Day 3 - Brule to Frost: Campsite #878

After waking up at 7am we broke out the (super light!) camp stove again to cook up pancakes and bacon, leaving us with only one cooler bag left full! After making the quick portages back to south temperance and up to north temperance and we were well on our way. Canoeing is now constantly filled with people pointing out “poop islands”--places that would provide scenic views if someone needed to pull off for an emergency poo. The walkie talkies we brought come super in handy here as we lose line of sight around the big bend on the lake. Another camping constitution amendment is proposed: “Never leave a camper behind.”

Pancakes!

After taking the 102 rod portage to Sitka (which I’ve been informed is roughly the length of a 400m track) we spent a minute canoeing around looking for the portage to Cherokee. When we found it, some folks were already there part way through a double portage, so we elected to double portage too and take the canoes last so we wouldn’t get in their way. This proved a great move as the 165 rods seemed to be straight up and straight down a series of 3 foot boulders, complete with a view of a lake--NOT CHEROKEE--in the middle (this became an ongoing joke about the Nth “false lake”). When we were finally all the way portaged, we took a quick break for peanut butter and jelly tortillas and then got moving again quick to make room at the tiny, steep, rocky landing for another group of guys coming in off Cherokee. The guys asked “so we hear this one’s a doozy?” and we had to break the bad news to them.

Cherokee was real windy. But by this point we were all pros at steering. A quick portage to Gordon later and we met a nice couple and their parents. The guy asked us where we’re headed, to which we cheerfully replied “Frost lake!” He had no idea where it was (one lake over). The girl complimented our (now three days worn) clothes before saying to the guy “I’m sick and tired of being in the woods!” Ope!
It took us a while paddling around the north end of Gordon to find the Unload portage. When we did find it, it was hidden behind a fallen tree, with a path just wide enough for the two person canoes. The three person required a bit of finagling.
On the other side at unload we had a mini freak out expecting to see Frost before consulting the map. The trip to Frost from Unload was straight through a bog (the portage wasn’t on our map?). At a bit of a shallow spot, we hopped out to drag the canoes a couple feet before hopping back in. Things were looking good! It was sunny, barely 3pm, and we were almost to camp for the night. Then one of the guys (who had been walking barefoot through the bog) says “My toe feels a little strange.” Three days of walking later we’d find out at a Duluth orthopedic urgent care that his toe was broken.

Apparently this is what a broken toe looks like

We waved to one other group camped on the east side of the lake before taking the westernmost camp site (#878), where we cooked chicken tacos, baked beans for dinner and made ritz cracker s'mores with the leftover marshmallows and chocolate. All things considered, still a pretty good night, and a damn beautiful view over the lake, complete with a deep orange full moon.

The full moon over Frost Lake

~Brule Lake, South Temperance Lake, North Temperance Lake, Sitka Lake, Cherokee Lake, Gordon Lake, Unload Lake, Frost Lake