Lakes Visited: Quetico, Beaverhouse

Miles Paddled: 16 miles

Miles Portaged: 2.5 miles

Total Miles: 18.5 miles

Total Trip Miles: 95.9 miles

Friends and family checked the weather forecast for me (thanks Argo!) and after contemplating trip goals and impending weather I made the decision to exit a few days early. But that decision didn't happen until about 10am when I saw the structure of the clouds to the West. Something big was coming.

The tailwinds all trip were wonderful and I did not care to be wet or damp for a few days or possibly windbound prior to exiting.

Today is also the 3rd time I had any headwind worth mentioning. A quartering or side wind on the last 1/3 of Quetico Lake, and I had to navigate some quartering whitecaps between islands on Beaverhouse before the turn north. Looking down Beaverhouse that lake must be an absolute washing machine when the wind is up out of the SW.

Quetico Lake was very busy with paddlers. I saw multiple groups paddling site to site and many sites looked occupied. I'm sure folks just entering were trying to find a good spot to hunker down for a day or two with the weather coming in.

I took a break at campsite 4B on Quetico Lake. Out on a point, south side of the lake near the entry. It did not look well used, and only a 2-star. There wasn't much flat ground with a terrible take-out. But it did have two firepits.

I double-portaged the Beaverhouse parking lot - dropping the canoe about halfway on my 2nd pass and returning for it. Something wasn't right with the yoke and barrel straps and it was digging into my shoulders.

I met a group of 8 or so ladies at the parking lot also exiting that was from Thunder Bay and just up for the weekend.

Once back across the border I checked the weather and made the call to skip camping the night at Fall Lake campground due to the weather coming in. I stayed at the Adventure Inn in Ely and didn't regret it. Got a burger and a few beers at the Boathouse.