Day 2: The birds are singing, and my alarm is too. We all stagger to the car, coffee mugs in hand, and head out of Duluth. Soon we’re pulling up to Judy’s Cafe in Two Harbors for a quick breakfast. This is a family tradition from when the kids were little and would whine pitifully if they had to subsist on trail mix and crackers until dinnertime. The food is good and cheap, and the waitress is friendly- I swear it’s the same lady every time.

We cruise up the shore to the Tofte ranger station and watch the video, and then we’re headed up the trail to Brule. I love the transition of the bumpy dirt road- making us begin our transition to a slower pace of life. The car is unpacked and left in the lot, and we’re off across Brule. Hubby and I had intended to head for Winchell if the wind on Brule was kind to us, but Jesse is not so keen. His rational is that this is his only vacation, and the kitchen pack is a monster to portage. Kids these days! You’d think a 25 yr. old would kick our 50 yr. old butts, but it’s not true.

We head towards the Cones, passing an amazing number of canoes. All campsites appear to be full until we hit the last one before the portage into South Cone. It’s open and sunny, and is set back from the lake on a trail, so it looks like a portage until you get out of the canoe. Jesse votes to take it, and we reluctantly unload. Hubby and I sit on a log- he’s looking a bit grim. We talk about it, and decide that the 2 of us will portage into the Cones and see of either campsite is open, so we take the tent and head out. Entering South Cone is like a whole other world. It’s calm and quiet, and when we paddle over to the island campsite, it’s open. There is a bald eagle sitting in one of the big pines- a sure sign, right? This is a first for me- I have never actually been able to get one of the campsites I circled on my map while doing research! It’s a beautiful site, facing away from paddlers heading through to Winchell and Davis, very nice.

I leave Hubby there with the tent, and paddle back to get Jesse. He informs me that 3 groups had already tried to portage through the campsite, so he’s not as reluctant to press on as I’d feared- besides, it’s easy to float past the South Cone portage. Soon we’re setting up camp and exploring our new home. It’s 3 p.m., and I take off my watch and stick it in my pack for the rest of the trip. This site has good and bad qualities. On the plus side, it is secluded and has nice trails along the shore, with a nice view of the rising moon later. Also, if you were so inclined, you could pick raspberries while sitting on the throne! Negatives are that the kitchen area has almost no space that is even relatively flat, and there isn’t much space for larger tents. Our 4 man fits, barely, and there are 2 places where you could fit solo tents, but unless you love sleeping on big ass roots and rocks, don’t plan on camping here with a large group.

Once we have some firewood cut, we make coffee and dinner- steaks over the fire and biscuits. Life is good. The sun goes down, the moon rises, and we eventually drift off to our tent.