Getting back to our annual girls trip with one newcomer who hadn't been into the BWCA before. We chose to paddle in from 54 and then stay on the SW part of the lake, a short distance from the portage to Alpine. This would give her the ability to experience the BWCA without being overwhelmed with portaging. 

Our campsite was wonderful and although the bugs were numerous, they didn't really land on us. The water was cold, but a few of us swam. The weather report was horrible, but it turned out to be a decent weekend.

We took a few day trips and hiked the portage to Alpine and then the portage to JAP. We were really surprised to see that both portages were almost completely under water. I'm not sure what the conditions are now, but we're thankful we didn't push our new BWCA partner to move to another lake!