Early this morning it rains just enough to get everything wet. It’s supposed to get windy later today but, right now things are calm. I don’t have far to go today to make it to American Point to meet my shuttle so, I’m in no rush and savor the unhurried pace of my morning and packing chores.

Fittingly, the lake is offering awesome paddling conditions as I trace the American shoreline eastward towards my pick point. The first campsite up the lake offers a nice sandy beach and is occupied by some fishermen who just pushed off ahead of me passing by. The water is so clear that I can see several fish patrolling the shorelines as I paddle past. Arriving at my pickup point about an hour early, I decide to try fishing to kill some time. Unfortunately, I get snagged early on and lose my hook which kind of lets the air out of the balloon motivation wise; so, I paddle back and wait out my ride.

I’m a bit confused as I see 2 shuttle boats racing towards me. They are in such proximity that they must be together and, I can eventually tell that one of them is Andy. For some reason I have a brief dark thought about the significance of this but, quickly determine it must just be a training opportunity. (Which it was.)

As we load up, I regurgitate some of the details of my trip. A pleasant shuttle back across Saganaga and we’re at the landing. No sign of the moose on the road this time. A welcome shower at Tuscarora Outfitters, buy a sweatshirt for Aurora and some parting conversation with Andy who informs me that Gunflint Lodge is currently the only place up the Gunflint Trail that is offering food and drinks. It’s carryout only but, they do allow people to sit outside as long as they respect social distancing. As always, a hot burger and cold beers hit the spot, and, of course, Gunflint Lake is a beautiful backdrop.

Last year it was cold and rainy for the better portion of my trip so, I guess things evened out this year. The string of consecutive days of idyllic paddling conditions is something I don’t expect to have happen again in my lifetime. This was also the most people I have ever run across in a mid/late May trip but, that didn’t really come as a surprise; what with the corona virus restrictions being lifted just days prior to the start of my trip. And, Andy had given me fair warning when he seen the available permits get gobbled up. However, I did have Gijikiki, Topaz, Cherry, Lunar, Lake of the Clouds, Rivalry, Sema, Clam, Ashdick and Rabbit lakes all to myself during my time on each respective body of water.

I am exceptionally grateful of how well most aspects of this trip worked out. Excepting the site on Hanson, I had excellent campsites visiting some old as well as new areas; good fishing, wildlife encounters and, of course, the consecutive days of phenomenal weather was once in a lifetime awesome.

~Saganaga Lake