Sunshine, but still some north wind with cool air. We are up early looking to find a roomier site on one of the Pauness lakes. Shell was a nice paddle and it was great to see the sun for the first time in a couple of days. At least, this time, we knew what we were getting into on the 216 rod portage. We handled it just great….until we got to the end and I couldn’t find my paddle. It was a case of breaking our regular routine. When the first canoe got to the busted footbridge they just threw what they had into that canoe and paddled over and the last two gathering up what they thought was everything canoed across and we continued on our way. I walked back and could not find the paddle. It was on the other side of the watery gap and me with no canoe??? I was ready to go back and get one when lo and behold another group was coming along from Shell Lake! I asked if they had seen a paddle and they described it to me and exactly where they saw it. Fortunately the helpful spirit of canoe travelers was present and they helped me retrieve it.

As we searched for a site the one to the left (as you leave the portage) facing east in a narrow section of the lake was open and deemed suitable. We didn’t go far but found a more comfortable site. Since a trip to Devil’s Cascade was part of our plan it was well located. Because we set up our new camp early we planned a day trip to the Cascade where Cody and I would fish the lower pools and John and Terry would hike and climb. The north wind made us work to position the boat but we were rewarded with a northern and small mouth before our hikers returned. Part of their hiking took them on the Sioux Hustler Trail again back to the portage from Shell Lake. We had lunch at a beautiful overlook of the rapids in the hiking trail campsite just off the portage. This was truly an awe inspiring and beautiful spot. We didn’t want to leave but eventually left for camp and spent the rest of the afternoon reading and doing small jobs around the camp - maybe some naps also. The still cold and sometimes strong north winds prompted us to set up a lean-to contraption by the fire grate . I’m always intrigued how the ideas flow when the old adage necessity is the mother of invention comes into play. Previous campers had left a large number of very long poles laying around and we put them to use.

The weather radio forecasted low temps of 25-30 as we decided to crawl into tents and read and settle in to stay warm for the evening.