Tuesday, May 24th Another calm but cold morning. 32 degrees! I peeled myself out of my tent to get the coffee water boiling. The sun is just peeking over the trees but our site is not quite situated to take advantage of the morning sun. We ate breakfast at the very tip of our peninsula trying to bask in the sunlight watching trumpeter swans fly overhead. We hit the water and headed off in the direction of the loud rumbling of water on the far shore: the Temperance River. The aspens are dropping their fluffy white catkins and the lake was festooned with their cottony seeds. Our first portage of the day is a long one: 240 rods. But it followed the raging white water of the river through most of it so it was very scenic. Our rubber boots came in handy as sections were very muddy and flooded. You could tell by the hung up debris that we’d have been in some trouble trying to portage this last week. Moose tracks and scat littered the trail and I swear I saw fresh prints on our second trip to get the remaining packs.

We had some trouble locating the next portage until we realized that the portage landing was right at the mouth of a treacherous looking section of whitewater. So we slowly and daintily scooted next to the shore holding on to the vegetation until we pulled ashore next to the torrent. The trail skirted the very edge of the rapids and in fact the water actually flowed through the portage. Some spots were deeper than our boots! I had to crouch walk the canoe under a downed tree (after clunking into it blindly). Finally we were on Weird Lake.

We portaged around another set of beautiful rapids marveling at the power of the spring melt. We decided to pull over for lunch at a (rather boggy) campsite and ate our tuna salad wraps with content in the sunshine. The wind picked up a little bit which was a little tiresome on this long narrow stretch of lakes leading into Kelly lake. We rounded a corner and spotted a moose on the Leatherleaf edge of the channel. It tromped off quietly with a look of disgust, but we were giddy. Finally, a moose spotting in the BWCA!!

We scanned the shores for decent campsite from here towards Burnt Lake but none looked terribly inviting. We’ve lost the rugged rocky shores and now coasted past marshy edges and lowlands. The portage over to Burnt did all of us in and we were craving a hit of caffeine. The first two sites on Burnt were occupied and the next was pretty trashy. So onwards we pushed to look at the last two (luckily with the wind at our back). We settled on one on the northeast side of the lake featuring a rocky outcrop and a boulders opening.

We peeled off our layers…it’s now 70 degrees! Evening cappuccinos were made and the hammocks were hung for some lounge time. Had a nice fire with a perfect view of the sunset…the first one of the trip! Sipped on the last of the scotch and as the stars peeled out, the spring peepers started up once more. What a tiring, adventurous, and beautiful last full day in the boundary waters!~South Temperance Lake, Vern Lake, Temperance River Lake, Weird Lake, Jack Lake, Kelly Lake, Burnt Lake