6/4--6/13, four of us, 10 days, my third trip to Kahshahpiwi in 3 years. Prairie Portage>Isabella River>Kahshahpiwi>Sark and return the same route. Basswood and all lakes we were on were full to the brim from the heavy rains in late May. It made getting into the Isabella River from North Bay easy--no muddy drags or liftovers. Someone has placed log corduroy across most of the wet spots on the Kahsh bog portage since I was through last September. We bushwhacked the Trant portage from Kahsh, cutting through a lot of down trees and opening up the trail so we could get in to see the pictographs and catch a few largemouth bass. The beavers had been busy, and with the high water you can now paddle at least half the distance to Trant, lifting over 2 beaver dams on the way. After the first 2 days the weather was challenging, first sunny and broiling hot (90+ degrees) for a couple days, then sustained gale-force winds for a couple days, thunderstorms, a cold front and more wind. Never found consistent smallmouth action--weather conditions and high water made them hard to get to. Largemouth here and there, no trophies of either species. Walleyes yes, on one lake. Lake trout not around much, one nice one caught & released from Sark--the water in most of the lakes was very warm for early June. We swam comfortably in most of the lakes. Bugs were a non-issue for the most part.

Springer,

You must had been just in front of me or just behind me. I went through the Kahsh corduroy portage on Wed. I found that to be most interesting since I had been through the same portage back in 03'. At that time the swampy areas you pass around now used to be a pond and you could paddle right alongside those marvelous cliffs. Now you need to portage around all that stuff. Too bad, it use to be the most spectacular paddle you could imagine.



Agreed about water temps. Surface temps are at least 70'. Very comfortable swimming. Plenty of smallies if you're into that sort of stuff. I'm glad I'm back and just not in the mood to go back out right now. I'm spent, worn out, fatigued, and tired. 95 miles in 7 days solo.
Blaaaah......

Tom

It's been a few years since I've done Kahsh to Side and have always slogged along west side of bog, below rocks, though my sons have chosen the rocks. Is the east side the best way to go now (could hardly be worse then west use to be) and do you head west at north end to the old portage route, or is there a new east route?

The east way is now well established. The Park is trying to keep people from damaging the bog so they laid the corduroy and the trail across the bog was well marked with fluorescent flags. Heading south from Kahsh you turn left (east) about 50 yards before the old trail ends--the turnoff is well-marked and the old trail blocked.

Thank you. My older son with whom I tripping this time and with whom I have not tripped for quite a few years suggested we retrace the first trip route - which was up the west side. We'll follow east. And sure wish I could convince some of the local beavers to build a new dam because it would be nice to float to the base of the portage.

quote BillConner01: "It's been a few years since I've done Kahsh to Side and have always slogged along west side of bog, below rocks, though my sons have chosen the rocks. Is the east side the best way to go now (could hardly be worse then west use to be) and do you head west at north end to the old portage route, or is there a new east route?


"

Bill,

You can't slog through either side anymore. It's plain dried up all together. You must portage 100% of the way past the cliffs. As mentioned, there is now a portage on the east side of the dried up pond. They had to build the portage right through the middle of a peat bog. I think it ws a poor choice for a portage location. There is absolutely no way the portage will hold up for many years. It looks like it was built in haste. But it's better than nothing at all, barely. The picture I posted is taken from the the portage trail so you can see you are some distance from the cliffs.

For those that have not been on this portage, please not the old growth trees on top of the cliffs. These cliffs are several hundred feet high. And the boulders in the talus are the size of cars.

Tom

I went from Kahs to Side via the east side in Aug 2010. It was a bit sloppy for about 200 yards, but not as bad as I expected. Unless it's changed markedly since then, it'd be the way I'll go next time as well...

Springer,

Can you share the recipe for the walleyes in butter? Looks like you have some type of seasoning on them?

I still think Stu is crazy for not putting your food pictures in his magazine too? Every picture of your cooked fish over the years has my mouth watering.

T

Thanks T--I'm sure Stu has one way to cook fish and that's his way--probably frying in oil. McCormick has a line of "Culinary" spice mixes and I think this was a Cajun blend which is our favorite. I just heat enough butter to give me about 1/4" in the bottom of the skillet, coat the filets with the spices (or just salt and pepper) and fry/sautée them for 2-3 minutes per side. Rule of thumb is 6 minutes per inch. Keep the heat low enough that the butter doesn't burn--I just raise/lower the skillet from the flame to control the heat (we carry 2 Century stove heads and the 16.4 oz. propane bottles--a little heavy but absolutely dependable). You can add a little butter as you cook. When the filets are done I remove them, pour a little lemon juice into the pan (I use "True Lemon", crystallized lemon juice which comes in packets that I buy at the local Whole Earth-type store), maybe add a little more butter and spice rub, cook it down ("reduce" it) for a couple minutes, then pour over the filets. That's Uncle Ben's wild rice mix on the plate also--good stuff that only requires about 5 minutes cooking time.

I am going to try that on my trip this summer.

Thanks alot!

T