Our first channel crossing on Rainy Lake took us to Big American Island. From there we hugged the coast as best we could to stay out of the wind and waves. Making our way north up through Tango Bay we then followed the northern border of Dryweed Island to reach the Lyle Mine Island Campsite. Yes, our very own island! It was all ours. The group even renamed it by the end of our stay to “McUrick Island.” And it was awesome. You could not see any buildings or people or traffic- but we could see Canada! It came equipped with 4 tent pad sites, 4 bear boxes, 2 picnic tables, a fire ring, and a vault toilet. The island even had its own dock, which made it very easy to get in/out of our canoes and to cannonball into the lake! If you’re going into the water, we highly recommend water shoes! All in all, this island was about 4-5 miles from our launch point, and it took us maybe 1.5 hours to complete the trip.