Monday, July 19, 2010 I almost always sleep well when in the BWCA and the previous night was no exception. Maybe the best sleep I've had all year. Woke up feeling good and had a casual morning. I went out and fished solo while the others were waking up. Caught a small walleye, nothing worth keeping, but it did alieviate that worry in the back of my brain about going home with no fish.

Back at camp we had granola for breakfast and began to pack up. Our plan was to see the devil's cascade and then make it over to Shell lake for a couple nights. The weather was calm but turning overcast as we embarked.

On our portage to Lower Pauness we met the Royal Rangers for the first time. We approached the portage slowly, as we saw there was another group there, then slower and slower. Then we waited and waited. It was a group of 3 young boys with two adult men but they had enough gear for 9 adults. Many of the packs were bigger than the kids and it was obvious they had not done this before. Eventually there was enough room to begin unloading our canoes. In speaking with the leader, I learned that it was indeed their first time and they were a church group. I'm all for portage etiquette but part of kept thinking "If only we had been there 10 minutes earlier."

Once on Lower Pauness we headed towards the devil's cascade. I was excited to see it and tried to get the kid's enthusiasm up. Unfortunately, they were distracted by fact that at any moment it was going to rain. Sure enough, as soon as we landed the down pour began. We got rain gear out and began hiking around. I thought it was great but the kids huddled together and asked when we could set up camp and eat. As much as I pleaded with them that this was an amazing wonder of nature that they would surely be telling their friends about months if not years from now, the rain had done it's damage. Cold wet kids are too distracted.

The rain eventually let up and we stopped on one of the vacant campsites on Lower Pauness to have lunch. Once everyone dried out and ate, we felt better. Which was good because the next portage to Shell Lake was 216 rods. Now I've done plenty of long portages and the kids have progressively gotten better at handling them over the years but this still felt long. By the end there was a bit of complaining but we got through gracefully. I ended up triple portaging to get everything across. Our friends the Royal Rangers showed up to remind us that we weren't doing so bad.

Memories of the portage quickly faded as we searched for our next campsite. Wee noticed that most of the visible sites were taken. We paddled around the first bend to find an empty one. It wasn't perfect but after some debate we decided to take it and get on with some needed rest and recreation.

Everyone went swimming and felt refreshed by the lake. We got camp set up and made dinner. I tried a new recipe and made tacos. I had seasoned and dehydrated black beans at home. At camp I rehydrated them and then added them to tortillas which I melted cheese on to. It was a big hit and we all ate well.

After diner my brother and I went fishing. He caught a few small smallies. We both caught a nice sunset. Soon after the mosquitoes attacked and everyone was in the tent. It didn't take long before all were asleep.