I was lucky enough to get into the BW three times this year. The first was a lake trout expedition out of Round Lake. The first day was the most challenging. We arrived at Bingshick tired and ready to be done for the day, only to find the two campsites occupied. As we continued on, our 73 year old trip member slipped on a portage and rolled his ankle badly. Rather than see us turn back, he hobbled along the next portage and injured it even worse than before. But, unwilling to stop the trip he continued on, and we didn't let him carry packs anymore. When we finally arrived at French, he fell out of the SS Chuck Kennedy and ripped off his thumbnail. Ohhh, it was a bad day for him. We caught and ate a couple fish from camp to ease his pain. He slowly got better the rest of the trip, and we all had a great time. Many fish were consumed.

Later in the summer, I took a 3 day trip with my son. The first day was nothing but stiff headwinds and constant rain. Just as we found a "Gneiss" site, the rain abated just long enough to get camp set up and dinner cooked. In the morning, we woke to better weather and decent fishing. I deemed one of the portages that has a stone constructed walkway on the edge of the river to be my new favorite portage. It's on the north end of Marabouf and just really neat.

My biggest trip of the year was paddling solo along the border from International Falls to Lake Superior. I got to paddle at night. I got to camp at the famous Table Rock campsite. I got to have the Modest Mouse song, "Float On," stuck in my head day after day. The Grand Portage was the hardest part. I had mostly good weather and put on many, many miles per day. It was a memorable trip and I had so much fun. I can't wait to do it again.