Saturday July,12and Sunday July 13 Broke camp on Gull and took the short portage to Mudhole. Now Mudhole is a small, nearly featureless round lake. Portage out is due north and a maybe 7 minute paddle directly across this little lake traveling north. Did we look at the map? Yes. Did we orient the map? No, why? no need. Did we check the compass? No. We paddled directly across the lake and saw no portage. We slowly headed west along the shore expecting the portage to appear any second. Nope. So we decided to turn back to the start and be smart. We paddled maybe 25 yards and boom, a portage. We thought we were facing south but this was not the trail we entered on. Took out compass and it was pointing due north. Our hopes were to get the lone site on Beartrap but if not available to take the peninsula site on Thunder and if that was not available to take the portage site. As we emerged onto Thunder we were dismayed to see the peninsula site was taken which did not bode well. We paddled over and started talking to this really nice group. I thought we were crazy for taking the 468 rod portage but these maniacs came in via the 700+ rods from EP 20. This was about 9 am and they told us they had arrived the day before also hoping for the Beartrap site. There was a group there who had been for several days and was due to leave this morning. They had not seen then leave. Hmm. We then headed up to the portage site and took a quick look. Not great but doable but not what we wanted for 2 nights. We walked the short portage and were dismayed to see a major headwind with whitecaps. Now, you cannot see the camp site from the portage and you have to paddle SW around 2 points to find it. Nothing from nothing leaves nothing, so we decided to try it and maybe get a time of departure. Much to our delight, as we rounded the last point, there was the site and it was vacant! We would not have gotten it if we had kept to our original schedule. This is a nice little site. Likely a 3 elsewhere but +1 for the solitude making it a 4. Fishing was good. I caught the nicest walleye I have ever landed AFTER dinner and so released him. 2 nights and days of relaxation, good fishing and good swimming. Nice fish fry on night 2. Maisie the dog caught a fish. While in the canoe fishing, I caught a keeper walleye and tossed it over here head to middle of the boat. She jumped up and caught it on the fly with it a perfect 90 degrees with tail to left and head to right of her mouth. Spines were facing out and no damage done. Never have you seen a prouder pup.

Eagle siting. We placed a pike carcass on a rock away from camp (yes yes I know) for eagles or otters. We watched a bald eagle come swooping down from the island in from of the camp and snatch pike remains and fly back to the island. He/She was joined by a juvenile eagle who was not chased off, so we assumed offspring. Eventually he returned to the rock for the remainder and stayed there for a while eating while the sun was setting. He flew off across from us showing off or perhaps in thanks with his reflection in dead calm water across a beautiful dusk sunset as a loon called out. It just doesn't get any better. Here is a link to that video https://youtu.be/6D-wxergBgI