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02/12/2017 08:02PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I've been spending the past couple weeks, deep in the heart of winter, planning my upcoming trips for the summer as well as reveling in memories of past travels in canoe country. The other night, my husband and I got to discussing portages of days gone by and debating the merits and deficits of the various ones we have taken.

Which naturally got me to wondering: do you have any favorites? How about ones that you never want to set foot on again?

In terms of scenery, I really enjoyed the Crooked to Gillis portage. It was reminiscent of walking through a fairy tale setting, complete with the little, crumbling cabin by the stream.

On the flip side, I would (and have) chosen to go miles out of my way to avoid doing the north to south Fente to Hub portage. Its not nearly as long as the Lujenida-Zenith portage, but that initial hill climb is a beast.

Which ones get your votes?
 
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02/12/2017 08:51PM  
Hands down the Badwater portage after a week of rain would be my least favorite, and I didn't much enjoy double portaging the Kenny to McEwen in wet conditions either. The east portage from Crooked to Argo gets an honorable mention.

My favorite would have to be the entire Falls Chain. None particularly long, challenging enough, and drop dead gorgeous waterfalls.
 
Michwall2
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02/12/2017 09:07PM  
The problem is that some of my least favorite portages lead to some of my favorite places.

Least favorite - Poe to Louse Lakes. 80 rods of sheer ankle busting torture. Every foot placement must be thought out in advance. Your route planned several steps in advance. Double portaging was a nightmare. The route was absolutely worth it! Saw a bear on Bug Lake. Snakes in the campsite on Trail. Beautiful river paddling. Close second is a tie: Sitka to Cherokee (non-stop roller coaster) and Fente to Hub (the initial climb is one of the toughest I've encountered).

My favorites follow rivers - Mora to Little Sag. Fishdance to Alice. Eddy to SAK (Eddy Falls). Malberg to Kawishiwi River (canyon). Gebe to Gebe Creek along the falls.
 
Savage Voyageur
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02/12/2017 09:28PM  
Favorite: Newfound to Splash, or Sawbill to Alton. Both flat as a board.
Least Favorite: Cherokee to Sitka, crazy climb that never ends over the divide.
 
02/12/2017 09:32PM  
Least favorite Badwater and Cache, favorite Badwater and Cache, and the bushwack from Cache to Zephira...
 
HighPlainsDrifter
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02/12/2017 10:08PM  

I have been over a number of the "bad" ones..... the climb into Hub, the ankle turners along the Louse River, Misquah to Little Trout, Muskeg to Kiskadinna........ sometimes it is just the stacking up of short portages in a single day that kill me. I hate the mud. I hate board walks that submerge under your weight. I groan and moan about the haul into Tuscarora every time I have done it. But, in retrospect, I would do them all again. They ain't that bad after you are done.
 
02/12/2017 10:12PM  
quote Michwall2: "The problem is that some of my least favorite portages lead to some of my favorite places. "

I think there is a simple "cause and effect" thing here. In many cases, the difficulty in getting there is what makes it worth getting to.

Cherokee to Sitka has always stuck with me as a bugger, but this last summer I found the Ella to Grace to be really hard. Both overgrown and boulder covered - and once at Grace it's the hardest landing and initial paddle I've found yet.
 
old_salt
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02/12/2017 10:42PM  
First and last portages.
 
02/12/2017 11:04PM  
I like em all... The challenging ones seem to make it a trip. If they were all flat and paved it just wouldn't be right. My worst portage I think was a couple years ago in WCPP... the Knox mud bog. But in doing it you can take pride in your accomplishment. How about bottle portage especially when the water is down. There are so many great ones... How about stairway portage...
 
mastertangler
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02/13/2017 06:43AM  
I think portages are about conditions........conditions of the portage and the humanoid making the portage. I found the Memory lane and Death March portages in the Quetico to be a piece of cake.........but I was fresh and conditions were for the most part perfect, cool and dry. But hit those at the end of a long hot day after a few days of rain and I could clearly see where they might be quite oppressive.

A perfect example is the "Knox Bog Trot" in Woodland Caribou that Nctry mentioned. I went across quadruple portaging on my way in last summer and thought "its not so bad, not really that tough at all". But on my way back 20 days later after 2 straight days of rain it was a whole different ball game up to my waist in muck and pretty much kicked my tail. I'm hoping for dry conditions when we meet again this summer (hoping to get across in 3 trips ;-)

Knox bog trot

My apologies for the fuzziness......I will have to get my editing crew to clean this up some........it gets "interesting" about 1/2 in. This was the easy trip across.......after the 2 days of rain it resembled a bit more of a lake on the way back.......best have a straight shaft wooden paddle to get yourself out if you get stuck.
 
02/13/2017 07:50AM  
quote mastertangler: " This was the easy trip across.......after the 2 days of rain it resembled a bit more of a lake on the way back.......best have a straight shaft wooden paddle to get yourself out if you get stuck. "


If this was the "easy" trip, the return must have been memorable in the extreme!

I had forgotten about the Cherokee-Sitka portage that people have been mentioning, which probably proves the point that has been made about the relative difficulty of a portage having to do with the condition of the person making it. We did that one first thing in the morning and well rested, so while the initial climb was memorable, it didn't strike me as horrid. It would have been another story if it was the last portage of the day.

There was also a portage somewhere on the Kawishiwi to Malberg stretch that, while easy, we ended up single portaging at a jog four years ago because the mosquitoes were like nothing I have ever experienced before in my life!
 
mastertangler
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02/13/2017 10:22AM  
Yup dopey me, on the return trip I should have put the boat down and drug it through the really bad spots. As it was I carried as per the usual method and the sides of the boat would bang against any trees and that forced me to walk right down the middle.........quite exhausting. Once I didn't think I was going to get "unstuck" and thought seriously about dropping the boat and getting myself out. Fortunately I had my spare paddle, A Bending Branches expedition plus (which was little more than a glorified walking stick) and I was able to extricate myself with no small amount of effort.

I was toast by 5 p.m. that day as my body said "enough already"!
 
02/13/2017 11:06AM  
Good topic.

I don't think I have a single favorite portage, but there is a type which I categorize as "Hobbit Portages". They tend to be shorter but it isn't the length that makes them a favorite. My so called Hobbit Portages typically occur along streams between lakes where there are cedar trees, lots of moss on rocks and plenty of ferns. The air in the middle of these portages is cooler and fresher, evoking thoughts of the Shire described by Tolkien, hence the Hobbit reference.

Regarding my least favorite portage, as a rule I appreciate portages for the challenge and variety. Length, hills, overgrown, muddy, I don't care, but the portage between Little Trout and Misquah was another level. We crossed it on a sunny day, but it had rained quite a bit the previous week. Hoping from boulder to boulder, to start, never being able to take a normal stride, always stepping up, onto over rocks on the hills, and the swamp in the middle with submerged boards that were slippery and shifting.... We were just happy so survive without any serious injuries. I look forward to doing it again someday, but not with kids.

 
02/13/2017 02:03PM  
quote paddlinjoe: "Good topic.


. My so called Hobbit Portages typically occur along streams between lakes where there are cedar trees, lots of moss on rocks and plenty of ferns. The air in the middle of these portages is cooler and fresher, evoking thoughts of the Shire described by Tolkien, hence the Hobbit reference.

"


I absolutely agree with you on these kind of portages, paddlinjoe! I even prefer these enchanting little stream wanders over sweeping vistas.
 
HowardSprague
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02/13/2017 02:31PM  
Least favorite, so far: Lunetta to Hassel.
 
02/13/2017 02:46PM  
The one just completed and the one coming up next. Actually, I do not mind portages; I like the scenery. I will say that my knees complain a bit more each year getting out of the canoe, but I cannot put that on the portages.
 
Bdubguy
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02/13/2017 02:56PM  
Muskeg to Kiskadinna very quickly came to mind as my least favorite.

I fondly remember a portage between Agnes and Stuart as being very nice...
 
landoftheskytintedwater
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02/13/2017 04:15PM  
Least favorite: Kahshahpiwi to McNiece May of 2016. The first 20 rods were fine, then sheer rock face, blowdown, blowdown, ticks, blowdown, ticks, blowdown, ticks, etc, rocky landing on McNiece.

Favorite: Hard to pick one...Keefer to Kahshahpiwi, portage along the Moose River just south of Agnes, Pocket to Finger, long portage along North Kawishiwi River.
 
02/13/2017 04:50PM  
Little Trout to Misquah on a hot sunny August day after a 2 inch rain the night before.
 
02/13/2017 05:08PM  
Well, Fente to Hub is a nice steep climb, but at least it's a good path. It's also a pretty good climb up to Steep Lake and headed out of Tuscarora to Missing Link. But I don't really mind those that much.

Worse than that is the section of the Muskeg to Kiskadinna portage known as "The Wall". That's preceded by an ankle breaker with down tress from Long Island to Muskeg that is flooded at the Muskeg end by a ~5' beaver dam. You put in from the muck below it. It's followed by the Kiskadinna to Omega portage, which angles up a steep slope on a very narrow path.

And even worse than that . . . the portage from the north arm of East Bearskin to Alder. I'll never do that one again.

I did the last two solo, too. At least they were all done when it was dry. Otherwise they could be downright dangerous.

Beyond that, I generally don't like bushwhack portages and bad landings that you sometimes get around beaver dams and flooded out sections. I can recall a very awkward beaver dam on Little Isabella, and flooded out sections from Malberg to Little Sag and from Snipe to Tuscarora via Copper. Almost forgot about the Crooked-Tarry boulder garden ending at an awkward landing, at least for the soloist on a windy day.

Favorite ones . . . I liked Mora-Little Sag, Finger-Pocket, Beaver-Adams, Mudro-Fourtown, the ones from Alice to Thomas, Cap-Boulder, and the whole thing from Boulder to Adams.
 
02/13/2017 05:43PM  
quote boonie: "
Favorite ones . . . I liked Mora-Little Sag, Finger-Pocket, Beaver-Adams, Mudro-Fourtown, the ones from Alice to Thomas, Cap-Boulder, and the whole thing from Boulder to Adams. "


I was poking around on Beaver five years ago and never managed to find the portage into Adams. I'm guessing it doesn't get much traffic. I know where I think it should have been, and if I'm correct, I'm guessing it is beautiful! Is it between some very big rock hills with no real, defined landing on the Adams side?

I'm thinking of perhaps soloing out that way this August and would like to see if I can locate it.
 
02/13/2017 05:51PM  
Oops, I meant no defined landing on the Beaver Lake side.
 
02/13/2017 08:00PM  
Sorry, I didn't read the whole thread but my favorite would have to be S Knife to Hanson. My least favorite is Horseshoe to Allen, but that's only because I went during really high water and that portage is basically a creek when you do that. Nevertheless it was kinda fun and I laughed a lot.
 
Northwoodsman
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02/13/2017 09:03PM  
Ada to Skoop is my least favorite. It is flat elevation-wise but a boulder field of sharp jagged rocks all at a 45° angle. In my shape, I don't have a favorite. But as already mentioned Sawbill to Alton is a dream.
 
mastertangler
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02/13/2017 09:06PM  
Come to think of it my least favorite portages are burns. Often hard to follow a trail and you never know when a tree is coming down and trees are constantly falling across the trail......... and its often bushy after a year or two so if its early in the morning you get completely soaked by the dew.......and yup always some huge pile of bear crap on the trail as they like to hang in burn areas after they start to grow in a bit. Burns.......blah!
 
gymcoachdon
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02/13/2017 10:56PM  
My favorite, and least favorite, both leave Stuart Lake.

The least favorite is the 280 rod out of Stuart into Fox, on the way to Iron Lake. Long, wet, some hills, a mid thigh water crossing in dark water, and 4 trees down that required unloading pack or canoe to get over or under. That day kinda kicked my butt. I heard that the trees have been cleared, that would have made a big difference, at least mentally.

My favorite is the portage to the Dahlgren River from Stuart Lake. The week I was there was very wet, and this portage was the only one without a puddle. Not even a soft section to leave a footprint. Pine needle covered trail through the largest pines I have seen. (There may be bigger ones to see, but I was impressed!) The end of the portage follows the river as it goes over a couple falls, and ends at a beautiful fall. If you are ever on Stuart Lake, do yourself a favor, and at least walk this one!
 
02/13/2017 11:30PM  
quote 1bogfrog: "Oops, I meant no defined landing on the Beaver Lake side."


Yeah, it's just a jumble of rocks in front of a cliff, but it's there. Here's a link to some photo albums - picture #36 of my 2013 album. Pictures
Once you've seen the picture, you'll know when you are there.
 
02/13/2017 11:33PM  
BTW, it runs right along that rock cliff into the trees. It really is there. Cliff is at least 50' high.
 
bassnet
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02/13/2017 11:39PM  
Another that thinks the Gillian to Crooked is beautiful....gurgling stream nearby. It seems a world away from....the world. The big Tusc. portage is interesting by, with several blowdown/ destruction areas....and it ends with a view of Tuscarora that you cannot buy. I don't really have one I dislike, 'cause, I mean, well, I'm in 'da BW!!
 
TuscaroraBorealis
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02/14/2017 11:41AM  
Lots of my favorite portages in Here
 
GoSpursGo
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02/14/2017 01:15PM  
I loved the group of portages from Banadad to Long Island - I will definitely make it that way again someday.

Dont care for the old trail into Neglige, there are two big, flat, steep, rocks and one of them has made me slip twice....
 
02/14/2017 02:30PM  
We enjoyed the portage from Clearwater in to Mountain. Not easy but the view is worth it.
 
02/14/2017 02:56PM  
Haven't found a hard one yet, just some have more challenges.
 
02/14/2017 03:38PM  
Favorite - The Yellow Brick Road
Because you are either starting a trip and have anticipation going for you...OR...you are ending a trip and know that a hot steak and a cold beer are just a few hours away...
 
ozarkpaddler
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02/14/2017 05:28PM  
Canoe to Pine sucks wet or dry, but the reward... Also Tuscarora to Missing Link not a favorite, seems like it lasted a day and a half one hot, humid day (LOL)? Going UP the Stairway Portage from Rose to Duncan is a bit tough, BUT the steps are better than some like those around Ham and Cross Bay area. Couldn't be too bad, I've done it probably a dozen times so I'm either not too bright or feel it's worth it (LOL)? A few I'm not crazy about are relatively short, but have some particularly troublesome rocks for someone with big, wide feet like Alpine to Jasper, Alpine to Rog, Horsetail Rapids on the Granite River, and Horseshoe to Vista. But there's not one, NOT ONE that wasn't worth the traverse.

Favorite? I really like Kingfisher to Ogish, pretty, nice little stream, and relatively easy. East Bearskin to Alder is easy and Seagull to Alpine is a thoroughfare that's easy as pie. Monument Portage from Swamp Lake to Ottertrack isn't too bad and there are some scenic and easy portages in the numbered lakes area.
 
Meado
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02/15/2017 12:06PM  
The portage from Missing Link to Tuscarora just drags on forever. I know there are longer portages in the BW, but for me this has been the crown jewel of dread so far. It's not terribly difficult, but just long. A few years ago we triple portaged this trail and I felt it was similar to running a half marathon in the effort we put out. Once you get to the top of the hill and get the view of Tuscarora Lake there is nothing like it and the difficult portage fades away. Every time we leave the BW we say it's the last time we'll see that lake because of that portage, but a few months later everyone is game again. Missing Link from Round is no treat and should get an honorable mention.



 
02/15/2017 02:10PM  
quote Meado: "The portage from Missing Link to Tuscarora just drags on forever. I know there are longer portages in the BW, but for me this has been the crown jewel of dread so far. It's not terribly difficult, but just long.
"


I've heard about this one for so many years that I really feel I need to give it a shot...just as a point of honor. I'm giving due consideration to doing some of these portages, just for the satisfaction that comes at the end of any really tough portage. Bonus points if there's a beautiful lake or fantastic view at the other end!
 
02/17/2017 10:38AM  
 
02/17/2017 10:38AM  
There are a few favorite portages that come to mind, and probably would be more if I really think about it. Again, sometimes it is more about the memories.

One that comes to mind immediately is the portage from Thumb to Beartrack, a 200 rod portage (and I don't usually love 200 rod portages) that isn't too difficult, but it had a really pretty little waterfall somewhere along the way. Nice enough that I carried the tripod and the camera back on the return trip in order to get a photograph. And when we got to the end of the portage, we were rewarded with the sight of a nesting loon!



>





People have already mentioned Beaver-Adams, which I have always said was the most beautiful portage I have ever seen. We tried to get back there a few years ago on our "Elephant trip", but we didn't end up getting that far. That is such a scenic portage, in my opinion. I actually walked it an extra time just to enjoy the ferns and the boulders.

I remember enjoying a 55-rod portage on our long trip in 1992. It was from South Temperance to North Temperance. As I remember, we camped on North Temperance and then came back over the portage in the morning to continue our journey. The portage has a big pond in the middle and you walk along a narrow ledge high up above the pond.

It seems to me that if there is something to photograph on a portage, it makes it more memorable. We didn't even take the portage to Ge-be, but I made Spartan1 stop at the end of the creek so that I could get out and photograph this waterfall near the portage landing. I have always been just a bit sorry that we didn't go on to Ge-be-on-e-quet.







There are a lot of them that I didn't love. Most of the time I just puffed and groaned and endured. I don't remember loving Kiskadinna to Muskeg one little bit! I don't like the big giant-size steps that the forest service puts in to "help" at the landings, and I simply cannot walk on one log placed over a muddy hole! I'd go for the edge if I could, or just take my chances in the mud.

But by far my least favorite portage of all time was a little short one--Horsetail Rapids on the Granite River trip. Just a variety of my assorted fears and dislikes all strung together.

I always wanted to carry my own pack and be responsible for my own percentage of the work load, even when I had pain issues and probably shouldn't have. Spartan1 was very good about helping me get the packs lifted to my back and secured safely before each carry. He carried the tripod for me once I began taking it along, but I always schlepped all of my heavy photo gear myself, in addition to carrying two packs. Sometimes on a very long portage I would give out and drop my second pack along the trail, get to the end and tell him he had to go back for it. We were a team.

When it got to where I couldn't do that anymore, the fun was gone from it for me. Because I discovered, a bit to my surprise, that portaging was as much a part of it as paddling. We didn't fish. A canoe trip was the canoeing, the portaging, and the camping. It was a package. Without the portaging, it just wasn't the same. There is, for me, a great deal of satisfaction in a hard portage accomplished, no matter how much I might gripe about it at the time.

And I miss it. Imagine that.

(I have no idea where this is.)



 
02/17/2017 11:45AM  
My favorite portage will be the first one I take about 3 years from now when my son is old enough/big enough to carry a full size pack or the canoe.
 
BuckFlicks
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02/17/2017 11:45AM  
I've only been a handful of times and none of the portages were particularly daunting. But there's no question my least favorite is Kawasachong to Polly. Two longish portages interrupted by tiny puddle (Townline, I think?) ... I'd have preferred one long portage to having to reload the canoe, paddle for 40 seconds, then unload again.

I can't say I have a favorite. I don't particularly enjoy portages. If I'm on a paddle trip, I prefer to paddle. I do like hiking trips... but I have better and more comfortable gear for hiking.
 
02/18/2017 06:57AM  
Misquah to Little Trout. Ouch babe...
 
02/18/2017 08:07AM  
My least favorite so far is the goat path between Fourtown and Mudrow. I'm pretty short and the steep incline combined with boulders made that one miserable for me. Going up, the bow was constanyly banging on the boulders ahead. Going down, the stern was banging the boulders behind me. And trying to climb up onto some of those high boulders was brutal with a canoe over my head.
 
NoService
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02/18/2017 08:23AM  
We did the paddle from entry 8 to big moose lake once... had been a hot summer and the water level was low. Handful of beaver dams on the river paddle. A short portage and nice river paddle turned into an hours long walk in waist deep mud. We would get out of the mud to portage around the beaver damns.

How about the stairway portage to rose lake? What an awesome descent, and great reward!
 
02/19/2017 07:55AM  
A couple rough ones that stick in my mind (and my experience is limited because we base camp and layover alot):
Pond/Gratton. And Wickstead/Ballard. Already tired and raining as well.
Easiest and therefore one favorite to me is the one into Splash.
 
OldGuystilltripping
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02/20/2017 08:54AM  
Favorite is when you're back in the canoe! Least favorite is conditions as has been mentioned, from Round to Tuscarora is difficult when you're just in, packs weigh double the canoe, but if you start the loop through Brandt and it's when you are use to tripping, packs are light, and you're getting out it's a piece of cake. Toughest was a muddy time with downed trees from Yum Yum to Kashahpiwi in Quetico, young and foolish, we heard it was tough so we went, will avoid it in the future. A short one by Sarah just above Basswood where I sank up to my thigh and spent a long time desperately trying to keep my boot on (my friend took pics instead of helping) was not fun. Getting to Boulder which is usually easy, but in a flooded April we had to get into and out of the canoe at least 3 times was also not pleasant. But I agree the ones along streams with falls are the nicest.
 
02/20/2017 03:33PM  
Portage into Oyster Lake from the river.
 
fishonfishoff
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02/20/2017 04:23PM  
All of them except the last one. & The last one.

FOFO
 
Bamthor
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02/24/2017 09:11PM  
Rose to Rove sucked pretty bad. It was flooded and slow last fall. Especially after doing Duncan and the Staircase first.
 
icecoldmilk
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02/26/2017 07:58AM  
Where is the Poe to Louse portage?
 
02/26/2017 12:24PM  
quote icecoldmilk: "Where is the Poe to Louse portage?"


The Poe Lake to Louse River portage is north of Alton Lake (Sawbill).
 
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