September 17, Day 5: 8 miles, 4 portages, 240 r of portage trail. Lakes: Karl, Long Island, Muskeg Creek, Muskeg, Kiskadinna, and Omega. The longest portage was the notorious 185r “wall portage”. On the water at 8:30 AM and camped at the northern most site on Omega at about 2 PM.

We were up and about at 5:30 AM, and in no real hurry to leave our spot. I had a great night sleep, and the day promised to be a good one. We had a leisurely breakfast as the morning fog slowly lifted. Pancakes and pork patties, washed down with several cups of our special cowboy coffee, should power up our engines for the Muskeg-Kiskadinna portage.

Picture shows Entering Long Island Lake from Karl
Our morning paddle down Karl was sweet. Not a breath of wind was blowing and the lake mirrored back the forest perfectly. On Long Island we paddled slowly between the islands on the north side and that shielded our eyes from the old burn on the south shore. From the lush green we then entered the scrubby re-growth of the east bay, and that was an eye opener. There is nothing pretty about burned out areas, and the land we were now seeing was part of the 2006 Famine Fire.
Picture taken on the east end of Long Island Lake near the narrows showing the old burn

We were running out of lake as we anxiously looked for the portage from Long Island Lake to Muskeg Lake. The land did not look inviting in the small cove leading to the trail. Downfall extended into the water and it presented a formidable barrier. I was beginning to wonder if these trails had been reopened following the fire. Near the portage the water way narrowed and there we spotted the work of the saw. Ah, portage ahead.
Pictures shows the landing at Long Island - Muskeg portage and 2) paddling the meander to Muskeg Lake

I would have liked to travel here before the burn. But, even in the post burn era, the water way that meanders through the marsh leading to Muskeg was an interesting paddle that ended all too soon at Muskeg Lake. Most of area around the small Muskeg Lake was spared from the burn. Next stop, the wall.

We were expecting the worst on the portage into Kiskadinna. The whole portage is not that bad. There is a gain of 147 feet between Muskeg and Kiskadinna. A portion of the trail seems straight up and it did spark a fire in my legs and had me puffing as I approached the top. After that, it was basically an easy stroll to Kiskadinna. In comparison to the string of portages that we did on the “mechanic chain” of Day 3, I think that the “notorious wall” was, in fact, an easier go. But, we also hit this portage well rested and well fueled.

Pictures show the steep part of the Muskeg-Kiskadinna portage (some call it the wall)

Kiskadinna Lake is narrow and about 2 mile long. Author Beymer writes that it is an unattractive lake in comparison to its neighbors. We do not judge a lake by its neighbors and we found the lake a nice comfortable paddle. The lake runs parallel to a low cliff on the south shore, and that was in contrast to the north side which is flat, low and a “dog-hair” thicket of small spruce. The campsites were nothing to write home about. As we saw it, the most difficult thing about camping on Kiskadinna would be in finding a tree suitable for hanging a food pack. We speculated that we would find our portage at a hole in the cliff. That is about what we found.
Picture of Kiskadinna Lake looking east from the portage

The 35 r from Kiskadinna to Omega resembled a stairway from the lake. The portage is short and basically up one side and down the other. The first camp site on Omega was open, but we had been told of a real nice spot on the south shore, and that is where we headed. We had used up a good bit of time getting our miles in and we were approaching our 2 PM witching hour. It was time to stop. As luck would have it, the perfect spot on Omega was the perfect spot for someone else. That is the problem with knowing too much, and rather than going back to the site we had just passed, we headed to the camp on the north end. It was open, and it was time to stop.
Pictures show 1) Kiskadinna-Omega portage and 2) Omega Lake looking south from our north camp site

The north site on Omega sits high, and it offers a commanding view of the lake. Pretty, yes. Practical, no. I do not take much joy anymore in hauling gear and fetching water over a goat trail. Fire wood was scarce, but there was ample flat ground for our little tent (and many more). Matt and I tended to our camp chores, and then dusk was setting in. Our small fire and our rations of cognac capped a nice day.

Of the trip, this day was my favorite. The weather behaved. I enjoyed the diversity of the country we passed though including the portages. We saw one canoe on Long Island Lake and Omega Lake, and spotted only one other camper.