Day 9: Paddle Out
Saturday, June 14th, 2025
The alarm blares, and the first sign that I’m returning to civilization is knowing that I must not ignore it, for there is too much to do and too many people counting on me to get it done, now.
Clothes on, headlamp on, and I begin the careful process of packing up my hammock while I allow Andrew another precious 15 minutes of sleep. While it’s not something I particularly look forward to, I don’t mind packing up in the dark too much, thanks to the many times I have done it on my solo trips. We haven’t had a sunrise paddle yet this week, and I look forward to it, because a) That will mean the packing is done! And b) Paddling glass calm water at sunrise is the most serene paddling a canoeist can experience. I wake up Andrew and find that we both slept soundly last night, which keeps our spirits high in spite of the inhumane hour. We purposefully but cautiously pack up, taking extra care not to forget anything important.
It takes us 95 minutes to be completely ready to launch from the landing at 4:05 AM. The birds are singing and first light is rapidly illuminating the sky as we enjoy a perfectly calm paddle across Grandpa Lake to the Sea Gull portage. We paddle in silent reverence, taking in the sounds of our paddles rhythmically pulsing through the water, the morning chorus of birds, and the distant howling of wolves. I savor every moment, knowing that whenever we see this lake next, we will be different people, changed by the circumstances that life will throw at us between now and then.

We easily find the portage and are quickly on our way. I tell Andrew that I think this portage is more beautiful than the portage to Roy, but also a bit longer. However, from my last trip, I remember the portage is mostly downhill to Sea Gull and much easier when going this direction. This all still holds true this morning, as the first load is quickly across and we are able to take a few moments to enjoy the walk back through the woods. Andrew shows me a tree that appears to have begun as two separate trees, but now is fused together as one. Also, he spies the shimmering waters of Gump Lake, so we take a short detour down to the shoreline for a closer look and a photo. My fishing data says that no fish inhabit Gump, and both he and I wonder how many canoes paddle in Gump Lake each year. And of course, we would love to troll an X-Rap and a Syclops in here to really find out if there aren’t fish here! Someday we will…but today is just not the day. Perhaps we can try a day trip to Gump the next time we visit Grandpa.

We make great time getting the second load across, the end of the difficult portages for this trip. Even though we base camped the whole trip, every single portage on this route is tough! As we paddle on to Sea Gull, I reminisce to Andrew about how relieved I was to see the natural cedar archway over the portage to Grandpa after a long, tough paddle on Sea Gull during last year’s wet and windy solo trip. He looks back and sees exactly what I mean. Most portage landings are either nondescript or difficult to find, but when you first lay eyes on this one, you just know it’s a gateway to someplace special. Both of us stay focused on the map, following along with the various bays as we look for the opening that leads to the Sea Gull River. I continue to reminisce with Andrew about the hair-raising paddle I had on Sea Gull just one year ago as I finished my solo trip. On that day, I could see the white caps uniformly rolling across Sea Gull from nearly a mile away, looking like windrows in a hay meadow, and knew I was in for a tough paddle. But today, this early morning is nothing but tranquil. We spy the inlet into the river and paddle through the riffle to the north. This gives the canoe just enough “boost” to feel fun, and Andrew enjoys it. Someday he and I will need to go run a beaver dam or two for some real fun!

We paddle up the river and things quickly begin to look familiar. Before long, we spy where we camped at Trail’s End Campground last week, and shortly thereafter, we reach the boat ramp. While I didn’t investigate the portage around the rapids in the river, I read multiple comments saying that this was the easiest way to make our final portage around the rapids back into the Sea Gull River. We walk up the ramp and portage the road to the other side of the campground easily enough, taking a couple photos along the way. Just a few minutes from Voyageur, we pass by a large cabin on a small island and a lady sitting out on the porch and we exchange a quiet wave with a lady drinking her coffee out on the porch as we paddle by. The docks along the river come into view, and we reach the landing at Voyageur just a few minutes later at 7:40 A.M. As we land, Andrew spies a giant smallmouth bass just below the dock. We spent just over 3.5 hours paddling and portaging this morning, and were thankful to have no navigational hiccups. We didn’t leave the campsite quite as early as we had hoped, and we also didn’t hurry, making sure to enjoy the scenery along the way.
Voyageur is bustling with activity this Saturday morning with fellow adventurers beginning their trips. Now comes the tough part: Transitioning from a canoe trip to a road trip. Andrew and I haul the gear up to the car, and I take my time securing the canoe and locating the gear we will need for the drive home, namely our snacks and thermos meals. After showers, we peruse the Voyageur gift shop making sure we don’t forget the perfect souvenir, then use the internet to download multiple podcasts for the drive back, especially the Tumblehome podcast where Andy at Tuscarora talks about that confounding portage into Roy! Every time I visit the park, I am surprised at how often I think of various episodes I’ve listened to over the years that relate to whatever situation I’m in. I mentioned plenty of episodes to Andrew while we were in the park, and now they will be a lot easier for him to relate to. All of this takes just over 90 minutes.
On the way back down the Gunflint Trail, we pass Round Lake Road and I tell Andrew we should drive into Tuscarora just so he can see it since I’ve talked about it so much. He asks if he will get to meet Andy so I say we can stop in and see if he’s there. We drive around admiring all the towering White Pines that inhabit the property before walking into the office. Andrew says “Maybe he will recognize you!” And I laugh and say “Surely not, I’m not here that often!” Sure enough, the office is quiet and Andy greets us as we enter, then immediately says “You’ve been here before, right?” I chuckle and say that I have, and we spend several minutes catching up with Andy on how the season has been so far regarding weather, fishing, and bugs. We browse the gift shop a bit and find a chartreuse Syclops to purchase, then we’re on our way again.
Once back on the trail, Andrew says “I haven’t eaten all morning, but I had no idea I was hungry until now!” He breaks out the breakfast for us and I turn on a Tumblehome podcast talking about two separate people who were lost in the Boundary Waters, and within seconds we are reaching for the maps from the pack to visualize where the stories take place. Like father, like son! Andrew finishes his breakfast and quickly falls asleep. We take a short stop in Grand Marais to take another photo on the other side of the Gunflint Trail sign, then drive under it and turn west onto highway 61, marking our unofficial re-entry into society.
We stop in Cloquet at the Wal-Mart for some apples, craving fresh produce after a week of dehydrated meals and fish. Andrew also picks up a large pre-made chicken Caesar salad. Both the apples and salad taste fantastic! Now fully awake, Andrew says “We have to listen to what Andy said about the portage into Roy.” We do, and sure enough, Andy perfectly details the marsh grasses at the very south end of Sag and the channel leading through them to the portage landing that bamboozled us. One can never do enough prep when taking portages in the park that aren’t used very often! I’ve listened to this exact podcast countless times, but not recently…I should have known! We both bust up laughing at how the info was all right there for us, and I disregarded it, sure I had it all figured out.
The rest of the drive is uneventful, albeit a long one that stretches well into the night. I miss my exit for gas in Des Moines and 40 minutes goes up in smoke as we wind through residential areas and a huge construction zone. There isn’t enough coffee in the world, but somehow keep on rolling, and we pull into the driveway at 2:15 AM, exactly 24 hours removed from waking up in the wilderness on Grandpa Lake. We pile the gear up in the house, put the canoe in the garage, and call it a night.
The following days are filled with cleaning up the gear for storage and packing it away. But within a week, we already have the maps out, dreaming about our route for the next trip. Next June can’t come soon enough!

Stats—> Portages: 2 | Portage rods: 280 | Paddle distance: 3.5 miles | Lakes: Grandpa, Sea Gull, Sea Gull River