The next day we spent a long lazy morning that lasted all the way into the early afternoon. The sun shone. Birds flew. An otter playfully massacred a fish just a few meters off our campsite. No one was in a rush to leave.

With heavy hearts we at last took leave of Boot Lake and the Boundary Waters. Once again the Call of the Marmot thundered through the hills as we saluted Eglath, sending him on to certain glory.

At Snowbank again, I seized the moment to jump in the lake. Movie Mike seized the moment to take a ridiculous picture.

After a long and breezy paddle down Snowbank, we returned to civilization...or Ely, at any rate. Feasting on fresh beer and bacon cheeseburgers was some consolation for leaving the woods behind, but we knew Knife Lake had left its mark on each of us forever.