortable even on the hot days, and kept my arms protected from the sun.

Packing light: We tried to pack light, but we certainly didn’t leave any necessities behind. We each had a pack, plus a food pack and another small backpack for cooking supplies, etc. We double portaged, so this worked out great. For those of you planning a trip, be smart, but don’t deny yourself things you really want.

Our route: I would recommend this route to people who haven’t done it, but I don’t think I’d do it again. We saw a lot more people than I expected. I would prefer a more secluded trip next time, where we paddle hard for a day to get away from the people and into bigger fish. We caught a lot of fish, but were disappointed we didn’t get into bigger fish. Our largest pike was 31 inches and our largest walleye 19 inches. Not bad, but certainly not trophies. I’ve caught larger within 5 minutes of my house in Michigan.

Savor every moment. I’ve been on a lot of trips where, by the end, you’re ready to be done. I never got to that point on our trip to the Boundary Waters. If not for my wife, my 3-year-old daughter and my 2-year-old son waiting at home (not to mention a boss who begrudgingly let me escape my job for a few days), I could have gone another week, no problem.