We were easily on the water by 7:30. The first portages were quickly covered and we pushed on. Crossing Grace Lake we talked as we paddled about staying on Beth Lake that evening. The 280 rod portage was more manageable for me as I was able to double portage it and as we paddled into Beth we started talking about pushing into Alton. I said I was up for it and we did just that. Wow, from hardly seeing anyone else the whole trip so far we paddled into Alton and I counted 7 canoes out on the water. Oh oh, had we gone too far and wouldn't be able to find a site? We paddled to the east side and found an open spot on the second site from the portage back into Sawbill. Hooray, we are settled with a short trip back to the EP. The site was well worn but we found adequate pads for our four tents.

The plan was to stay 2 days, fish, and explore Alton. The weather radio had some bad news that around midnight storms were to roll in (they hit around 11:40) and we had a wet night.