Our final travel day (besides the exit) took us to Shell Lake. We knew it would be a shorter day and were looking forward to seeing something new, so we had some pep in our step and got on the water just after 9am.

The portage from Hustler to Ruby is a gorgeous little number! Easy landings and a short, easy trail, with a little rapids flowing through. We saw two guys headed in for three days and wished them a dry future. The portage from Ruby-Lynx is rated as an 8.5/10 difficulty on the Voyageur map and I have to say, I thought it was much easier than that, maybe a 7/10. If it was the last portage of the day and you were doing it in the other direction (carrying gear east), then you’d have a lot more elevation to climb, and it would be more of a bear. Still, not technically difficult, just long.

We absolutely flew down Lynx with a 15mph sustained tailwind, with gusts to 39mph (according to the forecast). In fact, we had to be quite mindful of the waves building up behind us, that we essentially surfed on. By the time we got to the south end of Lynx, they were probably 3ft rollers that were probably one or two mistakes away from swamping us. We made a plan to “eddy out” behind a point on the lake, opting to paddle a bit out of the way but keeping us at a 45deg angle to the waves, so as not to be broadsided by the beautiful but intimidating waves. Paddling into those waves and wind would have been a nightmare. My Garmin GPS clocked us at 6mph with that tailwind though!!

Thankfully we paddled right through to Little Shell and did a final short portage into Shell. Weather was blue skies with a mix of puffy and ominous clouds. Sound was howling trees. While we wanted to check out the sites on Con Island, both were probably bad choices with the wind at the time. We opted to check out the first site, on the east side of the lake, and thankfully it was open with workable tent pads. We had skipped lunch due to the short travel day, so we did what we always do:

1. Chair 2. Feet 3. Shoes 4. Food

Not too long after we finished eating, it looked like it might rain a bit on us, so we donned our rain gear. However it passed just by us, so we took the rain pants off but kept the jackets nearby. We had some intermittent drizzle like we did on Hustler, but most of the rain clouds blew past us, probably 5-10 miles away judging by placement above the far shoreline. We were again mostly protected from the cold wind, a protection which we came to heavily appreciate at the tail end of the trip.

It's funny; the first few days of the trip, we were all so hot, we wanted to use our comfy cold gear we all brought, but knew to appreciate the warmth while we had it, knowing we’d likely prefer some heat later in the trip. Sure enough, the high winds from the north blew in temps in the mid 40s, and the drizzle made sure to keep everything just wet enough to stay cold from the windchill. While the tent pads were nothing special, my canoe partner and I got our hammocks set up just a little bit back into this dark, damp young pine grove, and it was perfect. I wasn’t bothered by a single breeze back there, which I’m sure was also in part due to me actually tying out the “doors” on my hexagonal tarp to help block as much wind and spray as possible. It was a nice calm spot to have our final night.

We spent the remainder of our time finding and processing firewood, to give ourselves a nice long fire on our last night. Whiskey had been running thin on this trip, and the final night didn’t see much left despite the rationing. It goes surprisingly quick when you have ~3-5oz per person per night! The whiskey disappeared quickly that evening, but we enjoyed a nice long fire, and I even made up one of the dehydrated desserts I had brought as breakfast (Blueberry Peach Crisp from Backpacker’s Pantry), and it was freaking delicious.

The stars came out one final time to say goodbye, and this time they were brighter and clearer than any other night. While we didn’t have a southern view to see the setting core of the Milky Way, we still had a panoramic expanse down by the lakeside that provided some beautiful views and photos. I got some of my favorite astro photos on our final night, and I spent probably 30 minutes down by the water, in the dark, just chatting with my canoe partner, reflecting on the trip. It was serene, but with the overtone of that slight restless feeling you get when you know it’s your last night. It’s bittersweet in so many ways and this time was no exception. The stargazing, photos, and real talk down at the water's edge left a lasting peace in my heart, and I went to bed happy.

~Ruby Lake, Lynx Lake, Little Shell Lake, Shell Lake