Day 5. I had food for at least 3 more days, and as the sun shined down on my beautiful little campsite, I briefly considered staying another day or two. Then I imagined what might happen if I didn't show up on Tuesday morning- I have no way to call and reassure them I'm OK and I didn't feel like I could take that much time off. I spent the morning fishing around Horseshoe and back towards Splash Lake. Around noon, I reluctantly let the wind and waves blow me south to EP 25 and back to civilization.

P.S. A week after my expedition I read a news story that may explain why I saw the two DNR officers on their way out. They had just paddled to Ensign to investigate a problem bear. Turns out 4 campsites had numerous reports about a problem bear. In the latest incident, it had bit a lady on her foot (did not puncture the skin) while she was in her sleeping bag. The DNR guys reported the bear was not the least bit scared by their efforts, and "absolutely needed to be destroyed." Apparently we have trained the bears that we are great sources of food.