The trip had its ups and downs (literally and metaphorically), and was challenging at times, and but I am glad I experienced it. Cherry Lake is as beautiful as they say, and we got great weather during our stay that really completed the experience. Even though we only caught a single fish the whole trip, that one fish was pretty nice!

F and I talked about what went well and what didn’t, and he fully agreed that he had too much going on with multiple GoPros and cameras and other various electronics, and didn’t help as much on portages and with camp chores as maybe he should have. I got over it though and he knows to improve on it in the future. We are still friends after this trip, so there is that.

Still, for all future trips, I will make sure the people I’m going with understand priorities for the group, and are willing to help and do things without being asked. It did bother me a bit but I did my best not to think about it and just look around me and enjoy it.

Besides the mentioned faults of this trip, we did most things really well. None of our setbacks truly impacted our safety or sanity (for the most part anyway!). We were responsible when using sharp things, when using the stove and making fires, and in leaving no trace. Most things went well on this trip and we were both happy for that.

This route was pretty awesome, all things considered. I really like Cherry and the NAK area. The push to SAK on the first day was taxing, but everything else about the trip was pretty great! I would like to see NAK again, Ottertrack would be great. I gotta get to Lake of the Clouds somehow! So of course, I’ve already got a route to check it out, along with a bunch of other new stuff further southeast as well. All I know is, I love this area, and I’m really glad I got the chance to see it.