Day 2 of 5: The first night is always fitful for me as I’m awakened easily by the sounds of grizzly bears tearing apart the food pack or wolves surrounding our tent. I know, grizzlies aren’t even in the area and wolves are skiddish but still – the first two nights I sleep with the extra large bear spray in hand nonetheless. After a sleepless night however, coffee over the fire tastes like pure bliss. We slowly packed up to make our way down Knife Lake and possibly beyond. Again, the wind was at our backs and we effortlessly made it to the lookout point on the southern arm of Knife. We stopped and hiked to the top for a photo op – but the pictures don’t do the majestic view the justice it deserves.

From high above the lake, we spotted a campsite on a point not too far away and we decided to check it out and stop for an early lunch. The site was beautiful and after we arrived we realized that the wind was gaining strength – which made us question our ability to get back to Birch if it continued. We decided to camp where we were and head back down Knife really early in the morning when the waters were calm. We spent the day fishing, exploring, and the girls made friends with some chipmunks.

We even paddled back to the lookout in the evening to watch the sunset – well, us and a bazillion mosquitoes! After our fair share of s’mores, we retreated to the tent where I became frightened of an animal that was trying to scratch its way inside. The girls shined the flashlight to illuminate a frog outside. In my defense, it was a really big frog. As the temperature dropped throughout the night, I was evidently the only one affected by it. While I kept layering my clothes, my husband and daughters were sound asleep, half out of their sleeping bags with limbs flailed all over one another. And still, as I lay there listening to their heavy breathing mingled with the wails of the loons, there was no place I’d rather be.