We woke up at 0600 and got ready for our 0700 tow. The "Quick Start" breakfast at Seagull is just right for the occasion: cereal, muffins, fruit, OJ and hot coffee. With the gear loaded into the truck, Dave gave us a ride to the Saganaga Landing where the tow boat was waiting.

Saganaga Lake was well behaved on the crossing with a bit of a chop from a west wind. Lauren really enjoyed the tow ride this time and the wind in her face. At one point I looked over to her and noticed that she kept sticking out her tongue. I asked her about it and she commented, "it feels good with the wind on it." Kids!!

We arrived at the portage to Red Rock Lake about 0745. This year the water is lower than last so we were unable to paddle small stream into Red Rock Lake. We instead haul our gear across the 10 rod portage and depart from there.

We paddled across Red Rock and saw only one party at a campsite near the middle of the lake. The portage (48 rods) into Alpine Lake went quick. Lauren was a bit fussy at first before catching her groove. This would be the one and only time she complained the whole trip!

Her spirits were brightened quickly at the landing on Alpine Lake. Splashing her dad and wading around was great fun! She appears to be a natural "wet footer".

The paddle across Alpine was into the wind. The fire damage is still very obvious, but the ground cover is much greener than last year. We had the lake to ourselves except for the several hawks and one bald eagle we spotted.

The 43 rod portage into Jasper lake follows a stream and ends with a pretty waterfall. We took a bit of a break to enjoy the waterfall and to collect some sparkly rocks.

Jasper Lake Video

By 1100, we were making our way across Jasper Lake and decided to stop at one of the burned out campsites for some lunch. Daisies were everywhere! Salami, cheese and snacks were on the menu.

The big part of Jasper Lake was starting to whitecap now with 1 foot rollers. We would have to paddle directly into the teeth of this west wind. It was slow going and we did pretty well. The Northwind is a great canoe and was easy to keep straight and felt very stable. We arrive on Kingfisher Lake by 1230 after a quick and easy 24 rod portage over a little hump in the middle. Fire damage is still prevalent in this area, but green things and flowers are everywhere. Kingfisher was a quick paddle and soon we are on the 41 rod portage into Ogish. This portage was just a short climb to start and then went gradually downhill as it followed another stream. All the lakes we paddled today are connected via small streams as the current flows downhill from Ogish to Alpine.

Ogish Lake Video

Lauren did all the portages very well today. She walked the 2 trips over while I carried her back on my shoulders for all the trips back except one. She insisted on doing all three trips across the portage between Kingisher and Ogish. I just smiled.

We headed out into Ogish around 1330 which was good as we planned to camp here tonight. The wind still persisted, but we made good time. About a third of the way down Ogish the fire damage stopped. It was nice to have no fire damage for a change. The camps on the east side of the narrows were mostly taken as was the site at the narrows. The west end of the lake has several island campsites. None of them were taken so we had our pick. After scoping them all out we decided on the camp on the far west island. We arrived around 1530 and got camp set up.

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring and fishing. The resident turtle was our entertainment. The crazy thing even took a 10 foot dive off a cliff.

Crazy Turtle Video

Several ducks and a bald eagle passed by as well. A nice sunset greeted us for dinner as we made steaks over the fire. The wind finally died down as the sun slid below the horizon and the bugs started to come out. We had not seen any bugs all day. We fell asleep quickly to that "Hum".

Lakes Traveled: Saganaga, Red Rock, Alpine, Jasper, Kingfisher and Ogishkemuncie. 10 miles.

5 Portages: 10, 48, 43, 24 and 41 rods.