Our group arrived at entry point #41 early and paddled out by 8:30 am. To my relief, Brule was clear as glass, and I was mesmerized by how the lake's surface mirrored the bright cloudy blue sky. We were paddling west and spotted a moose cow and her two calves within the first 10 minutes of our journey. My very first moose sighting ever! We made it across Brule in roughly 2 1/2 hours. The lack of wind was great; however, we contended with the skeets when we paddled close to shore. We explored a few campsites along Brule, and to our surprise, they were all open. After the 10-rod portage to South Temperance, it was obvious how low the water level was. We slowed our paddling to avoid the numerous boulders nearly touching the water's surface. I was grateful for having polarized sunglasses.

Our group made a list of campsites and was thrilled to find #908 vacant. This campsite is the best in BWCA I've stayed at yet. All six of us brought tent hammocks and had plenty of trees to hang them on. The cooking range and seating area are at the top of a large boulder, giving campers an elevated panoramic view of the lake, perfect for capturing sunrise and sunsets. Within the first few minutes of our arrival at the site, while soaking in the view, we watched another moose cow swim across the length of the lake. I still can't believe I was lucky to see four moose in one trip.

We're an easy-going group that likes to relax more than work, so we hunkered down and stayed our entire trip at campsite #908. We explored North Temperance, fished, watched the loons cry at the eagle family, and swam, as it was pretty warm. The black flies were out in full force. We were riddled with bites and were thankful the wind picked up on our last day, giving us some reprieve from the black flying devils. Lightweight long sleeves and pants were my saving grace.

I wondered if the Fourth of July holiday would bring more people to BWCA. Perhaps it did, and the masses went elsewhere; we were lucky to have the entire lake to ourselves and only saw two other canoes pass through to take on the 240-rod portage towards Weird Lake. It's always bittersweet leaving BWCA. We paddled out on July 6th around 6:45 am, and when we reached Brule, a strong westward wind brought whitecaps. The wind blew just right that it did not help push us to the east end, and we had to fight to quarter into the waves for two hours straight. Thankfully no weird competing gusts, the wind was predictable, and we all made it back safely to entry point #41.