The car & canoes were loaded up the night before and we left home around 6:45 to head to my parents to drop off our almost 3 year old. He loves BWCA, but May trips are just a bit too dangerous for a little one. We reached Duluth around 10am, and putzed around the Duluth Pack Store while we waiting for Brock and Amanda to arrive to pick up the permit. After watching the required videos, we were given our permit and we all headed next door to the Northern Waters Smokehaus to grab some sandwiches for lunch. It’s tradition for us to stop at Castle Danger Brewery on our way up the North Shore, so we stopped, ate our sandwiches and enjoyed a couple beers before continuing on to the Kawishiwi Lake Rustic Campground. We reached the campground around 3pm, set up tents and got a fire going. Brock and Amanda brought steaks and asparagus and we contributed sweet potatoes and fruit. Dinner was delicious and we enjoyed a few adult beverages around the fire before heading off to bed.

The trip consisted of me, my husband, Sean, our 10-year-old daughter, Bianca (her 6th trip), and friends Brock and Amanda—this was their first trip.