Though I tried my best, this trip seemed doomed from the start. My trip mate was in poor health (still able to go, but not with full strength at all). Then, on the road in (and already out of cell phone service area) our tire hit some sort of nail or staple and began to lose air rapidly. We were so close to the put-in at that point that we decided to go for it and were able to park before the tire was completely flat. That had us on edge as we put in, later than planned, around 10AM. Because it was a Wednesday and Brule has a lot of sites, we thought we'd have no problem with vacancy, so we paddled to a spot that had high reviews and was en-route to the portage to Vernon Lake and the waterfall there. That spot was taken, as was the next, and next and next. By 1PM we found an open spot in the North Bay that was terrible. Bad landing for the canoe, terrible hike to the grate/camp area which was in an open field with no trees/shade and no lake views. We were exhausted and stressed. As trip lead, I did not know if we had enough person power to continue to search if ultimately we would need to paddle all the way back to the car (and then re-pack and fix a flat). My tripmate suggested that we paddle back towards the put-in, checking the three possible campsites that we would pass anyway in the hopes one would be open. BWCA Campsite 953 saved the day as our second stop on the way out. It was open, it had a wonderful landing pad for us to paddle into and unload. The site didn't have much lake view, but was nice otherwise and we were happy to call it home for 5 days. The weather varied greatly (warm enough to swim at first, then cool enough to need layers and hats by the end of the weekend) but was wonderful and almost bug-free (shocking). Our site was home to two red squirrels that yelled at us a lot and were fun to watch. I was again, as I always am, amazed at the peace and beauty of the BWCA. Talk about sacred. On a less poetic note: Since being back, I have been reading other reviews of sites in the area. I like Brule and it feels a bit more accessible for an older person like me who is dreaming of trying a solo trip. However, it seems to be a common theme the Brule Lake campsites are full/hard to find open. Do they just allow too many permits on Brule? Does this seem to be the case for others who stay on Brule Lake or is that a misconception on my part?