We woke up at 0700 to another wonderful morning. I decided it was best to move to Seagull Lake today so we wouldn't have to portage and be potentially put in a position of dealing with big water on a windy day tomorrow. We broke down camp, had breakfast and were on the water by 0900. It was another great day for a paddle with a gentle breeze to our backs. The area of Alpine Lake near the portage to Seagull Lake was much busier than the northern bay that we had left as all the campsites here were taken.

We did the 104 rod portage to Seagull Lake in two trips and again Lauren did very well walking the entire way with the pink pack on the 1st trip and "helping" me watch for rocks and muddy spots on the 2nd trip as I carried the canoe and food pack. I barely even noticed the weight of the packs because I was too busy smiling as I watched Lauren continue to flourish in canoe country. I marveled at how she plowed through the mud and found ways to climb up and down rocks that are bigger and taller than her as she tells me, "Watch your step daddy. Mud! Rocks!" The landing on Seagull Lake was buggy and muddy since all the lake levels are high this year. We get the canoe loaded quickly and head out on to Seagull Lake.

I'm relieved at my decision to move on the Seagull today. The wind is still calm and crossing the big part of Seagull is nothing more than a relaxing paddle. "We'll be across the large part of the lake and have all day to find a good campsite. Seagull has plenty of them!" I thought to myself. I threw out the fishing line with a spinner and casually trolled across the lake on our way to the palisades area, catching a nice size smallmouth bass on the way.

As we got closer to the palisades I started noticing how busy Seagull was. All the good sites I had circled in this area were full: Miles Island, the beach site behind the palisades, the palisades site, and the island sites south of the palisades. We moved on to check the sites on the north side of Three Mile Island. Although they are open, I decided to move on as they were pretty steep with high drop-off's into the water and not very nice. We ate salami and cheese for lunch as we drifted between the islands in Seagull's north bay. I decided to check the camp sites in the "Narrows" and along the southern shore of Three Mile Island. Again, none of these sites were very nice and most of them along Three Mile were heavily burnt with no cover and not very attractive. I was starting to get anxious as mid-afternoon was approaching and the wind was starting to really pick up and blow directly in our faces. Soon we'd be past the cover of Three Mile Island and onto the big part of Seagull again. We definitely needed to find a site fast and get off the water. The wind was starting to really pick up and I could see white caps forming in the distance.

As we neared Shirttail Point on the southern shore of Seagull, I noticed a few islands sites just north of our position as we rounded the western end of Three Mile. Finally, we found a great site on one of those islands just west of Three Mile overlooking the big part of Seagull Lake. It was perfect! In reality, I would have taken this site no matter what. I was spent and I desperately wanted to end the campsite hunt. I had promised myself (and the wife) that I wouldn't take any risks with Lauren along. So it was settled. This would be our home for tonight.

It was 3pm when we arrived at the site and we quickly had camp up by 4pm. We explored the island a little and found the privy up on the hill with probably one of the best views for a privy anywhere in the BWCA. The size of the burnt tree trunks in this area were huge. They must have really been grand old cedars before the fires.

This site had a great rocky point that you could fish from on three sides. Lauren caught her first fish of the trip here and was very excited. At first she wanted to keep the bass to bring home, but then decided it was best to let the "baby bass" go back home to mommy and daddy.

We had sun dried tomato pasta and chocolate pudding for dinner. It was a beautiful evening and a good breeze from the west kept the bugs away all night. We fished a lot from shore and caught several nice bass. Another great sunset made for a fabulous last night in the woods. After watching the sunset and a crescent moon rise from our rocky point, Lauren went to the tent to draw pictures and read some books. It didn't take long before she fell asleep with her headlight on and "Go Dog Go" still in her hands. Since the tent was right next to shore, I continued to fish well past dark enjoying the breeze and the heavenly silence of the night.