We left VNO at 6am and headed for LIS. We had a long day ahead of us. Our plan was to head from LIS to Hustler on day one. There are quite a few portages on that route including a 210 and a 260ish. We stopped at the Devils Cascade, and also on Con Island for lunch. It took us about 10 hours to make the trip to Hustler, in a group of varying skill levels. None of the portages are all that bad, but after you have a canoe on your head for 160 rods or so I always slip into some sort of trance or maybe just blackout. I couldn't remember alot of the trail on the way back for my pack. I was in the BWCA for the opener this year, and after the Mudro to Fourtown series in the rain with bugs it all looks easy. When

we got to Hustler the site we were shooting for was taken, so we tried the one near Emerald Lake, and it didn't look good for our three tents, so we sent a scouting party over the portage to Emerald. We decided to camp at the northern campsite. The portage was pretty covered with downed trees, but it was little used and I always like that. The campsite was great, it fit three tents and our shelter. The fire grate was in a great spot up against a rock and near the shore. the site is up high against the water, which was very clear and basically a shear drop. It made for great jumping into the water. There were plenty of minnows, crayfish, and leeches in the water, but we couldn't catch a fish to save our lives. We ate steak on the grate, onions, and mashed potatoes that night and slept well.