Monday, May 25, 2026 Up bright and early to make it to Piragis by the time they open. Picked up our permits, got a pound of leeches from VNC and met Carl and his grandson to head to the entry point. Forgot what a pain the put in at the EP can be there. Carl needed to repack so Eric and I took off for Upper Pauness to set up camp and get ready to cook the steaks. We got the campsite just on the other side of the northern portage and set up camp. Lots of space for hammocks and tents. Pretty good site other than the living area and the fire grate are fairly well removed from each other. Carl arrived and we set about fixing steak and mashed potatoes while his grandson worked on getting their tents set up. After dinner Eric and I went out to test the fishing. Lake is shallow and weedy with murky water but we managed to catch 5 walleyes 7 bass and 2 pike. Good sign for what lay ahead. We were major entertained that evening by the hoard of beavers on the lake. They almost seemed to be messing with us. At one time we could count 6 of them swimming around our canoe. Major beaver work right behind our hammocks!