Summary
We had a goal at the start of our trip to be on the west end of Brule on Day 2. Our plan after that was to slow down. Achieving that goal took a little work and a good helping of luck with the day we crossed Brule. I think our most tiring day was getting into Vernon on Day 1. Our most difficult portage day was the chain from Brule-Cam-Gasket-Vesper-Town. When that day was done, I hurt.

Everything after Day 1 and 2 seemed "not so bad" including the notorious "wall" from Muskeg to Kiskadinna and the Misquah - Little Trout portage. However, we also hit each of the difficult portages on short days, well fed, and rested. The state of your mind has a lot to do with how you remember a difficult section of trail. We stayed away from Winchell and followed Omega-Henson-Allen-Horseshoe to get back to Ram. I loved the small chain of lakes and I have no regrets about the path we selected.

The big negative about this loop was the constant encounters with "new entry points" as you loop around. Basically you never move away from being in close proximity to entry points (with the obvious exception of the start and finish). Actually we did not see many people at all. But from the looks of the camps, the country around Brule Lake and Poplar Lake gets hit hard. We also tripped late season and that has a lot to do with encountering other travelers. The big plus for this loop was the diversity of the country, beautiful hills, very pretty lakes, maintained portages, and solitude. My favorite day was Karl to Omega. My favorite camps were on Karl and Little-Trout.