10/21/05 – This morning Joe Hansen (Sonya Hansen’s brother), Darryl Newfeld, and Jason Carpp returned from a very interesting canoe trip. It was raining when they left on Tuesday afternoon, but their spirits were not dampened by the current weather or the stormy forecast. They had their minds set on making it to Canada and back by Friday and they were not going to let a little rain get in their way. Tuesday afternoon they made it as far as Kelso Lake where they were stopped by a snowstorm. It was snowing so hard that they could not see ten feet in front of the canoe.
On Wednesday the weather improved, and they were able to travel from Kelso to Gabimichigami Lake placing them more than halfway to Canada. Thursday dawned calm and clear, and the party new they would have to really make some miles if they were going to make it to Canada. Around 2PM yesterday they reached Knife Lake and paddled into Ontario. Already tired, they turned around and began retracing their steps back to Sawbill. They traveled straight through the night under the guidance of a bright moon. Exhausted, wet, and cold, they crawled into their tent after reaching Kelso Bay just after sunrise this morning. After a few hours of sleep they packed up camp, and paddled the last two miles down Sawbill Lake. Now they are headed back home. Joe will return to Stillwater, Minnesota, Darryl flies to Boulder, Colorado in the morning, and Jason is driving back to Grinnell, Iowa.

Joe, Darryl, and Jason point to the spot on Knife Lake where they reached Canada.