We had been pretty lucky with cooler temperatures up to this point, but Saturday was HOT. As we packed up and said goodbye to our campsite, it was clear that we were going to have to be diligent in keeping Josie cool as we made our way back to Tuscarora Lodge. She of course could jump in the water if she needed it, but we also would dip her pad in the lake to keep her cool and occasionally make some makeshift shade by wrapping her towel around one of the thwarts and laying it out over my legs.

It was a staggering nine portages from Gillis back to the Lodge, mostly uphill. I foolishly thought we would be able to make it out around 2pm. Between the heat and the uphill climb though, it basically took us all day. If I were to do this route again, I’d definitely try to get the Brant Lake entry permit and enter through this side. It’s admittedly very beautiful, but we were trying to make it out as fast as possible with a dreaded nine hour drive looming over us. Entering through this way would offer a beautiful entrance into the BWCA, and most importantly would be a downhill affair on fresh legs.

As we paddled up to our last portage of the day, a group of people staying at the Lodge sat on the shoreline. They informed us that they had just seen a Moose not too long ago but it had run off. They left soon after, to allow us to finish off our trip in peace. I half-jokingly exclaimed to Mimi that they had scared OUR moose off. It would have been the cherry on top of a stellar trip, but no matter. We decided we would take this last portage very slow, and move in silence. This was a nice change of pace as we had spent most of the day pushing onward. There is a creek that runs from Round Lake to West Round Lake and evidently it is a hot-spot for wildlife viewing. Walking along the path, I suddenly heard Mimi exclaim “there’s a wolf!”, in an urgent but quiet tone. He was out of view from my vantage point but as he caught wind of us I could see him scamper off into the forest behind him. It wasn’t the Moose that has eluded me on my three trips to the BWCA, but seeing a wolf was pretty damn cool too. A fitting wildlife sighting after the serenade of howls we had heard the night before. We arrived back on the shores of Tuscarora Lodge around 6pm, and drove through the night, arriving back in MKE at 4am. Kwik Trip came in clutch with dinner and caffeine, per usual.