Sunday, July 30, 2006

We piled out of our tents to find a different sort of day than the ones we'd had so far- rain was threatening
and it was kind of chilly. We had a good paddle ahead of us, so I knew breakfast was needed but it was
quick. While I cooked and made coffee, the rest of the crew broke camp and packed our gear. By the time
the breakfast dishes were washed and the kitchen pack was ready to go, lightning and thunder and rain
were in full possession of the sky. We huddled in the woods watching lightning strike the islands across
the lake from us and trying not to get crabby. During one break in the downpour, ML and I quickly
grabbed everyone's polypro and wool socks and made sure the kids put theirs on. Alex discovered why I
tried to talk her into buying good raingear instead of borrowing my poncho- she got pretty wet from the
knees on down.

Finally the worst of the electricity seemed to have passed us by and we piled into the canoes in the rain
and headed for the portages that would take us home. As we paddled the rain mostly quit but it was
pretty cold, and we switched paddlers a few times to keep folks from getting too cold duffing. We made
good time, and before we knew it we were coming around the final bend and the landing was in sight.
We had just got the canoes and gear loaded into/on the cars and had changed into our clean dry
clothes when the sky let loose with more rain. We headed into Ely and returned our life jackets and got
a great recommendation from Voyageurs North for a place to eat, Ely not being our usual entry point.
We had a huge meal at Verteens(sp???) and by the time we left Ely it was hot and sunny again. The miles
flew by too quickly, and before we knew it we were unloading the canoes and talking about next year.