We had light rain from around midnight until 5:30 or so, and thought we might have to load up in cold rain, but the temperature was 60 and the rain had stopped when we got up around 6:15. Coffee & breakfast, then break camp—you know the routine by now. Even though the rain had stopped, the sky was still heavy and gray. We were on the water at 8:20 heading to the long portage from Carl Wilson Lake into Little Cauchon Lake. Turned out not so long—the portage length on our maps was printed over a contour line and what we'd read through the map cases as 1890 meters was actually 1090, a wonderful reduction in length. The energy we saved in the shorter portage, however, was quickly burned paddling into the wind the rest of the day. Little Cauchon, Cauchon, and Mink Lakes are an east-west chain, and strong winds were coming out of the west.

We hugged the shore of Little Cauchon and took advantage of any calmer water we could find. Saw a couple more otters, but didn't have the long observation time like on Varley Lake. We stopped at a campsite and gave the wind an hour to calm, but it didn't cooperate. In the narrow end of Little Cauchon it was easier paddling, but when we exited from under the trestle into Cauchon we were again fighting heavy headwind. Hugged the southern shore again until a lunch stop near an occupied campsite. After lunch and a rest, we headed back into the wind. If yesterday was our toughest portage day, today was our toughest paddling day. As Cauchon narrowed, paddling was easier, and we hoped that portaging into Mink would yield some calmer water. We wanted a campsite about halfway up Mink, but the wind convinced us to pull into the first unoccupied site we found. After an hour there, with no change in wind, we decided the site was home for the night. The site had both open and sheltered tent pads; we set up in the sheltered one with hopes of a sunny morning and the ability to dry gear.

We had a beautiful sky after dinner and the wind settled after 6:30 or so. The day's efforts put us in bed around 8:00.