Dates: 9/9/21
BWCA Day: 6
Miles: 8.5 paddling
Portages: 2 looooong ones
Weather: Mostly to partly cloudy to mostly sunny

For the second morning in a row, we woke up with dry tents. Our spirits were much higher as we loaded our lives into the canoes. This morning was our last chance to make a run for Canada, so we all paddled towards the border.

Some of us actually set foot on Canadian soil, while others were content to paddle in Canadian waters. Craig and I made sure Flat Dennis to Canada.

Since most of us had watched Hunt for the Wilderpeople, we began to quote it frequently. During on scene in the movie, one of the main characters is looking at a map and states, “We’re in this green bit.” Anytime Alicia pulled out her map we would exclaim, “We’re in this blue bit!”

Even with high spirits, many of us were dreading this day because of the two long portages. Like really long. Like the two longest of the entire trip.

The first portage was not only long, but had a decent amount of elevation gain. Keep in mind, long and steep is relative. If we were merely hiking, it would have been nothing. But carrying canoes and a shit ton of gear in water shoes over rocky and slick terrain is a whole other bag of worms.

We were getting closer to the more popular part of the BWCA. That meant more folks on the water, and more folks at the portages. We met a couple of families out for the week, and surprisingly the week counted as school for the kids. All they had to do was journal about the experience.

The second portage was my favorite of the trip. The quick jaunt reminded me of Maine with the open areas on the rocks and good views. I enjoyed seeing the lake we were going to from above.

Sometime during the paddling we came across a couple of forest rangers. They suggested a campsite that would be great for a zero day, which we planned to take the next day.

The campsite was perfect! There was a small but gorgeous pebbly beach, a nice rock in the water to lounge on, and the fishing was great. After jumping in the water and rinsing off, many of us lounged in the sun while Chris fished. It turned out to be a pretty wonderful day.

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