Saturday, July 16, 2022 Nothing like doing a hilly 160r portage with 2 packs and a canoe, and knowing that my eldest child is 39 today, to make me feel every one of my 63 years. I am not as strong as I used to be.

Left Upper Pauness early, overcast and calm, already getting pretty warm. The 40r portage near my campsite was infested with poison ivy, so I paddled over to the 8r. Crossed Lower Pauness and hit the Devil's Cascade Portage, and it whupped me good. Partly the heat, but I think I'm just getting old. Didn't even have the energy to check out the cascade- I just wanted to be done with it. There is also a small amount of poison ivy close to the start, but avoidable with caution.

The rest of LIS River was lovely, just keeps getting wider until it finally spills out into Loon. I took the first campsite on Loon- it was too dang hot for me. Shady but so many flies.

This site has been sadly abused...lots of cut live trees, foil in the firepit, pistachio shells everywhere, a bungee cord, artificial leeches, fishing line, a pair of boxers, and a hat that said "Jackalope Hockey". Gave the hat to a father and son paddling by that stopped to chat. A pair of young women who passed said they saw a small bear swim across the river about 200 yards upstream. Not a place to spend lots of time! And.....wait for it....there's poison ivy on the latrine trail!

Saw 2 garter snakes, lots of frogs, heard veerys, barred owl, song sparrows, loons

Sat down by the water and thought. Feeling a whole bunch of internal pressure to travel more miles than I have, and wondering why that is. Lots of people know what my plans were, but I'm not doing the trip for them, it's for me. And I'm not sure I have the physical strength to do all the portaging I had planned by myself. That's sorta hard to admit. Getting old is weird.

So hot tonight that I can't face any kind of fire, even the solo stove. Made my coffee with cold water....and it totally worked. Even my homemade powdered 1/2 & 1/2.....shook it up good and sorta had an iced coffee in the woods. Glad I have 5 meals that can be made with cold water. Tonight: Packit Gourmet Curry chicken mango salad. Should have brought tortillas, but it was good.

~Upper Pauness Lake, Lower Pauness Lake, Loon Lake