I woke up a bit before dawn on the last day of our trip. It was a beautiful clear morning. Dawn comes very early at the beginning of July, so I stayed in the tent a bit longer and got up around 6:00. What a great morning:

Looking north up the misty narrows, there was a big snag on the opposite shore where a Bald Eagle perched, which you can just barely discern in this picture:

After not too long, the sky clouded over, seemingly from the rising mist from many days of rain and from the lakes as well. But I was pretty sure the sun would win the battle in the end today. Looking out from the campsite:

And looking back over the fire pit toward the tent:

We were in no hurry and lingered as we broke camp, then got on the water about 9:30. After launching we circled around the ricy upstream side of the little island where the rapids were:

Paddling a bit further upstream, we rounded a bend and saw a White-tail on the shore. David got out the camera while I paddled as quietly as I could toward it. It's way past time to get a new camera, because the optical zoom on this one is so 2002. With the wimpy zoom, this is the best shot we got before the deer bounded into the woods:

By now the clouds were burning off and it was getting pretty warm. Despite putting 30 SPF sunscreen on, by the end of the day I would get a very noticeable farmers' tan:

Our route today took us over three portages around rapids on the South Kawishiwi on the way back to the 190-rod North Kawishiwi entry portage. The portages on the river were short, in the range of 40, 15, and 15 rods. Here's a view up the rapids before the first portage:

Another shot from the portage:

After the portage we continued upstream:

We soon came to the next short portage. There was a Merganser swimming with ducklings on her back here. Again, the optical zoom failed us, so this is as good as it gets:

The portage was short, level, and easy (but surprisingly buggy):

A Pileated Woodpecker banquet:

It was a couple miles till the next portage. The wind was now blowing head on, but the breeze was appreciated in the bright sun:

A sheltered spot on a beautiful day in the Kawishiwi Triangle:

We probably could have lined up the last rapids on the river, but we portaged around. As we did, we heard some whoops and shouts. It seemed another canoe was going through on the water in the other direction. After carrying our gear, we looked out over part of the rapids:

Now we were getting back to where the North and South Kawishiwi divide. It was hard to believe on this beautiful day that it was so cold and rainy when we passed through here at the beginning of our trip just a couple days ago. We paddled up the narrow channel between a number of islands and the east shore of the river:

Before tackling the long portage back to Triangle Lake , we stopped for lunch on a little rocky peninsula where there was a breeze and a bit of shade:

Looking back from our lunch spot toward the direction we came from:

Now we were ready to tackle the 190-rodder back to Triangle Lake. We had repacked our gear so that we could single-carry through here, since we had already done our usual sightseeing along this portage a few days ago. When we got to the landing we found a canoe and some other gear there, presumably left by the group with today's North Kawishiwi entry permit as they went back for another load. When we were here three days ago, the bugs were murder, but now there weren't any. Instead there was hot sunshine. I made final preparations to carry pack and canoe in one trip across without stopping:

As I started across the portage I quickly encountered the first guys from the group whose gear was back at the landing. The were very heavily loaded with a lot of loose gear. As this was the beginning of the Fourth of July weekend, I kind of figured that they waited too long to get an entry permit and were "stuck" with the North Kawishiwi, which was not their first choice judging by their portaging style. It looked like they would have been happier entering directly from the road into Lake One. But at least they were getting out into the Wilderness.

My shoulders were definitely feeling the load as I got close to Triangle Lake, and I mentioned that to David, who I thought was right behind me. No response. I called a little louder. Nothing. Usually David easily keeps up with me when I carry the canoe, but he seemed to have disappeared. I kept going to the end, set down my load, and went back to find him. A little while later he came down the trail bent under the weight of the mega-big-pig pack, which really slowed him down. I guess we're not switching to regular single portaging anytime soon.

At the landing on Triangle Lake:

Today this was the buggy end of the portage, so we quickly loaded up and launched into Triangle. By now it was a bright, hot, intensely sunny summer day at the beginning of a holiday weekend. Some women in swimsuits where paddling around nearby, seemingly on an outing from one of the few remote cabins on the lake. Definitely a scene straight out of a beer commercial! Our beers were back in Ely, though, so we dug in our paddles and headed for the take out on Ojibway via the roller portage.

Back on Ojibway, we paused to check out the Osprey nest on the island in there:

We chatted with a nice couple enjoying the day touring the lake in a motor boat. They were very interested in our trip. It was a fun day to be out and about. Ojibway Lake really is a beauty:

Then we headed for the boat ramp and the end of our mini adventure. We had not traveled far or long, but it was a fun trip. Now beer and showers and a bright sunny Fourth of July beckoned.