Day Eight: Miles to Go Before We Sleep

Favorite DogGear: Fetching Tags. Because I can't think of anything else, and Fetching Tags are awesome. Piper's tagline is "The Good One," and Rubi is "Sweet and Sassy." I know you wanted to know that.

Close Encounters on the Wild Side: red squirrel, loons, some big damn fish splashing around in the middle of the night, moose (fo' reals!), ticks, people. Holy crap, where did all the people come from?

Our first full day without rain, our last day in the Boundary Waters. Being in the BWCA is one of the few places where I don't mind getting up at almost the crack of dawn. Because it never fails to be worth it. 

Mist on Daniel Lake.

Prettiest Rorschach test ever.

There's less than two miles left on the Daniel Spur Trail, and it passes too quickly underfoot. Well, except for the parts that are washed out from all the rain. Those parts take forever to get through. But before long, we've come to the end of our trail. 

We'll take it with us. Promise. 

I never feel quite human coming out of the BWCA until I've showered, so that's our first stop: showers at Clearwater Lodge. From there, it's down to Grand Marais from some Sven and Ole's pizza. This stop is a traditional "We Survived!" celebration, not just for my family, but for countless backpackers and canoeist. This may be blasphemy, but I don't think their pizza is the best ever. Unless you've been eating freeze dried cardboard for a week. Then it's OMFGsogreatImaydiefromtheawesomeoverload. I split a piece between the girls; they think it's the best thing EVAR!

Grand Marais, as seen from Lake Superior.
It's there. You can trust me.

At the beginning of our trip, I describe the way I felt as like being on a roller coaster. I'll be honest, I don't handle roller coasters well; I get nauseous and dizzy and a little disoriented. Like getting off the roller coaster, I'm a little worse for wear after this trip through the BWCA. My knees, certainly, may never be the same. But in the fashion of roller coaster addicted everywhere, I think Rubi would agree with me when I say:

THAT WAS AWESOME! Let's do it again!!!