We woke up at 6am to crisp air and foggy views. At first, we couldn’t see across the channel. My wife had messaged us to stay in the BWCA. After seeing the Wall yesterday, R decided to wanted to accept the challenge and continue on with our trip as originally planned. So, she cooked up our powdered eggs and pre-cooked bacon with hot chocolate while I broke camp. We were on the water by 8:30am with sights on Omega. 

We knew what to expect with the first 2 portages, but that did not prepare us for carrying gear across the Wall. At the steepest points, even R’s lighter pack was too much. So, I would carry my load to the top, and then go back for her gear. She did carry her 1 pack up to the hill, and then all the way down, along with the tackle bag and rods which are normally strapped into the canoe. It took us about 2 hours to complete this 180 rod stretch. 

We decided to troll Kiskadinna, as I heard there are decent pike in there. Plus it would slow us down and save up energy for the portage into Omega, which I read was a nasty one even if only 37 rods. Well, Kiskadinna was a disappointment. Just a few snags. But we were somewhat rested by the time we reached the east end, and we filled up on Cliff bars, jerky and dried apples. The portage into Omega was just as bad as I had read, especially after the 2 prior portages. 

Up until this point, we had not seen anyone all day. Both sites on Kiskadinna appeared empty. We had hoped Omega would be empty too. The first site on the west side was vacant, so we knew we could fall back here, but we wanted to check out the ones closer to the Winchell portage. As we passed through the channel, we encountered 1 canoe with 2 guys. They were heading for Kiskadinna. The south site was also taken, so now we were getting really worried about the north arm site. It was open! We readily claimed it. Unfortunately, the site kind of stinks. It’s high off the water, with no real protection from the SE wind that we were experiencing. The only good tent pad was in the middle of a path and visible from the latrine. Moreover, the kitchen area was quite odd. The log benches were down to 1 log, and the fire grate was exposed and on a high rock ledge. It paled compared to our Long Island site, but we were too tired to go back to the western site. It’ll do for 2 nights. 

We stayed on land the rest of the evening - rested in the hammock, listened to the weather, ate dinner, explored the site, had a fire and roasted marshmallows. I think we were in bed before dark.