We awake to the sun but everything is wet. I sacrifice my Walleye fishing to tend to getting things dried out; no I haven't messed up my priorities, I just feel it may not be worth the time fishing without leeches. We have a quick breakfast of granola bars and coffee and begin to pack up, when Jerry and Amber come over to say goodbye. We wish them luck with the portage and they are off, boy could they make that canoe go. We ended packing some items wet as the skies were darkening in the distance. We push off and quickly get to the portage from Skipper to Poplar Lake and begin the final walk. Raspberries are still abundant and I cannot help but take some as I pass them by. We finish this portage in just under 1.5 hours and as we sit for a snack before we take off on Poplar Lake. However we notice the darkening clouds and hear a distant rumble of thunder. Motivation has been provided and we quickly pack the canoe and move fast. About 25 minutes later we pull onto our outfitters beach, take the packs up onto the porch and the rain starts. I go back to secure the canoe and run onto the porch as hail begins to fall, it actually begins to collect on the ground and 30 minutes later it is over. We were glad to have beaten it in. Mike sees us and comes over and is pleased to hear everything went well. I applaud his choice of tent for its waterproof floor. He was pleased, said it was an outfitters model, used often over the last 3 years and has good luck with them. I added that I was pleased with the Souris River Quetico, it preformed well, was stable and tracked into the wind nicely. Lin arrived and quickly filled us in on Jeff's (Monnster)mishap (see his trip report). We were very disappointed for him but quite pleased he made it home OK. Subsequently, we were pleased to hear that he will be able to have the shoulder repaired and should be back in the BWCAW next year. We take our showers, get into clean cloths and say thanks and goodbye to Mike and Lin. It is now off to Grand Marais for two days of sightseeing and to discuss plans for next year's trip. We enjoy Grand Marais, it is quaint, picturesque and a lot to see. We enjoy Sven & Ollies, The Wild Onion, Angry Trout and espically The Gunflint Tavern - they all lived up to expectations. For us the Harbor Inn was the perfect place to stay and walk to every place we wished to see. The feel of Grand Marais is different than Ely, as Ely has a feel of a lot of summer guests who are there for awhile. Grand Marias has the feel of vacationers who are around for a briefer period of time. Its location on the lake makes it a special place. We agree that we like both and appreciate the unique experiences they offer.

Post Trip Reflection

1. I admired what Corsair did in his trip report of 8/18, recognizing members for tripping tips he found and used. I wish to copy it, except I run the risks of not mentioning those tips given long before to the proper member, sorry.

2. Have now rented and paddled 3 popular 17' tandem kevlar canoe's. I rate them as follows: A. Wenonah - Boundary Waters B. Souris River - Quetico C. Wenonah - Spirit II. They were all solid performers and all handled the load and were stable fishing platforms. I would be pleased to own any of the three. They are so close in performance that I would allow price to dictate which one I would purchase - where is the DEAL. If speed (a relative term in a canoe , I realize) is a concern then there are faster hulls to be sure, but stability and waves caused by wind can affect many canoeist comfort level.

3. I enjoy maps and have used both Fisher and McKenzie on our 1ST trip and found them comparable in accuracy but preferred the scale and color of the Fisher. The last two trips I added the new Voyageur map which became available and have found them more to my liking. I understand why many stay with a particular map company after years of getting accustomed to them. Familiarity with a map is a great tool. I have not been going to the BWCAW long enough to form a map preferance based on years of use. Voyageur is my preferred map, so far, better accuracy - not perfect, just better overall. I like the website feature that we can offer/report changes, inaccuracies or mistakes. Although, I still bring all three with me, it is the Voyageur I follow in the map case.