Day 1 of 5: After we’d carried everything down to the dock on Moose Lake, I not only wondered how it was all going to fit in one canoe, but how we were going to stay afloat. Anxiety nearly overwhelmed me when I saw the fishing gear that my husband was in charge of. Next to the packs that I’d meticulously organized, lay a strewn of tackle, poles, nets and bait. Questions rattled in my brain. There were only 4 of us going – why did we need so many poles? And what’s he going to do with all of those worms and leeches – open up a makeshift bait shop on the portages?

Thankfully, before I questioned my fisherman, the guide from Canoe Country Outfitters arrived and loaded us up. We were boated down Moose and Sucker Lake and dropped off at Indian portage where we would enter in on Birch Lake. I sat in the front, the two kids in the middle on a bench seat, 4 packs behind them, and my husband in back surrounded by fishing gear. We shoved off like a barge and cheered when we remained 2 inches above water.

And the cheering continued as we experienced something that rarely happens to us – the wind was at our back. And a strong wind it was – our barge literally flew and skipped over waves. With 5 portages scheduled on our first day, we didn’t think we’d make it to Knife Lake until mid-afternoon but we made good time and even pushed the canoe up the creek near one of the portages. The wind was finally our ally and delivered to Knife before noon. In saying that however, many of the campsites were full or not appealing. We finally pulled into a camp midway down Knife and called it the “last resort” since we were getting too tired to go any further. Immediately, our twin daughters dug out their vintage Barbies and began playing in the exposed roots of an old tree. I put on my cozy slippers and organized the kitchen while my husband put up the tent… and everything seemed right in the world. We ended the day by watching the golden sunset and then cuddled up in the tent to begin reading a book together – this year we chose “Call of the Wild” by Jack London.