Friday, August 30, 2024

It's the last day of the trip and you can feel it throughout camp. We take a group picture before our final portage to Clearwater Lake then back to the outfitter. Another 200+ rod portage. People may say that portages get easier towards the end of the trip...but that only applies if you're carrying a food pack. Overall, it wasn't as bad as what was about to come.

We get our boats on Clearwater and the wind was really pushing against us. The most difficult padding I’ve ever done. Absolutely draining. Maybe the hardest I've ever worked on any of our trips, backpacking included. All in all, it took us almost 4-5 hours to get across Clearwater Lake. Brutal. I could go on and on about just how grueling and demoralizing of a paddle it was.

Honestly...it was the worst way to end a trip. The entire mood of the group was ruined. One canoe actually stopped at the put in point/boat launch and WALKED the gear back to the outfitter. It was that bad.

As we get back to the outfitter at different times, one vehicle heads out for their long trek home. The rest of us waited for the canoe that stopped at the launch. We would end up having a post trip meal in Grand Marais before heading our separate ways. I would be spending the night in Duluth with my friend so he can fly out the next day. The other car would do the same in the Twin Cities. All in all, a fantastic trip and I hope I can take this group on the next one.

Random post trip thoughts:

At one point my friend said "I'm eating better here than I do at home". Couldn’t ask for a better reaction to the meals than that. It was great paddling along with Detroit John. I hope he's reading this! This was my first trip utilizing the Garmin InReach and it was perfect for updated weather reports and check-ins. The weather was worse than our 2022 trip, which was also the week before Labor Day. Not enough swimming this year. I am incredibly blessed and thankful to have 7 other friends to come along on this trip. The Boundary Waters is not for everyone and this group kicked ass. After this trip I have to ask, is 8 too many people? I'm not sure. I think we would have had better luck (mainly more space) with campsites in a different area of the wilderness. Maybe if we were hammock campers it would’ve been better. Regardless of site space, the food needed for a group this size is insane. I am regretting not documenting the portions brought along as this would have been extremely useful information for future trips. Overall, I think 6 people is a sweet spot for a larger group.

Paddle planner link to our route: https://www.paddleplanner.com/tools/route.aspx?routeid=34027