Wednesday, August 18, 2021 Woke up to an almost calm morning, my first on this trip. Had coffee and oatmeal, packed up and was on the Snake River early.

The river was twisty and full of wild rice at first, but fairly deep and good paddling much of the rest of the way. A few beaver dams to pull over, and one stretch where I had to get out and guide the canoe through the shallows, but so much easier than the Little Isabella. That final portage though....it says 160 rods on my map....but it feels so much more! It's not hilly particularly, or filled with boulders, or deep mud. It's really just a pretty nice path through the woods. BUT....it feels so very long. Leapfrogged canoe and gear and made it out. The walk back to little Isabella parking lot was brutal in the mid day heat...weird though, both parking lots were empty.

Once I got loaded up, started driving down Hwy 1 towards Lk Superior...and the road is closed. Finally the ball dropped. Hot and windy, lotsa smoke, empty parking lots, not seeing any people, closed hwy.....yup, there's a new fire around here somewhere. Had to detour up through Ely and Virginia to get home, but that's a small price to pay.

All in all, a great few days in the woods. Not the 2 week solo that I had planned last winter, but that's how it goes!