BW Journal Day 1 Sat 7/04

Lots of gear and weight.  Time to make some decisions about what we absolutely need to carry. For example, we won't need 6 bottles of propane for our stove.

Then down to check the canoe and scenery. Here's the view off of the dock.

We had a hot night in the bunk house. It was basically a shed with two bunks in it. They did serve us hot pizza and two cold beers which with the heat, really hit the spot.

We got up at 6a to pack our gear for final preparation for our boat ride to American Point. That's the furthest point into which a motorboat can go. It eliminates over a day of paddling to our destination.
They served us a hearty breakfast at 7a. During breakfast we observed a very pretty young photographer shooting candid shots with her SLR and a long lens.
At 7:30 we put all gear in a flat bottomed aluminum boat. It had a rack on to which they mounted our 3 man canoe. As we were heading out the channel there was the cute photographer poised to take a picture of 3 generations of Northrups headed out for a new adventure together. Half an hour later we were at American Point and our canoe was in the water.
We paddled about 5 miles to our first portage. It was only 10 yards long but mostly uphill. We paddled another mile or two through narrow and winding creeks to our next portage. It's called Monument portage because the trail goes past several monuments that mark off the US/Canadian border. It is a hilly third of a mile with lots of rocky up and downs. I thank my lucky stars that Scott is so willing to carry the canoe and food pack. He has insisted that we organize our gear into packs that allow us to finish the portage to two trips.
Another mile of paddling and another portage into the lake where we want to camp, Lake Ester. This portage has more elevation change, more mud and steeper "stairs". How Scott manages to carry the canoe and a full food pack up these hills is beyond me.
Another two miles of paddling and we reach our ultimate destination. It's a beautiful camping spot with tent site perched on a rock outcropping that overlooks the lake.
There's a fire ban so we cook our steak dinner on a little gas stove. Then we collapse into our tent for some well deserved rest.