The Special Olympics Portage #BWCA 11

Our last day in the Boundary Waters was beautiful, calm, sunny and warm. We got off to an early start because we didn't really know how long the 105 rod portage would take, plus we had a 48 rod portage near the end of the route to get back to Voyaguer Canoe Outfitters. Then we had a 6 hour drive to Minneapolis ahead of us to get back to our friends house.

We left Alpine Lake and headed over the trail to Seagull Lake. The portage trail was rocky and involved a steep climb up, then a flat path and then step downward climb to the other side on Seagull Lake. We had walked it the day before so we knew what was in store for us. We decided to take two trips, one with the canoe and 2 small back packs, plus paddles and lifejackets. We would walk back and then get the Duluth packs, 1 each. They were a little lighter now since we burned clothes and food the night before to get rid of stuff we wouldn't need the last day. We still carried way too much stuff!

Here is Scott portaging the 62 lb canoe on the yolks downhill. We split the canoe carrying, Scott started out with it, then we traded and I portaged it on the flat area and then gave it back to him for the descent to Seagull Lake. It was so heavy, we decided if we do this again we're going to spend the extra money to get the 42lb lighter Kevlar canoe. We're too old for this heaviness.

Okay, here is a two part video of the portage we took the day before when we were hands free. We encountered some people who in my opinion had no business being out in the BWCA, they just didn't have the health to do it. But, who knows what the deal was, maybe it was Make A Wish or something. They had guides carrying all the gear and all they had to do was get across the portage trail, which was a struggle itself.

I turned off the video when I encountered the young man, it just didn't feel right. So, after I passed I resumed the show.