I was being facetious. Good to know about the 14th though. That could be a problem for us. Thanks!

Last year it was way colder and people were way less optimistic and it opened before the 10th. We are pushing out on the 13th from Cedar and my birthday is the 12th, so I say it'll be a nice birthday present for me. 

I posted this in my trip report, but Big Thunder site is beautiful. Definitely worth a stop.

We were just two canoes, and didn't see anyone on Erables, but knew there were people out there! We actually scouted the second campsite on Maple Creek, reminded us of the campsite above the Falls off Cedar Lake, but worse. So we definitely knew we made the right choice. The park should really consider updating those sites. It's a beautiful area with several gorgeous falls hidden away. Funny enough, we had a blast under the tarp, nice change of pace and different view. Plus, it was our last day of 6 so we finished all of our food an liquor (well maybe not all of the Knob Creek).

Day One
-Pushed out of Kiosk around 2pm, the water was colder than we ever felt it. Could literally not put our feet in the water for more than a few seconds. Didn't realize we needed to go under the train bridge, but figured it out eventually. 
-Portages to White Birch were pretty straight forward and nothing too difficult
-We took the third campsite on the left on White Birch. It was an amazing campsite with beautiful views. Surprised the guys with Hungarian Pork Tenderloin and Potatoes and Cabbage. We destroyed it. 
Day Two
-Pushed out in the morning after a breakfast of kielbasa, eggs, hashbrowns, and beans (literally ate like 7 pounds of food on day one, which is good for the future portages). Were planning on staying on Mouse but a site was already taken and we prefer lakes to ourselves, so we changed our reservation to Big Thunder. Although after meeting the guys and having them find part of our fishing pole later in our trip, we would have been okay with sharing the beach with them. 
-Portages were all pretty clear. Our paddle across Mouse was a little scary with high winds and waves, apparently the crew watching us from the shore thought we were crazy, maybe. Then the portage from Mouse to Mink Creek was brutal. Mostly uphill and felt twice as long as posted. Overall this day took us much longer than expected to get to Big Thunder. We ended up stopping for lunch before the portage to Mink Creek, which added even more time.
-Portage from Mink to Big Thunder is up a beaver dam and very muddy at the portage. 
-Arrived at Big Thunder in the evening and loved the campsite and the lake. It was windy but beautiful. There were a ton of leaches in the water, but seeing we were there so late, we didn't have time to fish.

Day Three
-Woke up and had some coffee and oatmeal. Met the guys from Mouse who found part of our fishing pole and they shared their concern for our paddle

Thanks Uppa. Keep forgetting the rules.

We are doing that Loop next week. In fact we just switched to Big Thunder because there was another group on Mouse, so I can report on the campsite too. If I don't post, feel free to private message me.

#398- We are excited to head out on Tuesday with my new Langford Prospector. Out for five nights out of Kiosk. I've thoroughly enjoyed this countdown to ice-out Christmas and appreciate everyone who has contributed. Hoping for lots of fish, moose, and ice for the bourbon. See you out there. Also- I think we should let ATVenture have #400. 

Is the ice out now?