We had a two-hour paddle out to Bell Island the next morning. Mark Anderson himself was there to tow us out, and was a half-hour early for our pickup. The ice-cold beer in the towboat is always a welcome thing after a week out in the park.

We showered up at the outfitter's, and then headed down to Duluth to get Pete to his flight back to Washington DC on time. We stopped for a burger at Grandma's in Duluth (it was the day of the marathon) and headed home without incident. Looking back, we really hit it well with weather and wind, two things that have been a problem the last few years. The reroute turned out to be fortunate given the strong westerlies that were blowing on our first day in. Fishing was good to excellent at times for walleye and pike, but the bass were in a neutral/negative mood most of the time. We all felt like they were really about to get going. We ate well this trip, and definitely had some meals that were keepers for future years. We definitely were heavier with the added fresh food, so maybe double packing on the tougher portages is the way to go. All in all, it was one of the best trips we've had, and it was over all to soon.