Woke at 6 am to near-freezing cold and dense fog covering Lake Polly. When I returned my rental gear to the outfitters Sunday afternoon, the 4th, they told me there had been frost warnings in the Finland area. I believed it because my nose told me early Sunday morning that my tent was a lot colder than 40 degrees.

I also rose to dense fog that morning. Couldn't see 100 yds across the lake. Eerie! Sadly, I missed Saturday night's Northern Light show because this old man turned in too early (9:30, and I guess the show started about 10:30). After an easy, pleasant 3 1/2 hr paddle, I eased onto shore at the EP with temps in the 60s and a gentle south breeze.

I highly recommend this trip for an easier, less crowded alternative to the routes out of Sawbill (Cherokee and beyond, for example) that offers a nice variety of small and medium lakes, river travel, beaver dams, decent fishing, stark reminders of what forest fires can do, and more solitude than you might expect, even during one of the busier weeks of the season.