After the day before traveling up from southern Wisconsin, Chris, Jon, Sean, James, and myself wake early at Williams and Hall's bunkhouse and get squared with the plan. After the good outfitter dropped our canoes off at the entry point, we drive over and load up. Shortly after 8am we're on our way.

After last year's trip I asked the crew what bucket list items they wanted to check off this year. The two main objectives this year: experience a difficult portage, and catch walleye for dinner. With the wind very calm this morning we make the call to paddle up to Boot Lake instead of the normal Disappointment route as the Haven Lake to Abinodji portage has several reviews touting the difficulty.

The Boot portage and the subsequent Haven portage were nothing notable - this year we made an attempt to single portage as much as possible. As we float in to the landing we are greeted with what indeed looks like a goat path with a steep ascent into the woods. We opt to double portage this one - it was the right call given the elevation. The trail was dry and relatively well maintained, with a nice stone "step" near the top to take a break if needed.

We stopped for lunch at the lone campsite on Abinodji, which is the first moment that I really feel like I am in the BWCA - the site has a gorgeous view of the entire lake and we hadn't seen anyone since Snowbank. After a brief rest and food, we continued on our way, hoping to make it to Jordan and find a campsite - we had read that those sites fill up fast so we wanted to get there earlier in the afternoon.

The portage into Swing Lake was mucky, and we honestly might prefer the elevation difficulty of the previous one. The landing was just as mucky as reported: a few worse-for-wear boards gave their best effort at providing some structure, but Jon and I were waist deep in muck when we each misjudged a step. After three more relatively uneventful portages broken up by Cattyman Falls we floated onto Jordan, hoping to find a site. Fortunately the northern site was open. It is indeed a five-star campsite - a little beach, great views, and adequate places to hang the hammocks and pitch the tents. The wind started picking up so we opted to stay at camp for the evening and cook up the fresh food we brought for the first night. A couple sausages, some potatoes and cabbage filled us up, and we settled in for the night.

~Snowbank Lake, Boot Lake, Haven Lake, Abinodji Lake, Swing Lake, Gibson Lake, Cattyman Lake, Jordan Lake