Sunday, June 22, 2014 After receiving the news that I had a 4 person party, I secured permits, and began communicating via email with the rest of the group. since I didn't know two of them, I was rather concerned/curious of their wilderness experience. After conversing with them, they seemed to have their wits, so my concerns quickly dispersed. We discussed meal plans, communal gear, trip objectives, ect. All we needed now was to wait for the big day. Mike and I live near Chicago, Rob and BJ live near St. Paul. The plan was to meet at the ranger station in grand marais at 8:00am. Mike and I drove 10 hours through the night. we arrived at the ranger station an hour before they opened. We decoded to take Delphi for a walk to kill the time. While on the walk, it started pouring rain. Neither of us were thrilled about this. We got back to the ranger station and watched the video and took the quiz. rangers informed us the weather forecast and bugs(including ticks) were not looking favorable. I'm feeling a little bummed. then, we find out rob and bj are an hour behind schedule. we wait for their arrival as it continues to rain. suddenly, they arrive, and the clouds part. we do the meet and greet, head to get bait and we are on our way up the gunflint trail to east bearskin lake. Once at the entry point, the sky is clear, and we are all pumped for a wonderful time in the woods. We quickly get the canoes in the water, and soak in the beauty. as we paddle to alder, rob and bj bicker about paddling, as mike, Delphi and I lead the way. we make it to the portage in about an hour. sunny and beautiful. we make quick time at the portage and head off on alder to find a campsite. while I have been on this lake before, I knew that there were a some good sites, but realized they were probably taken. we decided to take the first site that was suitable for our group. it was a gem.   After a super long day of traveling and paddling, it was time for steaks and potatoes.   We ate till we were content, had a sip of whiskey, and called it a night.