Day two would see us heading to Gun Lake, by heading through a channel to North Lake, which we hoped would have enough water to be passable. We puttered about, despite always telling each other how easy it is to multitask in the morning. Sometimes it seems inevitable that the group will end up standing around the firepit while coffee is being made, wait for it to cool, and drink it together, when it only takes one person to brew, while everyone else can take down their shelters. Alas, my obsession with trying to get going in less than 2 hours seems it may go forever unfulfilled unless solo.

We shoved off again right around 10am, to much bluer skies with some clouds – it was quite bright actually! We were able to make it around a big beaver dam in the channel to North Lake, and paddled through with no issues. This was one of the most beautiful paddles of the trip with trees of all colors surrounding us as we paddled among the now-red lily pads. I was quite hopeful to see a moose back here, but it was a little late in the morning at this point, hot, and our group was still a bit chatty, so no moose. Maybe later!

Our first portage was to Steep Lake, and it lived up to its name. I remember telling myself to just focus on breathwork and keep my heart rate in check. I made sure to pace myself and breathed in through the nose and out through the mouth, keeping my max heart rate just under 165bpm. Some portages (on other trips) have pushed me into the low 180s, which is obviously quite strenuous and shows just how out of shape I am. I never got that high on this trip, even on the steepest of climbs, so I’m actually pretty happy about that. Before we knew it, our double carry of Steep was done. This lake was also beautiful with some cool pinch points and distant elevation, of course with the fall colors mixed into the hillsides.

After Steep we hit Eugene and then Gun. I don’t remember that much distinct about Eugene, but I do remember it being pretty, and we saw some swans through a shallow point which was cool, especially since we saw zero loons on this trip (to our dismay). I will say that the entire section from North to Gun felt remote, wild, and so beautiful with the fall colors rising high on the surrounding hills. I think it was my favorite stretch of the trip. I remember telling my canoe partner that I thought South/Eugene would be awesome lakes to spend a few nights on if you just want to camp and aren’t worried about fishing or extensive exploration. They just had that beautiful wild feel to them, and I think they probably see relatively little traffic.

Gun was pretty cool, but our sun turned to clouds, and wind had picked up a bit. Thankfully we found the pinch campsite vacant, and went about setting up shelters and a group tarp. The plan for the trip was enter, move, camp, move, camp, move, camp, move, camp, exit, so we had a layover day at each campsite except the first. Well, we managed to stay the two planned nights on Gun at least! A golden sunset and some whiskey by a small fire was a nice way to relax after two days of travel.

~North Lake, South Lake, Steep Lake, Eugene Lake, Gun Lake