It wasn’t too cold, but it was windy as we prepared to shove off from Kawishiwi Lodge. The proprietor had said “Guess you’re in for a bit of weather.”  Thunderstorms had been predicted to arrive the day before, but hadn’t done so yet. 

We had planned on getting as far into the Number Lakes as we could on the first day, to make Day Two as short as possible.  We were making good time, in spite of my dissatisfaction with the trim of our canoe.  Steve outweighs me by – well, a bit.  Ethan’s pack fit behind the stern seat (my seat) nicely, but we couldn’t fit the remaining three packs into the third section of my MN II, so we put my personal pack, the lightest of the three, in the second section in front of Ethan, who sat on the duffer seat with a leg on either side of the pack.  He says it was comfortable enough, although it limited movement. 

We got to the portage out of Lake One without incident; we were really enjoying ourselves, and the wind wasn’t too bad.  I could tell from that first portage that we were in good shape.  I carried the food pack as planned, Steve got his personal/equip pack, I looked around, and Ethan was halfway across the portage with his pack and two paddles. Across the pond, and Ethan started the tradition of carrying his pack across and coming back for my pack.  What a man, and only 8 years old!

Crossed Lake Two as the wind picked up.  Came into Lake Three and the white-caps were starting, so we chose to hole up on that first island campsite at the entrance to Lake Three.  Nice site; enjoyed by all.  First time to set up my new Hennessey Hammock in earnest.  I’ll report more on that later.

Dinner was beef stew with fresh beef picked up at Zup’s while in Ely.