TO OPPOSITE MT. MISKITTENAU ... JULY 14/c -- (Too easy, 3 hrs, half day)

39A -- Mile Rapids. -- 40A -- Mount Miskittenau

Several small swifts & paddle 1-2 miles

5’ drop. Almost all the water goes right of a small island. We shot far left of the right channel around the island pulling into the eddy below on the left quickly.

L.O. Just below on the left is a L.O. on a rock point around the top of an unshootable 4’ drop

R Rockpile directly below L.O. Shot the left side. Main current going to the right. (It might be possible, but very tricky, to shoot the 5’,4’ & rapid below hugging the right shore. Scout it all the way down first though. No where to pull out really on the right once start to shoot it).

Calm stretch. Stay N of large island

R “Mile Rapid” 1st pitch. Left of center coming out to the left of main swells and then out to the right at the bottom of pitch (left shore is not runnable). (Scout from right shore old trail).

2nd pitch: shot right center (easy)

3rd pitch: shot center (easy) pulling left as another channel comes in from the left (’72 crossed to the right at bottom of R after channel enters)

Paddle 1/4 mile.

Small (easy) shot right of center. Go left at foot of rapid into lake.

C.S. On point on right before two islands in Eastern bay shown on 4-1’s are reached. Obvious sand beach on south shore. Unloading area on west shore. Surveyor platforms, etc present. Mt Miskittenau visible to the west.

I dreamt last night that I was looking at my maps and realized we had to cross Lake Superior. Weird. Easy day today. Turned out to only be a 3 hour day. Before the trip I got a list of “13 trouble spots” on the river from the staffman who took the trip in 1970. Today we shot two of them. The first was a 5’ drop (we shot) with a an unrunnable 4’ drop below to be lifted over. We made it no sweat. The second was a section of 3-4 main pitches -- also called “mile rapid”. Chuck filled up with quite a bit of water, but other than that O.K. No trouble.

Hardy and I just keep smiling. All the paranoia’s about enormous impossible rapids… so far haven’t come true. We’ve been able to take everything in stride easily. As we came into the campsite tonight, off in the distance we could just see Clay & Bill (they camped here last night). They had just gotten off a few minutes earlier, and I bet they’re sorry they got off so late because the biggest wind of the year is blowing out of the SW now. We had to take down the fly because it was so bad.

Later: The wind blew in an overcast sky. Still a strong wind blowing. A few more tricky rapids tomorrow. Hope our luck stays. Up at the end of this lake is a really big mountain. It rises above the lake and the rest of the land. Really Pretty. Mount Miskittenau. I wonder where they got that name.

Our pup tent is cozy and secure. I feel warm and safe. The storm is passing over us now. Some rain along with the strong wind.