Friday, August 30, 2024~Banadad Lake, Rush Lake, Little Rush Lake, Skipper Lake, Poplar Lake

Since we had quite a drive ahead of us once we got out, we were up early and just ate bars for breakfast. The wind was strong, but in our favor out of the west, so we made great time paddling. The portages were another story. Rush to Little Rush showed on the south side on the NatGeo and Gaia maps, but was really on the north side, which was correctly marked on the Fisher map. It took us a bit to figure that out since there may have been on old portage on the south that was quite overgrown so we stopped to investigate that before figuring out it was on the north side. Then the Little Rush to Skipper was totally overgrown so we ended up floating/carrying the canoe on the stream between the lakes, which was a pain. Luckily, the long (1 mile) portage into Poplar was really nice and fairly flat. We made it back to Rockwood by about 11 am, changed and headed off to a nice “victory” lunch at Trail Center. It was a great trip. The wind was never an issue and rain was mostly overnight so didn’t affect us much at all. The first day was fairly busy with other people, but after that we saw very few people and hardly anyone at campsites. I’d definitely recommend this loop and Rockwood as an outfitter. Having two great dining establishments within a few miles was a big plus.

Lakes Traveled:   Banadad Lake, Rush Lake, Little Rush Lake, Skipper Lake, Poplar Lake,