Day 3 – Wednesday 09-28-16 I was up early and glad that the rain had stopped and it would remain dry the rest of my trip. It was still breezy, but the weather was improving and it would be a good day of travel. Packing up camp took longer than expected, nearly two hours. As the days went on, and I got more set in my routine, I cut my morning routine to under an hour from alarm to first paddle stroke. My goal for the day was the south site on Makwa, site 985. I had stayed at this site over 20 years earlier, as a child and had fond family memories of catching a large lake trout near this site with my brother, 28 inches if my memory serves me correctly. 
As I paddled north on Polly, I passed a group camped on the northernmost site. I would enjoy solitude for the next day and a half. After the series of portages into Koma and a quick paddle across Koma, I reached the rapids into Malberg. I was amazed at the beauty of the boulder in the rapids into Malberg. The sheer size and placement of this boulder just seemed too perfect. The scenery improved immensely from this point on and I really began to feel at home. The day consisted of several small portages, none too difficult, although muddy; they were flat and relatively uneventful. I found that the two marked portages from Anit to Pan was actually one longer portage. I did make one wrong turn, and found myself looking at Kivandeba instead of Panhandle Lake. I quickly corrected my route and reminded myself to trust my compass. Also, if the portage looks overgrown, there’s probably a good reason for that. 
After seven hours of travel, I reached my goal, and was glad to find it available. Being open, this site didn’t offer much shelter. But what it lacked in cover, it most definitely made up for in scenery. In addition to the flood of memories, I was greeted with a beautiful view of the massive cliff wall north of camp and beautiful view down the length of Makwa. The distant sound of howling wolves to the north marked the end of a great day.