Gobbled granola for breakfast so we could leave quickly. We made quick work of the all the short portages on the way to Seagull. They are all very wide, relatively flat, and easy. Tons of traffic on all the big lakes. Large groups going both directions. This is nuts. Hopefully, our plan to take the long 515 rod portage to Paulson will pay off. We ate lunch at the first campsite on Seagull right as we exited the 97 rod portage. This ends up being the last empty campsite we see on Seagull. Crazy busy!

We ended up with a perfect tailwind from the NW which zoomed us into the bay for the big portage. We were definitely at the canoe's limit for roller size, so it was a bit nerve wrecking.

For the big portage to Paulson we started out with Bear carrying the canoe and pack basket, Mountain Goat carrying the Sealline 115L, and Hobbit (me) carrying the Earth Pac 55L and daypack. Once we hit the first deadfall, Mountain Goat took the canoe for awhile and we started a system of alternating who carried what. At this point, we would sometimes single portage, sometimes have one pack that would need to be retrieved. It was hot, so we would stop for regular water breaks and trade off with the canoe. It is nice to have 3 people who are all comfortable carrying it. This portage has an overall elevation change of 200 feet from Seagull Lake up to Paulson Lake. It is mostly uphill, but has some very steep downhill sections as well, and the final drop down to Paulson is quite steep and treacherous, especially when wet. As I went back 100 rods for the last pack, the skies opened up and it started pouring! The portage turned into a river. Glad it didn't rain the whole time. We also saw piles of bear scat, so the Seagull Lake bears don't only eat lazy camper food.

This portage is unrated on the Voyager map. However, after comparing it to other rated portages, taking account of the streams, mud, rocks and the steep ups and downs, our opinion is it rates an L9 or L10. However, the views are stunning. And there are loads of blueberries and other edibles along the way to lift your spirits. This portage is best done with a sense of teamwork and a "we're in this together" attitude. It took us 2 hours, which is much slower than our typical pace, but this portage deserves respect, and has views worthy of stopping to enjoy.

Paulson is a pretty little gem of a lake. We had hoped we might have it to ourselves, but the island campsite was already occupied by a solo paddler. We took the other site which is a lovely open, rocky site. We set up camp and an hour later, a couple arrived from the south. They stopped and contemplated camping illegally, but then headed off over the long portage to Seagull. An hour after the couple vanished over the ridge, another group arrived from Seagull. Thank goodness we started out early from Ogish this morning. We never expected this much traffic through Paulson.

We had falafel and rice pilaf for dinner. The weather was unsettled, but no major thunderstorms developed like yesterday.

~Ogishkemuncie Lake, Kingfisher Lake, Jasper Lake, Alpine Lake, Sea Gull Lake, Paulson Lake

Travel Time: 8:30am-2:30pm 6 hours