Wednesday, August 15, 2007  We left Saint Cloud MN at 9 a.m. Pulling into Ely at 1 we quickly got our permit and had a great lunch at Cranberries on main street. We soon found our entry point on Farm Lake and got the gear into the canoes. It was now 3 p.m. Our initial goal was to get into Gabbro by nightfall. We had a great deal of difficulty finding our way into the North Kawishiwi River entry point but with some help from some local fisherman did get there. With the wind to our backs we made good progress and paddled up to our first portage. With a 175 rod hike to Clear Lake we unloaded and took off. With all of our gear we had to double portage. Half way there a tree had blown down across the trail, making it difficult to get around. On our return trip we took the time to clear it so portaging the canoes wouldn't be as difficult. Our scout group has it's own aluminum canoes and boy were they heavy. By the time we got everything to Clear Lake we decided it was time set camp. We took the first site east of the portage. It was a small uneven site. What was surprising and somewhat upsetting was all the trash left at this site. It is rare we do a camp clean up before we set up but took the time to do so, storing the trash with ours. Soon we had our tents set and was working on water and supper. With hobo dinners of hamburger, potatoes, onions and carrots on the fire we settled in for the night. It was a warm evening with a slight breeze. To our surprise there were no bugs and we sat out by the fire . Soon we all retired to our tents for a good nights rest.