Wednesday, September 03, 2025: Burke, Bayley Bay, Inlet Bay, and Sucker, Newfound, and Moose Lakes. 11 miles (10.7 canoe, 0.3 portage). Two portages (450 and 160 meters).

Rain continued through the night, and more concerning, wind persisted. Fall has arrived—overnight low was around 45*, and as of 3:30 this afternoon hasn't reached 50*. We loaded the tent contents and took down the tent with the dining fly still over the tent pad. During a brief break in rain, we moved the dining fly to the ridge line over the cooking area and prepped breakfast. We were on the water by 8:15, wearing our warm layers and in full rain suits. Misty rain was blowing fog-like across the water in sheets. Our east-to-west travel on Burke was smooth, but when we reached the north-south leg of the lake we had whitecaps. Bailey Bay waited for us across the portage. More than once in our Quetico visits, Bayley had hammered us with big waves, and we were concerned about what we'd find at the end of the portage we've always referred to as 'The Boulevard'. Fortunately, the wind we had on Bayley was blowing in the direction we needed to go, and wasn't as strong as the wind on Burke.

We let the wind help us surf into Inlet Bay and made our way to Prairie Portage, where we stopped in the ranger station to ask Jason about the Munroe Creek route to Mack Lake and the Wawiag. He suggested that if we again pursue a Wawiag route, we work our way up the east boundary of the Park via Saganagons, Bitchu, Cullen, Monroe, and Mack Lakes. Something to think about.

The rain mostly ended at Prairie Portage, but the breeze persisted, and the sky stayed gray. Two more hours of paddling got us to the Moose Lake Public Landing. We've seen eagles, ducks, and geese today. A couple of the V-formations of geese must have had over 100 birds! At the car we donned dry socks & shoes, ate the remaining contents of our food bags, and loaded gear for the drive into Ely. We stopped at Spirit of the Wilderness to check in with US Customs. At Canoe On Inn we got clean, warm, and dry, then had a Highway 169 pizza at The Boathouse. Lights were out at 8:45.

It was another great visit to Canoe Country. We experienced mostly good weather, saw some new lakes, and collected ideas for another trip. During our ten days of Quetico 2025 travel, we saw 11 other people in the Park. We covered 105 miles, 99.5 by canoe and 5.5 via portage. The next two days will be on the road back to western North Carolina. During the drive we'll do a gear review (including discussions of a replacement tent!), a route review, a food review, and start thinking about our 2026 trip.