Our last morning broke with another golden sunrise and fog on the glassy lake. Not being in a huge hurry to leave this place of peace, we had a relaxed morning and slowly packed all of the gear. Much too soon, we were fully packed and it was time to go. As we left the site, we ran into another group of paddlers who were happy to hear that we liked the campsite and were leaving. It was immediately claimed.

We took our time paddling up through Horseshow and Caribou. Having started at Cross Bay, you could tell how much use these portages got by comparison. They were wide and easy to travel. We soon found ourselves on the last portage into Lizz Lake and were crossing out of BWCA before we knew it. A minor navigational error on Poplar extended our journey by about 30 min, but it was a scenic detour.

Arriving back at Rockwood around 1pm, we unpacked and returned the rental gear before making a beeline for a hot shower. It felt really good to get several layers of sweat and sunblock off. We then headed down to the Trail Center for a post trip burger, beer, and shake/pie. We had a room reserved at the MacArthur House cabins in Grand Marais that evening, so had plenty of time to explore. Feeling a bit overstuffed, we hiked the Honeymoon Bluffs trail, enjoying the good views over Hungry Jack and Bearskin Lakes. Tried to find the “moose viewing trail” but couldn’t find the parking lot and our rental car didn’t have the clearance to keep going.

Arriving back in Grand Marais, we did a light dinner at Hungry Hippy Tacos and then walked down to the waterfront to take in the sunset. It was nice to sleep in a real bed this night.

~Horseshoe Lake, Caribou Lake, Lizz Lake, Poplar Lake