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macsvens
member (40)member
  
01/12/2018 11:13AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Planning a solo trip out of Sawbill in Sept. not a fisherman. Just want to get away for awhile. Any possibility of that out of Sawbill. Heard it’s pretty busy.
Would appreciate suggestions.
 
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OldGoat
distinguished member (170)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
01/12/2018 11:40AM  
Lots of options here http://www.sawbill.com/www/planning/sug_routes/index.cfm.

Lady Chain/Louse River is a good one -- ends with a long portage though. But that's what keeps others away on the North end of the route.

Goat
01/12/2018 11:45AM  
Anything is possible… Sawbill, Cherokee, and Polly tend to be busy. Get yourself 3 portages or more away from an entry lake and usually that drops the amount of people you may see significantly. You take that portage over to Zenith and and beyond and you may not see anyone. What time in September?

The rout Goat suggested is pretty secluded.

Hex

macsvens
member (40)member
  
01/12/2018 12:12PM  
Thanks.
macsvens
member (40)member
  
01/12/2018 12:14PM  
Hex, haven’t decided yet. Probably anytime after Labor Day.
Grandma L
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01/12/2018 04:06PM  
September is a slower traffic time - should be good!
01/12/2018 04:08PM  
Yeah, you can get away - just head north across the Lujenida-Zenith portage to leave most behind. In Sept 2014 (see trip report) we dropped a car at Sawbill and entered at Kawishiwi Lake. We looped north from Polly to Little Sag and then back down to Sawbill across that portage. There were some people (not a whole lot) up to Polly where we stayed the first night. We saw a couple of people headed for the Louse on the way to Malberg, then a couple on Fente, and no one else until we were almost back to Kelso. We stayed two nights on Little Sag and were the only ones there.

You can get away there or out of Kawishiwi if you're willing to travel and portage some. Check out my 2016 report also for another idea - a lot depends on how much time you have and how much travel/portaging you'd be willing to do.
RoundRiver
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01/12/2018 11:20PM  
OldGoat: "Lots of options here http://www.sawbill.com/www/planning/sug_routes/index.cfm.


Lady Chain/Louse River is a good one -- ends with a long portage though. But that's what keeps others away on the North end of the route.


Goat"


Agree. One of my favorite routes. The Louse River is outstanding. But that 400+ rod is one of the more difficult ones ... but nothing that cannot be done. Note the Louse River section has some mismarked portages on some maps.
mjmkjun
distinguished member(2885)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
01/13/2018 05:11AM  
Cherokee Loop is a sweet paddle. Going up to Frost Lake or Long Island Lake extends it a bit. Sites on Sawbill Lake (not necessarily Sawbill campground sites) may fill up on Labor Day weekend but paddle beyond and it thins out quite a bit when traveling northward.
01/15/2018 12:32PM  
We left Sawbill the Saturday before labor Day 2 years ago and saw 2 groups on the way to Cherokee. Both were coming out. Base camped on Cherokee and saw just 3 groups over 3 days. Passed 2 groups on our way to S. Temperance for a night and then 2 groups between S. Temp to Baker the next day. I think you'd find some solitude in Sept.
 
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