Friday, August 23, 2019

Breakfast is a quick affair of Clif bars and pop-tarts. Camp is disassembled, packed away and we are on the water reasonably early. As we follow the South Brule river and connecting lakes back eastward towards the EP parking lot, I cant help but be awestruck by the magnificent beauty of the high rolling Misquah hills. Even though we are paddling through low lying waters, the distant undulating landscape juxtapose dramatically with the mostly swampy shorelines. In my experience of traveling through the BWCA, it is a rare combination of attributes and really makes passing by a memorable experience and is perhaps the primary recommendation for use of this entry.

Since we are following a river system that we just recently paddled, for the most part navigation is exceeding simple;no need to refer to the map or compass. However, as we are finishing up on Bower Trout lake we get a little turned around. Our Voyageur maps show the last portage at the extreme eastern end of the lake where the river exits. This is wrong! The portage is actually back west a bit along the northern shoreline.

Once back in the parking lot we discover that Clay has a flat tire and he also managed to pick up a bunch of tiny leeches, from the Bower Trout landing, on his now bloody foot. We are able to get both situations taken care of and, head for town. After meeting up at Sawtooth Outfitters to drop of the rented canoes we continue on down Highway 61 to Schroeder, where we stop at the Schroeder Baking company to grab a few pizzas and some ice cream for dessert which we eat at their outdoor picnic tables. From there we all head to our respective homes.