5/18/26 – We find ourselves in this immense place with only the wilderness to explore sooooo, the few crew members that are here (while we wait for the rest to arrive) took the oppurtunity, on a not so cold night, to go for a paddle after we closed up shop for the day! I certainly can say that the BWCAW is my favorite place on planet Earth, as I’m sure most other people say the same, so it is only right to take advantage of the oppurtunity of working up here and having the proximity we do to this land of beauty. Getting to know the people I have the great honor of working with only deepens my gratitude for this land I get to call home for my summer break. On any note, we all got into a three-person kevlar and decided to do the Kelso loop! Gary threw some casts to see if any fish would bite, unfortunalty there was not even one caught on that night (sorry to out that for you man). The water was as still as could be. Seeing the reflection of the rocks and the pines mirrored onto the water is one of the greatest views we know from this land. We paddled while we watched the jumping fish over Alton just taunting our fisherman, hearing the loons call out, and with the sun setting behind us. Truly we couldn’t have had any more perfect of a night (besides our feet in the freezing cold water as we got out at the portages). The quality time is in full effect for our current crew!

– Annika