It got cold last night. It felt like low 30's. Because of the radio I knew it was coming so added lots of layers, a hat and gloves. I slept really well despite getting up multiple times to go to the woods. I've learned it's better to stay hydrated or I risk getting bad dehydration headaches.

I am up at 8:15 and watch 3 otters playing the small bay next to me. They don't appear to know I'm there and are just having a ball splashing around. They aren't really close but apparently see me and then quickly disappear. The view from the top level here is so great up and down the lake. If I had to guess I'd say it was 25 feet above the water.

No rush today. Coffee, bacon and pancakes this morning. I take my time cleaning up. While digging a hole in the woods I always take the time to smell the dirt. The city folk would pay good money for soil like this. I did the "one hole cleanup" of dishes, teeth, and .. well, you know. :)

I then rinsed all my clothes in the lake and hung to dry over trees and bushes. The sun is out so I dove in and swam for awhile and dried myself by sitting on the big granite landing. Everything's clean, a great start to the day. 

My notes say I "cut firewood, put the fishing rods together, filtered more water (I'm using the platypus system for the first time and love it) and then took a nap after reading for a bit". It also says I miss a dog and companions again and that "I'll probably never again do a solo without at least a dog."

In my mind there's a huge difference to going "solo alone" or "solo with a dog". It's hard to explain unless a person has experienced both. Being alone there's nothing or nobody to relate with. With a dog I'm busy playing fetch and exploring together. Sharing food and talking with. A good dog is worth so much enjoyment on a long trip.

There's no moon tonight so I planned to hang out on the rocks and watch the sky. Then the haze rolled in with the cold so I went to bed at dark.

DAY 6

Up at 7:15 and made a big bacon and eggs with veggies and cheese breakfast then packed a lunch for the day trip to Shan Walshe. I took one of the big packs and filled it with my food and fishing gear and a set of clothes in case I dunked. This was mainly for weight in the stern. I use 2 20 liter dry bags filled with water in the bow.

The hardest part fishing in a center seat solo canoe is unless it's completely calm you will need weight at both ends. Today the wind is up, a steady breeze that would get stronger in the afternoon. It was a real nuisance and all I could really do is troll up and down the lake.

In Shan Walshe I looked for a marked campsite on the south island but saw nothing. I caught 2 small bass trolling the length up and down and on the way back to the portage I got a decent hit as I rounded the peninsula. This turned out to be a really nice lake trout going high 20's maybe 30 inches and real thick. This was a strong fish and took a while to get it near me. The fish rolled at the boat and got tangled in the line. They sometimes do this and I just wanted to get it back in the lake quickly so it had a chance to survive. It was way too big for me to eat. It went belly up when I let it go but soon righted itself and dove down. I looked around for awhile and didn't see it come up again so hopefully it survived.

Once back on McNiece I trolled through the lake and hooked into a nice 16 inch trout. Well there's my dinner. I filleted it on a bare spit of rock out in the lake off my camp then fried it up with mashed potatoes on the side. Good stuff but the wind was really whipping now and blew up the fireplace a few times with ashes going in the food.

* You can see my trolling setup in the pic. Water ballast and simple rod under leg technique. I do it that way because it's easy to change sides and I can feel when I get a hit.

My notes say "7:30 and winds still gusting like the afternoon". I made the decision to leave camp tomorrow and park next on Shade Lake. I listened to the weather and the forecast is for rain the next 3 days and down into the 30's in 2 nights. I took the tarp down and packed what I could to get an early start tomorrow. 

DAY 7

Up at 6:30, very breezy but no rain. Overcast and cool. I did the portage out of McNiece then the landing at Shan Walshe. Both landings are very rocky and tricky ankle busters in low water.

The wind builds steady all day and it's right in my face. On the long portage from Grey Lake to the no name I run into a couple in their 30's who got lost by looping back into the no name lake where they started from while trying to get into Grey. I did the same thing in 2011 and know many others who also did this lol.

This is the map I use and it's been marked up for 15 years. I show this portage here. It's best not to use the landing on the no name at the east end but rather the mid lake landing which isn't marked on maps as far as I know. There's also mis marked portages I correct on Armin and McNiece Lakes. ** The site I stayed at on McNiece is in a small bay mid lake north side. The one I mistakenly circled in 2011 at the west end is not a good site.

On the long portage from Grey to no name I had a very cool wildlife encounter. I heard a loud squawk from a clump of trees up ahead. Then a large bird flew out and landed on a tall dead tree about 20 feet to my right. It was a pileated woodpecker!

It looked prehistoric with a long neck and big bill and this giant red plume off the back of its head. It had to be a foot tall. It poked around a bit as I slowly went for my camera but I was too late. Wow! That was awesome and a first for me.

Once on Shade lake the wind was really up and it was broadsiding me. I managed to pull in to a small sheltered bay with a nice landing. The tree groves near shore protected my set up. I was close to the lake but pulled my hammock tarp almost down to the ground on the wind side. Tonight's forecast is Isolated storms with 60 mile per hour gusts and one inch hail possible.

I camped here in 2011 but barely recognize the site. Back then I hung my hammock right next to the water. I got to hear a moose wade in the bay and swim and dive to feed after dark. An incredible experience. This time on Shade it was low, dark gloomy clouds and big gusts of wind. The weather can really affect how we perceive a lake. It could either be "Gorgeous!" or "Nothing to see here" depending on the weather. This time here I explored the woods a bit then sat in the hammock under the tarp out of the wind.

DAY 8

It rained off and on through the night. At the 5:45 alarm is was dark and gloomy. Small gusts of wind could be heard in the trees. I lay in the hammock until it got light at 6:30. It was calmer but low clouds and very humid.

When packing I gambled and took the hammock tarp down first thinking it wouldn't rain. I lost that one! It no sooner started lightly raining and then came a steady downpour for 45 minutes. I huddled in the trees on my chair and cooked oatmeal while I waited it out. Pretty much everything got packed up wet after that.

My intention was to end the trip early and paddle all the way out to the car. I wanted no more of this wind and rain and 30 degree temps that are in the forecast. I'm wet, cold and beaten. After packing I'm on the water at 9:25.

I figured out I could carry the canoe without a yoke on the short portages that I have today. There were 7 total but all are well travelled paths. So while still triple portaging, I was going a little quicker not having to fumble with the yoke clamps at each landing.

Once through the lilly pad creek and over the beaver dam into North bay I had a big tail wind. This carried me down the lake without much effort. I'm very thankful for that! I pulled into the nice landing at the bottom of North Bay and this is where my luck really changed.

I finished the 2nd carry on the 48 rodder that is full of rocks and started walking back for the last pack. Sudden downpours all morning followed by short dry periods kept everything wet. Normally on portages my eyes are glued to the ground. There's rocks and roots everywhere on this one.

Triple portaging, I got very complacent with nothing to carry on the way back down the trail. My thoughts were now on getting to the car, where to eat dinner etc.

It happened before I could react. My right foot slipped off a rock and I went stumbling trying to regain my footing. I slipped again and went down hard on my stomach. My right ribcage landed on a bowling ball size rock. My left temple smacked the dirt or grass, luckily not a rock. But it was my lower side that I knew was hurt badly. The wind was knocked out of me and I struggled on my stomach to breathe. As I lay there I knew I was hurt real bad and was just hoping I didn't break any bones.

Finally gathering myself, I stood up. The adrenaline masked the pain. My arms and shoulders were good, my legs were fine but it was my lower right side ribs. The pain was bad but I was able to portage the last pack over then make the short paddle across the little no name pond. That tailwind really helped me here as paddling the right side with my tandem blade was painful. I managed to load up and do the short portage make it across to the Burke landing. I had one portage left till the ranger station.

I carried the canoe across and met two 50'ish aged guys and a boy of maybe 12 coming the other way. I grabbed their bundle of paddles on my way back for them. I chatted with a guy name Mike from Cincinnati on the way and told him what happened. He had been taking trips in canoe country since about age 10. He was very experienced, a super guy too as he offered to take my last pack and loose things with me back to my landing. We chatted the whole way. You meet some really fine people on the portages. He told me he's not on any message boards so probably won't read this but it would be great to buy him a beer sometime.

I still had the steady tailwind that really helped across Bayley Bay. The pain was getting bad now. I floated slowly through inlet Bay barely paddling and pulled up to the Ranger cabin. There was no way I was paddling all the way to Moose Lake now. My ribs had stiffened up, the adrenaline was gone and the pain was ferocious.

The ranger called my outfitter and they could pick me up in an hour or two. I really struggled across the Prairie portage to the landing and then ate lunch as I sat down to wait for my ride.

The short ending is I got my tow, tipped the driver $30 and told him I can't lift the packs or canoe. I was in a lot of pain now. He was the son of one of the original owners (I forget his name) and we had a great conversation on the evening ride to the base. I remember telling him that I never saw an eagle. He says "Look over there". I turn around to see two bald eagles flying over the trees.

I got a bunkhouse and spent a sleepless night. Once I laid down I couldn't get back up. The pain was intense and I'm lucky to get my boots off and my shoelaces tied. The 10 hour drive home was brutal just getting in an out of the car. I never went to the doctor and it took 3 weeks to heal. Broken ribs? Maybe. I've heard that just tearing the cartilage between the ribs can cause severe pain. That's probably what happened as there was very little of any bruise.

Here's my takeaways. I shouldn't have used those old boots. The soles were worn down and I thought I could get one more trip out of them. Never will I be complacent on a portage. Always glue your eyes to the path. If that had happened deep in Quetico I would be in a world of trouble. If my head had hit a rock instead of grass I probably wouldn't have gotten up.

We are never too old or experienced to learn new things. I learned I hate triple portaging and that doing a loop route is more enjoyable vs. going in and out the same way. 

I also learned that I better get my puppy trained well for next summer! This is Cody. He doesn't know it yet but he's gonna have some fine adventures up north with me.

Stay safe out there everybody.