Day 9, Friday, June 16 - Back to Civilization

Our final day starts at 6:00AM. The skies look threatening, so we pack up camp in a hurry. Unlike the day we left Bologna Lake, though, the rain luckily stays away this time. We scarf down a couple of granola bars, top off our water bottles and prepare to head out.

I'm a little nervous about our upcoming monster portage. It's three times longer than any of the previous ones we've crossed, and I'm not exactly sure how my shoulders will respond to carrying a canoe over a mile. Since we double portage, the total distance we'll be walking is about four miles, with two thirds of that lugging heavy gear. Clearly we'll need to stop for breaks along the way and not push too hard. On the bright side, however, the advantage to this route is that we'll only have two portages to cross and two small lakes to paddle, so we can afford to take our time.

With the canoe now fully loaded, Heidi and I slip onto Tuscarora Lake and head north for the portage to Missing Link. The water is calm and we make quick progress. The portage itself is located on the other side of a point that extends out into the northeast corner of the lake. Approaching this point, we notice that it happens to host a campsite that's occupied by a group of young men and women. As we paddle by the site, a couple of the nice young men drop their shorts and flash us with a friendly gesture we can only interpret to mean "safe travels". Perhaps these are the same talented folks who entertained us last night with their impressive singing voices.

Soon after passing the moons rising over the point, Heidi and I arrive at the portage landing. Andy back at the Tuscarora Lodge had described this portage as a "highway", and I had optimistically construed this to mean "wide and flat". Heidi, however, had a different interpretation. She thought he meant to imply "congested". Well, I think Heidi got it right. The portage is anything but wide and flat. There are plenty of ups and downs with a healthy dose of rocks, mud and other assorted obstructions. No one particular stretch is all that bad, but when spread over such a long distance, all the little things become magnified. To make matters worse, every time we stop for a break, the mosquitos descend upon us. The portage is also plenty busy. We pass a number of groups including a team of two adults and two children, a family of five with a dog, and another couple about our age. It isn't pretty, but some three and a half hours later, Heidi and I are finally pushing off onto Missing Link Lake and are waving goodbye to this portage.

Unfortunately, our celebratory paddle across Missing Link does not last nearly long enough, and before we know it we're off again onto our final 140 rod portage to Round Lake. On the Round Lake side of the portage, we meet up with a nice group of four younger men who are just starting their trip. We stop and talk a short while and learn that they're heading to Little Saganaga. Three of the members are on their very first boundary waters trip, and the one experienced member is helping them get organized on this first portage. As they head off, Heidi and I wish them well and hope the weather continues to hold for them. Upon returning for our second load back on the Missing Link side, we again meet up with the group and find a couple of them starting back over with our Duluth Packs. We thank them for the very kind thought, but tell them they'd better save that energy for the next portage, because they're going to need it! We transfer the packs, and after a wave and a "thank you" we head back over for one final time, leaving the group and the boundary waters behind.

After one last tough paddle against the wind to the boat landing on Round Lake, I head off on the mile-long walk back to the Jeep over at the Cross Bay entry point. I return shortly, and we load the gear into the car. While tying down the canoe, I notice that it has collected quite a few new bumps and scratches since it was lifted off the rack eight days ago. Heidi and I have also collected a few of those bumps and scratches, and it's finally time for all three of us to have a rest. Heidi and I drag ourselves into the car and head off down the gravel road for the Gunflint Lodge where we'll recuperate for the next two days and celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary.

The next day, while driving up the Gunflint Trail on our anniversary, Heidi and I finally see the moose that we have been trying so hard to find during our three trips into the boundary waters. It is a subtle reminder to us that we have only just begun to scratch the surface when it comes to experiencing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. There's still so much left for us to discover, and I can't wait for the next trip to begin.