Jim picked me up at my home at 10:00am. Jim and I have ridden to the BWCA many times together and have a general routine – take the same route, make certain stops, etc. But at the same time we often do something new. This time it was a stop at The Canoeist in Two Harbors. Neither of us had been there before. Nice place that does summer and winter outfitting in the Superior National Forest/BWCA and surrounding area. Jim and I each bought a map and visited with the owner for about a half-hour.

We arrived in Ely at 5:00pm. With breaks, it takes us between six-and-a-half and seven-and-a-half hours to make the BWCA whether it is Ely, Grand Marais, or Sawbill. This time -- seven hours. Good time.

Voyageur North Outfitter (VNO) was already closed, but Lynn was there and let us in. She got us set up for the bunkhouse. We shared our plan with her of entering at Lake One and maybe heading to the lone site on Rifle Lake. She told us of bear problems on Lake Three and that the Rifle Lake Campsite was occupied by moose hunters. We’d have to discuss our plans with Steve and Greg when they arrived later. In the meantime, Jim and I headed to the Ely Steakhouse for dinner.

We had VNO’s “Lower Loft” bunkhouse. It’s nice with cable TV. We had a beer and stayed up for awhile, but neither Jim nor I could wait till Steve and Greg, who was riding together, showed up – too sleepy with an early start in the morning. We hit the sack before they arrived. They got in about 11:00pm