Hello all,

I'm current reading a book (Wintering by Peter Geye) that's set in northeast MN. One plot line in the book is a trip taken by a father and son into the wilderness -- without any maps. As you might expect, they get a bit turned around, paddling shorelines for hours looking for portages.

Which got me thinking: When did the portage markers go up in the BWCA? It's a very minor point re: the verisimilitude of the plot, but I'm just wondering if when the book is set (early 60's) there actually would've been signs up to help identify the portages.

Just curious.

Carmike

I believe they were started by the CCC crews back in the 1930's - but that is a guess

I believe they were still around in the early 70's , can't remember when the signs and the canoe rests went by the wayside.Those canoe rest come in handy when you had a 80 pound canoe on your shoulders!!

I have pictures from the middle 1980's with sighs still up.

I took this photo in 1999.

They were really cool to see. The last one I saw was in 1984 on Pine lake portage over to Pike.

Thanks for all the info! It's a bit nerdy of me (I'm an English prof, so it comes with the territory), but I kept thinking as I was reading, "Man, back in the early 60's there should've been some portage signs to help these guys find a portage." Not that they would've been able to see them from 10 miles away, but still.

Anyways, if y'all are interested in a good, quick read with a setting in the BWCA/Quetico region, give "Wintering" a look. It's by Peter Geye, and it won the Minnesota Book Award for fiction in 2016.

The portage signs were mostly gone by the mid-1980s. I still have one in my garage...

quote DougD: "


I took this photo in 1999."

Nice Pic.

I know it's wilderness and all, but those signs were pretty cool.

The last one we remember seeing (and we have a very grainy, poor-quality photo of it in our trip report) was in 1985 on Iron Lake. But as to whether they were around in the 60's. . .I think it might depend upon where you were. In 1973 in the Lake One area I don't remember seeing them, actually. However, my memory isn't always the greatest.

quote walllee: "I believe they were still around in the early 70's , can't remember when the signs and the canoe rests went by the wayside.Those canoe rest come in handy when you had a 80 pound canoe on your shoulders!!"

They were definitely around in the early seventies - Grandpa remembers them fondly and moans the fact they were taken down!

I only asked because a major part of the plot included two characters--father and son--getting lost in the BWCA right before ice up. They had poor maps and couldn't find portages. I kept wondering if there were portage signs up that 1) would've helped them find the portages (they did have binoculars), and 2) would've given info on what lake they were on.

quote arctic: "The portage signs were mostly gone by the mid-1980s. I still have one in my garage..."

AH HA! Now we know who took them! :)

I built my garage out of them!

Question...

Why were they taken down? I don't find them (or similar signs on hiking trails) to detract from the wilderness. In fact, seeing signs like that make me aware I'm in the wilderness.

There was still the post of one, Boulder to Adams, just 10 years ago. The narrow sign was gone, but the post still stood.

A favorite from 1978.
"Portage
Ely-Buyck Road
513 Rods"

The canoe rests were the best. Back when you carried a 75 lb canoe it was especially rewarding to just set your canoe against it. Taking them down was a bummer to me. The markers too I thought was kinda cool. Cause you could take pictures of where you'd been. Next, will it be the stairs and boardwalks.

I remember the signs and rests being there during 78-82.
Finding that canoe rest in the middle of a portage with a Grumman beast on your shoulders was a great feeling!!

Not a portage sign, but a portage blaze. Photo taken in 2008, at the Chad Lake end of the Buck-Chad portage.

quote BuckFlicks: "Question...


Why were they taken down? I don't find them (or similar signs on hiking trails) to detract from the wilderness. In fact, seeing signs like that make me aware I'm in the wilderness.


"

As I remember they were taken down when the area was designated the BWCA. They wanted it more of a natural setting not signs everywhere. Could you just imagine the cost of a wood sign today. With government costs what they are and corruption it would cost the tax payers millions for signs.

This was taken in 1983-ish. I believe they were taken down the same time the canoe rests were removed. the decision was to return to the more pristine environment - without man made aids to travel. Or - they were tired of keeping thing up.