Today it was time to start out. Again there was a discussion about our route. Should we go to lower Basswood Falls and out to the Horse River or exit through Friday Bay, which would include a 300-rod portage? The weather was light rain with some thunder. Ramsey felt that going back the way we came in was the easy route. I preferred exploring new areas, so wanted to go through Friday Bay. This route would take me through four lakes I hadn’t been on before.

At 11:00 we left camp for Friday Bay, which was windy. We saw an otter and a juvenile eagle.

After traveling through Pappoose, Chippewa, Niki, and Wagosh Lakes, we stopped for lunch at the landing for the long portage. It started to rain and continued while we did the portage. Fisher and Voyageur maps say the length is 300 rods and McKenzie has it at 328 rods. We made the crossing in about 35 minutes. While I was on the landing at Gun, there were two groups, one going in each direction. After Ramsey made his second carry we had a nectarine, and the sun had come out. Ramsey remarked that the group headed to Thursday Bay would really have to push it or they would arrive very late.

Ramsey had heard about a nice site on Fairy Lake that he wanted to check out, so we crossed Gun, and the Fairy site was open. There are several tent pads and we chose the upper ones.

Dinner tonight was pork tenderloin with mac and cheese and asparagus.