Whew! I am tired this morning. Glad I had a break-in trip with the family last month. I definitely feel stronger than I did on my solo this same time last year. I have also been training more in an effort to prep for the border challenge this fall, but not ready for 20 miles a day...yet.

Since I'm ahead of my planned itinerary, I checked the map for some options. Got out of camp at 7:00am and reached Malberg in 1.5 hours. The 4 portages were the first time (and turns out last time) I ran into any people on a portage...a couple guys on the 2nd portage out of Polly and then a father and 2 kids on the portage into Malberg. Everyone was going the opposite direction from me. All 4 portages from Polly to Malberg had easy landings. The campsite I wanted on Malberg near the start of the Louse River was open, so I stopped and set up camp. I made some oatmeal for breakfast and took a little rest.

At 9:30, I set off to paddle the 6 miles to see the Fishdance Lake pictographs. On the portage from Malberg to the Kawishiwi River, I made the mistake of putting the canoe down at the normal landing on the Kawishiwi side. It looked a bit muddy, but I thought I could shove off fine. DO NOT make this mistake! There is a little path through the grass on the right that takes you to a much better landing for low water situations. But I was committed now. I hopped rocks as far as I could go and then made the mistake of putting my feet in the mud to give a shove. Down I went in the boot sucking mud. Nerve wrecking trying to cling to the canoe and get myself free. This same portage has a beaver pond in the middle of it. When traveling from east to west, you have to step down off a 2 foot high rock into opaque water of unknown depth. Not a move my knees appreciate. I stood near the tree next to the rock and started to step down. I swear, the tree punched me and knocked the canoe clean off my shoulders! On the bright side, it made stepping down easier. The water on the path through the beaver pond reached just past my mid-thigh. The footing is not too bad but there were some hidden tripping rocks to keep you awake. Time to recruit a wolf to take out that beaver.

Lots of bald eagles soaring the thermals today. The paddle to the pictographs was quiet with only one campsite of people and they were packing up to leave. The pictos were cool to see since I haven't visited any in the BW before. I had a pleasant floating lunch while I looked at them. The paddling made for good training since it was the longest, uninterrupted stretch that I would have until my final day.

Back at the campsite, I made creamy alfredo noodles for dinner and it was delicious! The wind shifted and picked up in the evening which resulted in a lovely, bug-free evening with beautiful temps.

Distance traveled: 15.5 miles Portages: 377 rods Time: 5.5 hours

~Polly Lake, Koma Lake, Malberg Lake, River Lake, Fishdance Lake, River Lake, Malberg Lake