Day 5

We had a quick breakfast and hit the water. We had perfect weather the whole trip so far, so we were due for a change. We had a pretty good wind right in our faces as it usually seems to be on your way out. Soon we were hearing thunder in the distance and we pushed hard to make it out before the rain. The last stretch of travel heading south on the river before the portage was brutal. We faced a really stiff wind and whitecaps the whole way. We took a few breaks of in little bays when we could, but there really wasn’t much relief from the wind. We battled through and eventually found ourselves at the portage. After one last look at the place we called home for the last five days we took off for the cars. We got everything loaded up just as it started to rain and headed into Ely for lunch at the Steakhouse to finish off the trip

All in all it was one of the best times I’ve had there. We had great weather, beautiful views, and wonderful company. We noticed more garbage and “traces” than ever before. We found shorts, shirts, gloves, rods, reels, cut live trees, and lots of little wrappers. I hope it was just a bad stretch and it isn’t a trend. I had a certain satisfaction after the trip of making it through paddling a canoe I had made myself, and am looking forward to more adventures with it. I think everyone in the group got what they needed out of the trip. Whether it was time to reflect on some important decisions in life, or maybe just some time to regroup and recharge a bit. That’s one of the great things about this beautiful place, it can be so many things to so many different people