FYI

I portaged from Heritage to Loon with 4 tough rookie 14 year-olds on July 26,2014. We used Piragis outfitters and they had no info at the time. There was a storm the previous Tuesday. We had 2 canoes. A 2-man & a 3-man Kevlar. 47 and 57 lbs. We had no packs, thankfully, as we were doing a loop from Shell Lake up to heritage & loon and back down the river back to Shell. The 3/4 mile portage took over 2 long, grueling hours. I had estimated less than an hour. The portage is COMPLETELY covered with downed trees, branches, brush and at times totally blocked. It was like a jungle and getting 2 canoes over, under and through it all was a battle. I was proud of the good attitude and persistence my guys maintained, but I really would not have them experience this extraordinary portage on their first trip to the BW.

I strongly advise avoiding this portage at all costs unless you love jungle adventures or get some definitive info that it has been cleared.

It was a great trip anyway! Loon lake beech was a nice reward.