We started early at Lake One landing and it was a good thing because there were 25 firefighters there about to head out for the Pagami Creek fire just south of Lake One. We paddled and portaged to Lake Four without incident and after talking to a passing canoeist who said Lake Four was full we took the first empty site on the west side of Lake Four. It was a beautiful site with a good view of the narrows that everyone paddled through. That afternoon Nic caught a walleye and we baked it over the fire that night. We also had steaks, salad and baked potatoes. The twilight hours were spent beside the fire. We awoke to a fog that was so heavy we couldn't see the distant shore a half mile away. It lifted by the time we were on the water. That afternoon having completed 4 portages, one of which was 105 rods, we entered beautiful Lake Insula. The paradise beach site was taken and we opted for another beach site a mile north of it. That evening we sat by a warm fire watching the partial full moon rise into the star jeweled sky. The guys made these entries in my journal. Nic: I love the Boundary Waters. I am unattached to modern civilization for almost 6 days. I miss a few things like looking up information instantly. This time of year is my favorite- warm during the day, cool at night and no bugs. This part of the country is truly amazing, and I hope one day to have a place like Bill's. Although Colorado would be great to live in too. I could also see myself in Maine or somewhere in New England. I feel like the Pacific Northwest would be nice too, but having never been there i can't say for sure. Having caught the first fish of the trip, it was delicious by the way, I think I would be perfectly content if I didn't make one more cast. Not to say that I won't fish any more, I am content to have caught my "one" fish for the year. Dan wrote: This being my first trip to the BWCA, I have been exceedingly impressed by all this raw, natural beauty. The trees, the rocks and the water have all been just absolutely breathtaking. The camping has been great as well. I have very much enjoyed spending this time and sharing this experience with this group. The trip isn't halfway over and I already am thinking about the next one. Francois wrote: This has been a good day. We woke to a thick fog over the water. There was enough of a crispness to the air to make it seem as though the sleeping bag would make a better place to be for the start of the day. When I finally mustered the courage to crack open the bag and crawl out of the tent Nic and Dan had a fire going which produced a reprieve from the morning chill. After another amazing breakfast, it had to be awesome because it had bacon in it. We broke down camp and set off on a perfectly smooth lake. After a few portages Dan and I put out a couple lures and trolled Hudson lake. Some thing took my line, Rapala meet Pike. They hit it off but their attraction soon soured and Mr. Pike lost after a brief but valiant fight. Dan was nice enough to clean the fish and Bill cooked it to perfection. Now we're sitting around the fire talking politics, farting, scratching, spitting, bare knuckle fighting and doing other manly things. Back to Bill writing now: Slept late and fixed pancakes for breakfast. Dan and I fished for a couple hours but never had a nibble. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and moderate temperatures. Nic liked the mac and cheese with hot dogs for supper. We played pepper and Francois and I lost as we also did at Euchre. We also learned the Cameron's Decaf isn't very good when it's made too weak. We finished off this great day with a nice campfire and a fine view of the moon rise. We had pastries and bacon for breakfast and between the the 3 coffee drinkers we drained a 24 cup pot. Our day was spent traveling to the north end of Insula exploring and trolling for fish. We lunched and napped on an island that had huge white pine, grand rocks and many hiking trails. Francois and Nic paddled the 4 1/2 miles back to our camp in an hour. They are very strong paddlers. It was a gorgeous day and exploring new territory was a lot of fun. In the morning we headed towards civilization. As we paddled through Lake Four we realized there were a lot of people in this part of the world. We looked for a campsite on Lake Two but gave up even though there was one empty because of the smoke and airplanes buzzing all over. We paddled back to the landing amazed by all the fires along the south shore of Lake One.
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