Another warm evening meant sleeping on top of the air mattress, though the sunrise was worth it.  We opted to depart camp early in order to check through the US Border Patrol/Immigration Office today.  Consequently, after our coffee, cookie, and breakfast, we began packing up and breaking camp, and departed early enough to fish on our way back to “civilization.”  The first two thirds of the paddle out was calm, with favorable winds and calm seas.  I caught a few fish on the foam fly on top and Kay took a few fish with the Senko.  The wind steadily increased, but offered no problems—much different than the last two years when we had high winds and rollers on the paddle out.  We met our water taxi, and made it to Canadian Border Outfitters by about 3 PM.  After loading our stuff in the truck we checked through US Border Patrol/Immigration and headed into town for warm showers.  Our farewell dinner was at the Grand Ely Lodge—best Caesar salad we’ve ever eaten.  Tomorrow, we drive south towards home.

This has been our best trip of all, though only slightly better than our first one with George and Greg.  Our time with Harry and Mary was awesome with lots of laughs, some serious philosophical talk, and several new stories, and they are the reason the trips are so special.

The paddling has been great; Kay has learned well, and is now an excellent paddler.  And the fishing wasn’t too shabby either!  Kay ended the week with 6 trophy fish, more than anyone in our party has ever caught in a trip.  She was definitely in a zone.

Today marks our last full day and evening in the wilderness.  We awoke to a beautiful sunrise each morning except one on this trip.  We both slept okay last night, but the night temperatures are still too warm to be really comfortable.  Kay fished with Harry in the morning and is on a roll this trip, catching another “board” fish today—her 6th—and largest of the trip and the largest of the year, over 6 1/2 pounds.

Not to be outdone, Harry caught an even larger fish just a few minutes later. 6.8 pounds.

We had rain last night, but not enough to cool down much; it stayed above 70 degrees all evening.  The rain continued into the morning so we opted to eat breakfast before going out for the day.  Kay fished with Mary, returning to the weed beds, while Harry and I paddled to the far side of North Bay.  Using a fly patterned after Slim’s foam fly, I caught a number of fish on top, including two large fish back to back, 4.9 pounder and a 4.7 pounder, respectively, but no trophy fish.

We had good paddling, little to no wind, and great fishing.  Also, the warm weather necessitated another swim in the lake—so cool and refreshing.

This has been a good week.

Last evening was another warm evening with temps never going lower than the low 70s.  Sleeping in a warm tent, with buzzing mosquitoes in the trees, was difficult.  Kay paddled with Harry today, fishing the weed beds in a bay on the southeast shoreline.  She caught 3 more trophy fish, again using a Senko, including a largemouth bass, the first trophy largemouth bass caught with our guides since 1989.

This makes her 5 for the trip, one more than my entire total since 2002—she deserves them all!  I fished with Mary today and caught fish all day using Slim’s foam fly with a yellow body. The fly used yesterday, with the chartreuse body, was too deep in a fish to retrieve, so we cut the line, kept the fish for eating, and switched flies.  The fly was later recovered and will be used tomorrow.  Because of the unusually high temps, we again swam and bathed just off the island, and enjoyed the cooling water.  The night was another warm one, and sleep did not come easy or often.

Early to bed, early to rise, again.  We arose before 5 AM this morning to grab a quick shower, our last for 6 days, and meet our guides for the trip to Quetico.  After taking traveling clothes to the truck, i.e. clothes we would not take into the wilderness, we met our guides and good friends, Harry and Mary, at 5:30 AM for a continental breakfast.  Shortly afterward, the canoes and packs were loaded onto jon boats for the 20+ mile motorized portion of the trip.  For the first time since our first trip in 2002, I paddled from the bow position; Mary was in the stern seat.  The paddle was smooth, with calm conditions and flat water.

Harry and Mary setting up camp

We arrived at our destination, a small island adjacent to White Island in Basswood Lake, at 9:30 AM, unpacked the canoes, and fished while Harry and Mary set up camp.

Kay steered us from the front of the canoe, and I managed to catch a few fish on a gray and white Clouser.  We returned to camp, unpacked, took a swim in the lake, our first ever, and relaxed prior to a wonderful pan-fried steak dinner.  It’s going to be a good week. 

Early to bed, early to rise.  We awoke shortly after 6 AM, dressed, and was out the door at 6:40 AM.  Before hitting the interstate, we stopped for a gasoline fill-up, and some much needed coffee.  It was quite nice to open the vents with the AC off as the outside temperature was a pleasant 68 degrees.  After a half hour on the road, we stopped at the only Cracker Barrel in Minnesota for a good breakfast.  Typically , we will stop in Minneapolis to shop at REI, but we were much too early today, so we bypassed this twin city in favor of St. Paul.  There was hardly any traffic at all on this route.  The interstate north of St. Paul got progressively worse, and we were glad not to be traveling in the motorhome.  Alaska roads are absolutely no worse than many lower 48 roads.  We bounced all the way to Virginia, passing through Wyoming, both towns in Minnesota, arriving in Ely about 1:30 PM.  After walking around town for a bit, we drove to Canadian Borders Outfitters where we met Harry and Mary, and visited with them for a couple of hours.  Upon leaving they gave us a canoe pack for our week’s worth of belongings, and we spent the rest of the evening packing.  We’re excited and will leave civilization at 5:30 AM tomorrow.  Until then…

We departed home this morning for our 9th trip to Quetico Wilderness Provincial Park,  Our first trip to Quetico was in 2002, beginning a tradition of annual trips that continues today.  Canoeing, camping, and fishing in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, Quetico’s U.S. twin, had been Number 1 on my bucket list since graduation from college in the early 1970s, and we were fortunate to get to make the trip to Quetico for the first time with Harry and Mary, our guide team couple; they have spoiled us greatly.  Quetico is just across the boundary between the U.S. and Canada, just north of Ely, Minnesota.

As is the now typical beginning day of travel, we stopped for coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Ava, MO, then traveled to near Springfield, MO, for cheap gasoline.  Traffic through Kansas City was pretty quiet, even for the noon hour.  At Kansas City, we transitioned to I-35 for the rest of the day, arriving in Owatonna, MN, about 6 PM for our annual buying spree at the Columbia outlet store, then to Cabela’s for spending a few Cabela’s bucks, then to our motel for the night.  Our motel was nothing to write about, good or bad.  It was relatively clean and had few amenities, but the price was right, and neither of were bitten by bed bugs!  This has been a really pleasant driving trip, so far.