A quick portage out of Sunday & we were on the lazy Beartrap, heading west, until we located, with surprising ease, Sterling Creek where the Beartrap turned north. The narrow creek snaked lazily back & forth in the river valley, gifting us with more beaver dams & unfortunately placed log jams. We had a bit of a time finding the first portage, but finally found it & followed it to the next pool. Wherein we located another faint portage, short, another quick paddle, & another short portage. Coming back we strayed a bit & found what appeared to be the far end of one long, continuous portage that went all the way back to the first. Huh.

And then we hit Sterling. What a beautiful lake. We stopped at a campsite, paddled around, figured the island was a lot better, & went back for our stuff. Heading back, we trolled & caught two pike, a walleye, & the vicious leading edge of a thunderstorm. We rode the tail wind to the island & hurriedly set up camp before the deluge started. It rained on & off the rest of the day & all night, only minimally impacting our enjoyment of the view, the solitude, & the walleye frying in the pan. What a fantastic day.