“September twenty-second two-thousand twelve was a partially sunny day with the highs in the 50′s. In February that sounds downright balmy, and that was what I emailed our guests. We said our vows in front of his parents white pine, with a friend officiating from his kindle resting in Tolken’s The Hobbit. It was all very fitting considering our journey ahead.” – A Beginning  

I’d like to get back to telling the honeymoon story but I thought I’d share some before and after pictures first.

This was the setting for our wedding.

15 days and 183 miles of paddling later…

We said our vows under this white pine

We portaged through this rock field that once upon a time was a lake

Notice the burned trees.  It was three days of this depressing landscape.

Before the epic honeymoon we were clean.  Both our professions routinely get us sweaty, and our bike commuting lifestyle means we’re perpetually practically dressed.  This was the best we looked recent memory and certainly the best we’d look for the next month.

I was wearing nylons and long underwear rolled up to my knees.

I feel these expressions are a little more fitting

As opposed to the expression of October 13th

We promised our mothers that we’d take care of each other.  

But after nearly 19 days in the wilderness we were pretty broken

This was our last day in the woods.  I’m supporting the pack with a tumpline on my forehead for 6 hours it took to cover the 7.5 miles of Grand Portage.  It took all my strength and then some.

We did have many beautiful sunrises

It really was the best honeymoon ever.  

Stay tuned, I’m looking forward to continuing the story.

Next: And We’re Off!

Previous: Preparations