While the rain did continue most of the night it was done by the time we woke up at first light. All of the gear was soaked and it's never fun to pack it up that way but at least we were going to stay dry as long as any further precip. held off until early PM. After quickly downing some oatmeal for breakfast, we got the canoes loaded and were on our way starting with a short paddle to the portage north out of Clear Lake. This morning my knee was not nearly as stiff as it had been and I decided to this time contribute more to getting everything across the portage. The rocks, roots and up/down of this portage reminded me that I was still a long ways from 100% but I did manage to carry at least a light load on each of two trips across.

By the time we climbed into our canoes for the last leg of our route back to White Iron Lake, the water had turned smooth as glass, making for perfect paddling conditions to end the trip. When adding in the foggy conditions that developed, an almost ghostly serenity was created that enveloped us as only the Boundary Waters can do. We were really looking forward to a hot shower at the outfitter and the Bucky Burgers that would be wolfed down in town before hitting the road home. At the same time, however, I think this scene was almost (almost!) making for a siren song in the back of each of our minds inviting us to stay just a little while longer. Just before we pulled in to the outfitter's dock, we even saw an otter pop it's head up out of the water as if it was giving us one last goodbye and wishing us well until we returned for the next BWCA adventure.

POSTSCRIPT: A day after returning home I did get into the doctor to get my knee checked out. The diagnosis was "a subluxated kneecap with damage to patella cartilage" . Basically they are saying the kneecap popped out of, and then back into it's slot, slightly tearing on the cartilage as it did so. It's slowly improving and the expectation is for 100% healing given some time, physical therapy and the wearing of a brace for a month or so.