I got an early start today. At one point, I thought the twilight of the morning was upon me but the sky cleared overnight and the waning moon was shining brightly, like a flashlight, cutting through the dark onto my tent. I started packing up by headlamp and by the time I was ready to go the dawn of a brand new day was upon me. The portage to the next lake was just a short paddle away and is an easy one by BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area) standards but they're all hard for this old man. I quickly crossed this lake and was on to the next portage. This one is tough even by BWCA standards. It's the Devil's Cascade. Last time I was through here I knick-named it the devil's tinkle. It was roaring along pretty good this time and I stopped to take a few pictures and rest a bit. Soon I was back on the Little Indian Sioux River as it has passed through these two lakes and goes on to the next. Right after getting on the water again I notice a small water fall coming into the river that I had not noticed last time I was here(or maybe this old man just doesn’t remember). It was smooth paddling all the way to Loon Lake, the river's final destination, except for a quick pull over at a beaver dam. I stopped to have lunch where the river becomes Loon Lake. I had camped at this site before and now have a decision to make. Lunch was mountain house's beef stroganoff which I like but this time it gave me the urge to take my heartburn medication. My original plan was to take the series of smaller lakes north but I decide to take the bigger water, and take fewer portages, to make up for some lost time. I stripped a wing nut on my yoke (for carrying my canoe across portages) and fear I'll strip out more. They are made of nylon plastic and I usually bring spares, although it has never happened I had always suspected it might happen, but on this trip I forgot to bring them. The next portage is the mechanical Beatty portage. I read once that it felt like cutting through someone’s yard although no one was there. This wouldn't be the case for me. I did feel like I was trespassing but there were plenty of people there as it is a national holiday here in the U.S. (Labor Day), Mariel, and there is a family cook out going on. Even though what I’m doing is legal I feel very odd coming through and will not take this route again. After doing the portage and paddling for a couple miles I get out my GPS for the first time because I don't want to make mistakes on big water lakes like this one. I would end my day at a campsite in snow bay of this lake-Lac Le Croix. This is about as far north as I will go on my trip. The site is very nice and has a picnic table and stone couch. It was an exhausting day and as I climb into the tent it is still a little light out and a squirrel has started dropping pine cone bombs and scores a couple direct hits on the tent. As I lie in my tent and start to drift off to sleep I realize I had forgotten my hammock straps on the trees back at Pauness Lake this morning. The night before I remember thinking I better take down the straps too as I took down the hammock but I didn't because I was in a hurry to get the camp ready for the rain and didn't think it mattered if the straps got wet. A year ago I lost the sack for them so I guess I don't have to worry about having the straps but not the matching bag anymore.

Original sin: I've come to believe that the story of original sin was around long before religion put its stamp on it. In its original form it's the story of man's change from hunter-gatherer (living in the Garden of Eden) to organized labor (having taken a bite out of the apple from the tree of knowledge) and thus the original sin is the genesis of slavery, economics, politics and with all that war. Slavery many believe has been abolished but it isn't really true. Slavery is not an is or isn't but a matter of degree. We are all slaves-slaves to economics, slaves to politics, and slaves to war.