Howdy,

Well, I convinced 3 other knuckleheads to do the Grand Portage with me this fall. Looking like the 1st week of October. Tentatively planning on 5 days in the bush. 1 of which will be doing the Grand Portage. Would like to end with the Grand Portage.

Which EP's should I be looking at for a starting point?

We're all in our 30's. Planning on single portaging.

Any other info would help. Campsites to look for? (All 4 of us will be in hammocks.) Tips on portage locations? Which maps to invest in?

What's camping like at Fort Charlotte?

Thanks folks!

if all you want to do is paddle and not have any layover time, then start with entry point 58 South Lake. you'll actually start paddling at the west end of Gunflint Lake then Little Gunflint, North Lake and then the portage to South lake which is where the BWCA starts.
this would be an example of an itinerary:
night #1: Gunflint to Rose lake, camp.
night #2: Rose lake to Mountain lake, camp.
night #3: Mountain lake to North or South Fowl.
night #4: Fowls to Pigeon River, camp at Ft. Charlotte.

if you want to work in some layover time in case of bad weather or you just want to explore, then i'd get a 60 Duncan Lake permit.
night #1: West Bearskin to Duncan to Rose lake.
night #2: Rose to Mountain.
night #3: Mountain to Fowls.
night #4: Pigeon River to Ft. Charlotte.

one other option is to enter at 62 Clearwater Lake.
night #1: Clearwater to Mountain Lake
(take the side trip along the border route hiking trail to the west to get to a fabulous scenic overlook. hike is about 40 min one way.)
night #2: Mountain to Fowls.
(there is another trail that gets you up to the top of some high point, not sure exactly but i bet someone on this site knows).
night #3?
night #4 Ft. Charlotte.

too bad you can't make it for the last week of September when lake trout season is still open. those are some prime laker lakes.

do some research on the Pigeon River before your trip. if the water levels are low it could be very slow going along the river, esp if you have to walk your canoes. the English portage no longer exists. be sure to EXIT the river before Partridge Falls. this is a HUGE waterfall you wouldn't survive if you got sucked into the current and went over.

there are several people on this site that have done this area. Check out Beav's Border Challenge thread, there are some folks in that group that might be able to give you good info.

I went from Grand Portage to Sag in 5 days. That was moving at a good clip. If I were you I would start at Gunflint and go to Grand Portage. Great trip and you won't see many people.

Hard for me to suggest where you should start cuz it all depends on how many hours per day you want to travel. I will say that you'll probably average 2.5 to 3 mph moving average if you paddle/portage steady.

Here's the McKenzie maps I use to traverse the BWCA on the border route west to east:

C1, 14, 31, 13, 29, 10, 9, 8, 26, 6, 4, 2, 1, 98

98 includes the Pigeon River and Grand Portage. As Mocha noted, you need to portage around Partridge Falls and the McKenzie Map #98 does not show this. You will portage on the river right, walking on a logging trail until you get down the hill and then the portage trail veers off to the left heading back to the river.

Fort Charlotte camping: there are 2 large group sites here. They have raised wood platforms for setting up tents but there are plenty of trees for hangers, too. You are supposed to make reservations with the National Park Service by submitting a camping permit form. Check out their website below and a camping permit form can be found there. Grand Portage National Monument

I just want to thank everyone for the info!!!!

Much appreciated!

The itineraries above look fine. The first two include Long Portage which will be a good warm-up for the Grand one. These will not allow much lay-over wiggle room. The third one starting at Clearwater skips Long Portage and may allow you a lay-over or shorter traveling days.

Another alternative may be going in through Daniels Lake. I believe there is still a portage on the old RR grade that connects to Long Portage. You would do a shortened Long Portage. Get some recent info on that Daniels Lake connection. My last experience there was late 1970s.

If you or families and loved ones have no problem with you arriving a day late, building in a lay-over is not such a big deal. If you have to be at Lake Superior at the end of your fifth day I would build in time for a lay-over. The large lakes you are traveling have good potential to be windy and rough, even going downwind. Days in October are much shorter with less time to make up miles when the wind dies. The Pigeon, if low, will be a slow go. Here lies your unknown that makes the trip interesting. If low you will be wading. My last time on it was a June trip after a low snow winter and even then we had to wade some places. Other June trips were a pleasant downstream run with Class 1 rapids. The portages no longer exist.

I would schedule a lay-over day and plan to take it at Fort Charlotte if you don't need it before. The hike from there to The Cascades is well worth the time. You could also carry your boats up the Grand a ways and stash them off the trail to pick up the next day.