Hello everyone, long time lurker, first time poster.
I have extensive canoeing experience, both in the BW/Quetico & many other places. I have always gone with others but am planning my first solo trip, and I want it to be a very "push" trip - on the water early, and potentially off of it late. Portaging is something that I enjoy. In short I intend on challenging myself.

I have a plan and route in mind, and wanted to use y'all as a sounding board for if this is feasible/ just how crazy am I.

The route goes like this:
1 - Enter at Sawbill, head north to Cherokee, West to Frost.
(I may go East , and then North through the Temperance area, and then West to Frost, still undecided)
2 - Frost River west, then south to Hub, Mesaba.
3 - Louse river west to Boze, Malberg, then south to Koma.
4- South to Polly, then South and East through the Lady Chain, and back through Alton to Sawbill.
** This route has a built in cop out, where if I were to encounter adverse conditions that made the full loop un-doable, one can go south from Hub, through Lejunida, and into Kelso, Alton.

I have a number of days in mind for how long I will take (already bought permit), but I'm curious to see what others think of this idea. Any and all feedback is appreciated. Some information, I will be packing:

very small 2P tent, solo 32 pound kevlar canoe, one 90L backpack with all gear, and food (I travel lightly). I intend to single trip all portages, and am open to long days on the water.

Happy trails y'all

A few comments.

You don't mention dates for the trip. There is a lot of river/creek travel on the route. Water level is going to be a factor in both travel speed and pleasure.

It looks like there is roughly 50 portages on the route. I know you like to portage, but you may no longer feel that way when the trip is over! You mention long days on the water, but long days on the portages will be a better description. There is really very little paddling, maybe 50-60 miles?

There are several stretches of the route with very few campsites. Traveling late in the day on these could get you in a bind.

If the challenge of fast travel on a difficult route is your game then 5 days would be doable. Do it in June, with long days, getting on the water real early and keeping moving, even less than 5.

Not my cup of tea, but go for it if you desire the challenge!

wow, normally i would think that would be over-zealous for a first solo, but there is a trip report of someone who did a huge loop and he loved it!

i think you should have 2 weeks for this trip, do you have this much time?

It would be a challenging 10 day trip for me. I don't fish and I like being on the move, traveling most days and like long travel days. However, I would rather be challenged on the water on big lakes than doing lots of portages every day. I usually have a a day or two of frequent portages on my trips, but would tire of it quickly if it was every day.

We did Frost Lake to Little Sag on a summer solstice run in the middle of a trip. Seventeen portage in a day. We enjoyed it. It was a beautiful day of wilderness travel. We were young and strong, like I suppose CrustyCat might be.

quote sedges: "A few comments.


You don't mention dates for the trip. There is a lot of river/creek travel on the route. Water level is going to be a factor in both travel speed and pleasure.


It looks like there is roughly 50 portages on the route. I know you like to portage, but you may no longer feel that way when the trip is over! You mention long days on the water, but long days on the portages will be a better description. There is really very little paddling, maybe 50-60 miles?


There are several stretches of the route with very few campsites. Traveling late in the day on these could get you in a bind.


If the challenge of fast travel on a difficult route is your game then 5 days would be doable. Do it in June, with long days, getting on the water real early and keeping moving, even less than 5.


Not my cup of tea, but go for it if you desire the challenge!


"

Forgot to mention I will be going in late May, starting the Thursday prior to Memorial Day weekend. I'm shooting for coming back out in Sawbill on Monday night, or Tuesday If need be.

The lack of open-water paddling is a bit of a set-back, but what makes up for it (for me at least) is the remoteness and seclusion of parts of this loop - something I think I will value even more over what I imagine to be quite a busy weekend on the more major lakes.

Thank you for the input!

quote Mocha: "wow, normally i would think that would be over-zealous for a first solo, but there is a trip report of someone who did a huge loop and he loved it!


i think you should have 2 weeks for this trip, do you have this much time?"

Do you happen to know when they did it, or where I could look for the report? I'll start looking back through the reports. :)

I am planning on doing it in 5 days, or perhaps six especially if I add the jog east and north at the beginning, through the temperance lakes.

Thank you!

quote sedges: "It would be a challenging 10 day trip for me. I don't fish and I like being on the move, traveling most days and like long travel days. However, I would rather be challenged on the water on big lakes than doing lots of portages every day. I usually have a a day or two of frequent portages on my trips, but would tire of it quickly if it was every day.


We did Frost Lake to Little Sag on a summer solstice run in the middle of a trip. Seventeen portage in a day. We enjoyed it. It was a beautiful day of wilderness travel. We were young and strong, like I suppose CrustyCat might be."

Wow, that's one heck of a day; would love to get back up for a solstice again..

24 years old, coming up on my quarter life crisis, what better way to celebrate?! :)

Excellent point regarding scarcity of campsites, that will make early rising especially important for me

I'd do this loop in the reverse direction if I were you and cut out the furthest west section you have planned and head right up to the wine lake area and then Frost river. If it is windy for 1 day and you're headed straight west you'll spend most of your energy and not get far, but as long as you know the potential and are aware of your own capabilities, you should be able to plan a safe trip.

Seriously, crustycat, have you measured this route . . . ?

You say you have 5 days, possibly a 6th, to complete it and you plan to travel early and stop late. You are solo, will single portage, and you are young and strong and want to push yourself. Correct?

Unless I'm missing something, you're going to have to look for options to lengthen it if the weather holds and you're doing well. The basic route outlined is about 55 miles. I'm old, weak, and slow and I still average 2+ mph traveling, which means I go 10-12 miles in 4-6 hours. How fast do you travel? If you travel 8 hours a day (8AM - 4PM) at 2 mph average, you'll go 16 miles per day and be done in 3 1/2 days.

I'd suggest you have some checkpoints mapped out so you can see how you're doing and how you are feeling. You should probably plan to spend the 1st night on Frost Lake before tackling the Frost River portion. It is reported that there are numerous beaver dams there to negotiate, but this problem may be minimized if water levels are high. When you get to Fente, you'll have to see how you are feeling and what weather is forecast, and decide whether to keep it short or loop north to Little Sag then down to Malberg, or possibly even west across Hoe, Vee, Fee, and Ledge to Boulder and south to Malberg that way if things are really going well.

If you guesstimate your average travel speed and calculate how long it should take to get to the checkpoints, you'll know if you're traveling faster or slower than anticipated and whether to stick to the plan, shorten, or lengthen it.

A couple of other things to consider since this is your first solo:

First, you have to carry everything, including community gear that is usually shared weight, so make sure you know how much that is at the start. I leave many things behind to lighten the load. Since you're solo, don't carry so much it increases the risk of injury.

Secondly, you have to do all camp chores. I usually keep meals very simple - freezer bag style - so there's no cooking or clean up. Cold cereal for breakfast is quick and uses no fuel. I usually don't bother with a fire either. When I do it's small and no axe or saw is needed, so I don't carry that weight, although you may want to consider a saw for portages on your trip.

I would suggest checking out the solo forum for some more information and different perspectives.

And, btw, I think the long solo loop mocha referred to was a report by hamillsc. There might be a link in the solo forum.