Wednesday, September 14, 2022 I slept surprisingly well despite some first night jitters. No nightly noises and no wind-a perfect first night! It was chilly and clear last night and the lake was heavily shrouded in mist and glowed beautifully in the morning sunlight. My alarm clock was provided by two red squirrels having a furious battle up and down the pine tree I was pitched under. Time for some coffee on my front porch. Then tidied up camp and packed a bag for my day trip adventure. With the wind being calm, I decided to make my way over to Winchell Lake then loop back through some small lakes back to Horseshoe. I paddled through wispy fog and the south arm of the lake stretched away from me with cedars lining the shadowy shoreline of Royal fern and sweet gale. A cheery blue sky appeared as I approached the portage and a loon flew overhead calling wildly. It’s call breaking the silence of the morning.

I am able to single portage now and this 99 rod portage into Gaskin Lake will be my longest of the whole trip! I relished the opportunity to be able to stop for a quick second along the portage and look at moss, cool rocks, and plants. I don’t feel rushed to get to the other side. Gaskin was a beautiful with high shorelines and nice looking campsites. I made my way across the lake to a quiet boggy bay with lily pads and sphagnum bog shores. I had to slop through deep muck to get to the shore! Once on the trail, I climbed and climbed. I’d been to Winchell lake many years ago and suddenly recalled memories of steep portage trails. I think the Laurentian Divide is somewhere in here…

The landing on Winchell was very nice and grassy. No ankle twisting boulders in sight. The south shore of this impressive lake loomed ahead flush with young hardwoods from a long ago fire. I paddled out into the lake and just sat in the middle and took it all in. Winchell is usually windy so I relished the chance to leisurely paddle around and enjoy the long view to the west where I could just make out the transition to towering pines and rugged cliffs. Time to continue my loop though, and I headed back to Gaskin Lake. The portage into Jump lake was difficult to spot due to a blockade of logs, but once you skirt around them, they form a little marina at the very tight and steep landing. Again, I’m glad no one was here to witness this awkward portage attempt around an upturned tree and straight up a steep switchback!

Jump lake proved to by my favorite lake of the trip despite is tiny size. The shores were full of drooping cedar trees and large boulders. A creek ran through the lake on both sides and I spent some time at the portage checking out the pretty little set of small riffles underneath old growth cedars. A very peaceful landing. I had a target campsite on the next lake, Allen, to have lunch at and was happy to find it unoccupied. I quickly spread out lunch fixings on the nice rocky front porch. I was just waiting for a moose to pop up here- it seems like perfect habitat. But everything was very quiet. I had a brief sinking feeling of being all alone since this was the only site in the lake, but I reassured myself that all was well.

Time to head back to Horseshoe, and after another awkward portage I was greeting again by the loon chick and adult. This time the chick got a tasty minnow! They fished a bit more and popped up very close to me as I floated by. I let them be and paddled back to the main part of the lake and I was greeted with civilization. I have neighbors now and I could hear them chatting about lunch options as I paddled by - salami galore or a s#@t load of granola bars. That made me giggle. Isn’t there always a s#@t load of granola bars?

Back at camp at last just in time for some afternoon lounge time and more firewood gathering. I felt less jittery this evening and the fire was a welcome comfort on another clear and starry night. Another belt of scotch to end a perfect day.