BWCA Water levels are high Boundary Waters Listening Point - General Discussion
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07/09/2017 04:13PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
We skipped 4 portages on our trip out of Kawishiwi Lake to Adams/Alice/Polly last week. The water is very high. Some portages were muddy, but no boot sucking mud. It made paddling easier and rapids much more exciting to see.

I was in this area back in 2005, Koma to Malberg portage went around a rapids that looked like someone had a garden hose running on their driveway. This year, a raging torrent.

Great trips both times, its just neat to see the difference water levels make.
 
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PaddlinMadeline
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07/09/2017 05:17PM  
quote dadof6: " We skipped 4 portages on our trip out of Kawishiwi Lake to Adams/Alice/Polly last week. The water is very high. Some portages were muddy, but no boot sucking mud. It made paddling easier and rapids much more exciting to see.

I was in this area back in 2005, Koma to Malberg portage went around a rapids that looked like someone had a garden hose running on their driveway. This year, a raging torrent.

Great trips both times, its just neat to see the difference water levels make."


I'm doing almost the same route next week. Which portages did you skip?
 
07/09/2017 05:21PM  

I'm doing almost the same route next week. Which portages did you skip?"

Coming north out of Kawishiwi, you go into Square, after Square, you can skip the 20r and 5r portages before getting to Kawasachong, but you get a bonus beaver dam on that creek you must portage around.

Out of Malberg you portage into the Kawishiwi River, and then on the way to Adams you hit a portage on the map that we could paddle through, before hitting the portage to Beaver Lake.

So really it's 3 portages we skipped, but we skipped each 2x.

If you follow the Kawishiwi River south of the turn to Amber Lake, you reach an 8 rod portage around a set of rapdis that are running high. You will see a false portage on the left. You can take it, but its a mess and not maintained. The realy portage is at the very top of the rapids on the left. Just be careful.

Also, one that caused us some pain, the portage from Beaver to Adams appears to be at the end of bay. If you go all the way down, you will find a crappy landing, and a trail leading up the hill towards Adams. This is NOT the portage. After crossing a fallen log that had been laying there for years, I knew it wasn't the portage. We went back and at the tip of the peninsula next to that bay is a large rock wall and the portage landing is there. Funny thing is that about 30 rods in was a tree across the trail that required me to drop the canoe and climb over before getting the canoe back on. That was the end of a long day for us.

We also stayed at the island site on Adams. VERY NICE. We stayed at the bottom site on the east shore of Alice, and while not the best site on Alice was also very nice. Both are 5 star sites.


 
PaddlinMadeline
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07/09/2017 06:04PM  
Thanks a lot for the advice! I made a note on my map. We are staying at the ep and leaving early morning on Saturday. Hoping to get to the Kawishiwi river at least. Does that seem realistic? It's me and another guy. We are pretty efficient paddlers.
 
Stimpy
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07/09/2017 06:28PM  
Two weeks ago it took my group right at 6 hours to get to the farthest northwest campsite on Malberg, double portaging. We were pretty tired, but we're not in the best of shape. Another 30 minutes would put you on river.
 
07/09/2017 06:35PM  
Kawishiwi river is close to record levels for this date in discharge from the dam.
 
07/09/2017 08:21PM  
quote PaddlinMadeline: "Thanks a lot for the advice! I made a note on my map. We are staying at the ep and leaving early morning on Saturday. Hoping to get to the Kawishiwi river at least. Does that seem realistic? It's me and another guy. We are pretty efficient paddlers."


We left the EP at 10:30 AM and made it to Polly by 2 PM. The next day we went from Polly to Adams, leaving at 6 AM and got to Adams around 11:30, after messing with the false portage from Beaver to Adams. 45 minutes later, another group entered Adams and I was glad we had the nice island site.

While possible, I would rather travel shorter days as we aren't the fastest paddlers/portagers, getting on/off the water as soon as possible. Also, I remember an old saying "All miles paddled before noon are free" as the wind tends to pick up later in the day as well.
 
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