*Portages: 4 (269 rods) *Lakes: 5 (Slim, Section 3 Pond, North/South Lakes, Steep & Eugene) *Distance: Approx. 5 miles

Crawled out of the sarcophagus at around 8 after a poor night's sleep. I had a hard time getting comfortable, just as I did last week. This I attribute to my left shoulder, still recovering from the rotator/biceps surgery in January. The doc said it would take up to a year and a half to fully recover, and right now it's pretty sore.

Had a very small breakfast-trail bar and coffee-then packed up and headed out. My new GSR coffee filter is a joke, by the way (purchased in Ely to replace the totally worthless Snow Peak Titanium French Press that I used on my trip last week), at least when used as intended. It is really lightweight and attaches to the rim of a cup, and you're supposed to fill it with grounds and then pour water through it. Well, when used this way, you get to enjoy a hot cup of brown water with no flavor what-so-ever as the grounds have no chance to steep. Tomorrow I plan on making cowboy coffee and running it thought the strainer; I bet that will do the trick!

The wind was strong again as I left at around 9, but it felt good as it was going to be another hot day. I started the day without using the Crazy Creek chair, and it was more comfortable-and easier/more efficient to paddle-than using the chair with the backrest up, but I still found that my hips were really uncomfortable after a short spell.

The 52 rod portage from Slim to Section 3 Pond is a mucky one! I recall this from last year with Allie and Greta, and this year I carried the gear all the way to the beaver dam where I put into Section 3. I saw my first baby loons of the year on this lake/pond, and man, are they cute! I wanted to paddle closer, but I did not want to distress them, so I admired from afar.

The 52 rod portage from Section 3 to North/South was easy, but the 120 from North South to Steep was tough, uphill almost the entire way, and with no wind on the trail, it was very, very buggy. I stopped briefly at the first site on Steep as Allie, Greta and I stayed there last year, and it brought back smiles as I played through the pictures stored on my laptop from that site of the girls enjoying the only rain-free evening of the trip. A decent little site made more so by warm memories fueled by my girls.

After the 45 rod portage from Steep to Eugene, I replaced the Crazy Creek chair in the Magic, but this time I left the backrest unattached. This was as comfortable as I was going to get and was the setup I'd use for the remainder of the trip. That said, my hips never did find a comfort zone and bothered me the entire trip.

I was the only person on Eugene, and I decided to spend the night at the far northern campsite. The site was huge, and it had numerous places to set up tents, tarps and hammocks with red pines abounding. The only downside to the site was a complete lack of any level ground for tents, and this had me thinking about the possibility of making a serious hammock purchase in the near future, especially given how much I resented the sarcophagus...still, I've never been able to take a nap in a hammock, so I am not sure how I would ever sleep in one. The lack of level ground made this site a 4 in my mind.

The only other bummer about this site was that whomever had stayed here previously were absolute slobs. There was litter abounding, most disturbing, at least to me, were numerous shell casings of different sized caliber littering the water. I picked up as many as I could, but with a really strong wind coming out of the south, more and more of them were appearing near the shoreline during my stay.

There was also what I assume to be the shoulder of a moose that was partially burned on top of the fire grate. Now, this may not be that big of a deal, but I had to wonder, what was the point of trying to burn it?

As the day progressed, it got warmer, so I spent a lot of time in the water. Not only did that feel incredible, it also helped to stave off the deer flies, which were pretty think when the wind wasn't blowing. By around 5 the wind had pretty much stopped, so I decided I throw out a Rapala and go exploring the lake. As I was paddling south to check out the other campsite on the lake, something hit the Rap pretty hard, and I knew it had to be a northern. The wind had picked up again, and I was laughing to myself as the fish and the wind were making it really difficult for me to control the boat. I heeded the advice of many who stated it was best to get to shore when trying to land a fish in a solo, but I really did not have much of a choice; the wind actually pushed me to shore pretty quickly, and after playing the fish for a spell, I got the northern to the side of the boat, popped the Rap and released him/her. S/he wasn't that big, but it was much more of a challenge to land than the walleyes the week prior which I found were easy to get into the boat without going ashore. Turns out that that northern would be the only fish I'd catch all week.

After releasing the fish and checking out the other campsite, the wind subsided again and I was getting hammered by deer flies and what I assume were black flies; nasty little monsters! I paddled back to my site and set up the tarp, as there was thunder in the distance and black clouds in the sky. It was so hot that I was hoping for rain, but none would ever really materialize.

I had not eaten since breakfast, and I was still not hungry by 6ish, but I figured I had to eat something. So, I managed to choke down some Gorp, nuts, crackers and cheese and wash it down with Gatorade. The good news with not being hungry was no dishes; the bad news was that weight of the food that I'd brought never really decreased!

By now I had some ideas of things I would pare down on my next solo. First, I would not bring anywhere nearly as much food. Second, I am not sure if I'd bring any fishing gear, and if I did, it would only be one rod and a few lures. Caring for the leeches-of which I'd used none so far-was getting to be a pain in the butt, and while I love to fish, I am not sure it's worth the hassle have the live bait when alone. When I was out last week with Paul and Dave, there were three of us to deal with the bait, and that's manageable. Alone, I'm not so sure. I also do not know if I'd bring the axe and saw next time solo; by this point I had no intention of making a fire unless it was absolutely needed for some emergency purpose, and I know I could certainly find wood to burn without having to cut it. That said, I am not sure I'll ever bring an axe again on any trips up here in warm weather.

As the evening rolled on and I switched back and forth from swimming to reading to putzing around camp, I was getting into a routine of sorts and was enjoying my time alone. I liked being able to do what I wanted when I wanted without anyone else to consider. That said, I also wished my wife was with me.

I crawled into the sarcophagus at around dusk, looking up at the stars, wondering how my family was going and praying for their well being while giving thanks for the safety I'd enjoyed so far. I was thinking about a layover day tomorrow, but was leaning towards moving on as I was hoping for a spot with more level ground to make home for a couple of days.