Day 6 The Grand Portage. We slept in until 8:00AM and got to work eating as much food as we could so our packs were light for the portage. We said our goodbyes to Matt as he set out before us. We said we would talk to him at the finish. After that we packed up all of our stuff, went to the bathroom, and made our way on the portage.

We took our first break and realized it was going to be a lot muddier than we thought. The board walks were very slippery. We zoomed past the high point of land, and then our pace slowed down a lot. We started to take a lot more breaks and my dad started to slow me down due to his knee problem. We got to the beaver pond and I was ahead of my dad a ways and then I heard a yell. I dropped my pack and ran back to my dad to see what happened. He slipped on some mud and hurt his knee a little bit more. From then on I refused to let him carry a pack and the canoe at the same time. I took the 2 packs and he took the canoe and every now and then we would switch. We took a break at the start of the beaver pond and read the signs.

The next cool place we reached was the Cowboy Road crossing. We thought it would be 2 miles in but it was way farther, and it took so long to get there! After that the downhill steepness increased a ton. When we got to Old Highway 61 we took a long break and read the signs and maps there, but spirits were high. We felt like we were almost there, but we weren’t. Somewhere in between Old Highway 61 and Highway 61 we started to hear cars. This gave us hope and we pushed hard. We got close to Highway 61 when I made a gap between my dad and arrived at the road. I took a long break to lay down on the grass in the sun and then turned back to help my dad with the canoe. He was taking a break literally around the corner from the road because he didn’t know he was so close. I thought that was funny. We got to the bottom of a creek bed and I threw some rocks in for a break. There was a cool bridge and the ground around it was washed out. There also was a cool wooden staircase that we went up, which told us we were close since we were going back uphill. We took another break at the top.

After crossing Hwy 61, we saw my mom hiking up the trail to meet us. It was very inspiring, knowing we were almost there. She offered to carry something but we said no, because then the trip wouldn’t count if we let her carry something. We kept going until we saw Marcy, a person who was helping out, taking pictures of us, meaning we were close. We ended up running out of water by the end of the portage. I was in front of my dad leading the way and I saw BeaV cheering for us along with the rest of the finishers and Grandma Lori. ( I think BeaV was impressed, and also Grandma Lori.) She told me to go through the gate into the Fort in order to record our time. Once I got there she told me to stop with the canoe to take pictures but I just wanted to drop it because I was so tired! My dad warned me about this. After pictures I pretty much ran to Lake Superior and set the canoe down. We had finished!

It was around 3:15PM when we completed our journey. We did the trip a whole day faster than we thought we could. At the beginning of the trip, my dad was having second thoughts, wondering about how fast I could really do it, but I proved myself!

Me and my dad celebrated and then paddled back to the Casino on Lake Superior. When we got to the truck in the marina we talked with everyone and told stories and my mom had a great snack for me. LaughingWarrior and BeaV went canoeing while my dad and I went to the meeting room in the Casino and ate snacks and took showers. My athlete's foot was so bad! That's a warning for anyone who is thinking about doing the Challenge, you are constantly wet! After the shower we got in the hot tub and relaxed. During this time Russ finished, and we missed his finish because we were too tired to go back out there. I felt so bad since we were with him for so much of the trip! We never did end up talking to Matt at the end since he already left. We were too slow for him! In all, the Grand Portage took us around six hours and 15 minutes. We made a decision to go home so I could make it to school the next day, instead of getting a room there. On our way back home I got my large cookie dough blizzard from Dairy Queen that I earned, and it was the best thing I have ever eaten! We then ate at the always delicious Culvers, since we felt like splurging. In the car we told my mom all of our stories and called family and told them about our achievement.

At school the next day, Friday, I got to tell my friends all about the trip but no one was really into it. They don't understand how cool that trip was. Then I went to cross country running practice and told my coach he should do the trip next year. I didn’t even miss any running meets while I was gone.

The next day we drove back to Grand Portage and got a room. Then we went to the end of the Grand Portage where everyone was hanging out. The weather was great, it was sunny and warm. I decided to go on a run up the Grand Portage to see if I could see anyone from our group. I saw 2 groups on the portage. First, I saw Prospector and CanoeWNC stopped on Highway 61. I told them how far they had to go. Then I came across Clewless and Mr. C and told them how far they had to go. I kept on running hoping to find Toolman and Towhee, but I never saw them. After two miles up, I turned back and ran down. I made it just in time to see the first group finishing, so I cheered them on. Then I went to the creek to go fishing and caught a brook trout. Then, we got to cheer on the second group to the finish. After that everyone made their way back to the Casino and my dad and I went swimming along with Prospector and CanoeWNC. Then we got news that Toolman and Towhee were finishing so we went to cheer them to the finish. After everyone finished and got cleaned up, we all went to the award ceremony room.

My favorite part of the week was, by far, the awards ceremony. There were a ton of great snacks to eat in the room, and everyone was there talking about their stories from their trips. It was super cool getting to know everyone who all just accomplished the same thing we did. Then, the ceremony started and Grandma Lori gave the first speech and gave some instructions. The people who participated in the trip would be voted in or out of the brigade, depending on their performance. They would get told stories and pointers and pros and cons by their canoeing partner to help everyone decide whether to vote them in or not. Only existing brigade members were allowed to vote, though. I was the last person to be considered. My dad gave everyone feedback on how I did and his only con was I wouldn't stop on day 5! I got, unanimously, voted in. But I can't brag too much because so did everyone else. When you become a member you get sprinkled with a wet balsam branch. Following this they give you a cool bear claw necklace to show you're a true north woodsman. Then you get to sign your name on a paddle to signify that you completed the challenge, so I signed it. I became the youngest person to finish in that group. Then me and Prospecter received the fish catch and cook award from Kevin, who was one of the brigade members and a very awesome dude. All that time I wasted on a smallmouth bass was worth it. I am so proud of myself and I wanted to share my adventure with you!