Grant paddled back the next morning in a solo to cheers from the other teens. It was good to have him with us again, plus we had challenges that everyone would have to step up to and we needed all the help we could get. We lost three people and added a canoe. Spreading the kids out, we still had an extra canoe to deal with. Grant had done a little research, and found a thread on bwca.com about towing canoes, using Cliff Jacobson's method (which works great, btw). On Wednesday, which felt like two weeks had passed, we had heard that S was stable, CAT Scan and MRI were clear, and they planned to drive to our family's cabin near Grand Rapids on Thursday. We decided, with more rain in the forecast, we had a window to get out on Thursday as well and could reunite at the cabin. It POURED rain Wednesday night, so when Thursday morning came I let the kids sleep in while I puttered around camp, drying off rainflies and packing up what I could and drying things out. The forecast showed a break from 12-4pm, so we shoved off just after noon.

The kids hit those portages like true champs, a well-oiled machine. Everyone would have to do two bags, plus my daughter taking a canoe on one portage trip, while Grant and I double portaged the other four canoes. And we had a dog. We made a plan to do "portage and a half", the girls paired off, setting their watches to ring approximately half-way considering the 10 rod/min rule. It was a pleasure passing by the dropped bags and seeing my strong young women kickin butt. Executed flawlessly. Record efficiency for this crew, they were awesome. With a dog in tow! I was extremely proud, and we pulled into Sawbill just before 3pm, with thunder and more torrential rains incoming. I walked into Sawbill, started a tab, and told my kids and the gals at the register, "whatever they want, they get." I then thanked as many Sawbill Crew members as I ran into, and asked them to pass my thanks on to the owners. I learned, earlier the previous day, my wife was driving E and S home from the hospital and hit a huge hole, concealed by water, that blew out two of their tires. AAA to the rescue for the tow and fix. When it rains...

It was a white-knuckle caravan of cars to the cabin, through driving rain, hail and fog. I just kept praying to get us all back together safely. When we finally arrived, many hugs, laughs and tears were shared. We waterskiied, tubed, fished, drove the ATV, and ate dinners around a campfire. Grant was able to salvage a good couple of days of vacation, and experienced some vicious ejections from an inner-tube at the mercy of his uncle. My daughters sharpened their waterskiing and slalom skills. Alls well that ends well. Still processing though, all of us are, I'm sure.