Tough morning. Yao's eye has swollen from a fly bite and she is pretty upset. I try to soothe her worries while we sit in the tent. She bucks up, puts on a brave face, and we get out to start the day. Instant coffee tastes good only on camping trips and we, the boys, relish our morning coffee as we discuss our plans.

I had originally intended to do a large loop through Kekekabic, but Joe and Scott want to shorten the distance and relax more. Scott has picked an isolated spot on the map called Boulder Lake that we can use as a base camp for a few days. I like to move a lot, but given Yao's condition I think that a rest is a good idea.

It's a tough day, eight portages one of which was the wrong one. Scott took us north out of Cap Lake not south. He thinks that the wrong portage must be a new one that goes all the way to Boulder lake. We think he's crazy and wrong. Joe and I take one look at the map and tell him as much. Scott is upset by his mistake, so we give him his space, but I make him carry Yao's bag to make up for the error. Yao is getting exhausted, and I tell her that we have two more portages to go and then we can rest for a few days. The portage from Cap to some unnamed stream is punishing, I end up slogging through knee-deep muck, and realize too late the portage is along the stream not in it. To tell the truth; I love it! It makes me feel alive, and the boots were falling apart anyways. I'll be doing the rest of trip in sandals and wool socks. By the time we get to Boulder, we're spent. We set up our tent and pass out.