Wow, did today ever work out well! I had concerns about finding a campsite given the holiday weekend and my proximity to Poplar Lake. I was up about 5:30, packed up camp, and was on the water by about 6:30am. It really helped to have everything so organized. Portage to Winchell was rocky but only 46 rods long. Winchell Lake was like glass! Not even a riffle. I paddled for a bit and then floated while I mixed up and drank my breakfast smoothie.

I did not see a single person or any occupied campsites the entire length of Winchell (note: I did not paddle by the 3 campsites on the west end). Looked like there are some nice sites with large white pines. The lake was so smooth, I could see everything under the surface...HUGE slabs of rock.

At the portage to Gaskin, a large walleye swam right up near me and just calmly watched what I was doing. Eating size...but it was safe with me since I am not a fan of eating fish. I had a nice one-sided conversation with it. The portage to Gaskin goes up, then down, but the footing is fantastic compared to what I had seen on this trip.

On Gaskin, 2 of the 3 campsites I passed were occupied. However, the island site my family stayed on a few years ago was open. We loved that site, and I was momentarily tempted. A falcon swooped overhead, then swung back around and did a dive bomb to the water. It came up with a fish only 30 feet away from my canoe. Super cool to watch! And there were some beautiful water lilies to greet me.

Just before the portage to Horseshoe, I saw a canoe with 5 people and a dog heading out on a daytrip. I asked if any sites were open on Horseshoe and they said they were all full last night. I mentally prepared myself to continue to Vista Lake today. The portage to Horseshoe was the longest of the day, but it still felt easy because the footing was so good! I decided to paddle past each site to see if anyone had left. Every site was full, but just as I reached the northernmost site, a canoe pulled away and headed to the Caribou Lake portage. Good timing on my part!

By the time I finished eating lunch, no less than 8 canoes had come over the portage from Caribou looking for a campsite. My timing really was perfect today. This site is terrible for swimming because it is too shallow and mucky, and the day was shaping up to be another scorcher. Since it was only 11am, I headed out to explore the southern end of the lake. Definitely worth the paddle...so many water lilies! Quite a few canoes were day tripping about Horseshoe, but since I had seen so few people on my trip, it was rather enjoyable to chat with some folks. At one point, there was a bald eagle sitting very low in a tree right at the shore. Great close up view for me, but I don't have a good camera for that kind of shot. But you can see it if you look closely at the photo.

On the way back to my campsite, I pulled over on a rocky island, if it even qualified as an island, to swim. I have never experienced such a long stretch of hot weather and humid nights in the BWCA as I have on this trip. Swimming was a definite necessity. Today was so hot that when I pulled up to the campsite, a toad hopped in the water near me and just stretched out his front and back legs. He looked so relieved to be cooled off. He clambered onto a nearby rock and then hopped back to a shady spot. I felt the same way.

When I returned to my campsite, I went to hit the "I'm OK" button on my SPOT and noticed it had turned off at some point. Hmm...what's up with that? I changed the batteries just in case they were low even though no warning light had come on. I noticed inside the battery case was damp which surprised me. I dried it and all seemed fine.

I took a short nap, and listened to the wonderfully excited voices of the kids at the campsite across from me as they caught some fish and played hide 'n seek. Too cute! A quick "boil water" type of dinner and the day wound down. My knee was feeling much better after 2 easy portage days. I hoped that boded well for the long portage tomorrow. Should be good unless the clouds develop rain. Hopefully, I continue my streak of not meeting a single person on a portage this trip. Today was the first day I met any canoes while paddling.

~Omega Lake, Winchell Lake, Gaskin Lake, Horseshoe Lake

Portages: 46 rod, 52 rod, 98 rod

Miles: 9.5 miles plus a 4 mile day trip paddle to where the Brule River exits Horseshoe Lake