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 Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Trip Planning Forum Reply
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| Previous Messages: | |
| Author | Message Text |
| MichiganMan |
03/15/2020 08:26PM I will if he doesn't. Grummans are all I've taken in many trips to the Quetico. |
| HowardSprague |
03/15/2020 10:17AM Stumpy will probably pitch in and say "every route is a Grumman route!" :) |
| adam |
03/13/2020 02:49PM I have given up on trying to single portage, e.g. take a pack and canoe at the same time as it doesn't make sense. As long as you have decent yoke pads, the canoe by itself can go anywhere. I tend to do a leap frog portage of one person bringing a pack or canoe half way over while the other person brings a pack all the way over. They come back for the canoe/pack at the midpoint while they other person goes back for the last pack. This assumes 2 people and 2 packs per canoe. |
| TRadam |
03/13/2020 02:44PM Fiberglass too! |
| inspector13 |
03/10/2020 10:21AMNotSoFast: "Couple years ago, wife and I made a spur-of-the-moment fall trip. We're middle-aged, not terribly fit. Our Kevlar canoe needed repairs so we brought the "rock boat," which weighs at least 80 lbs. It was a load to carry toward the end of each day, but didn't cause us to modify the trip other than resting on a couple of long portages. If I had to use it again I don't think I'd let it prevent me from paddling whatever route I preferred." Un de plus. Around 20 years ago we took a 90lb fiberglass canoe through the Weasel Lake PMA. (The old Rock Island Lake route) |
| NotSoFast |
03/10/2020 05:43AM Couple years ago, wife and I made a spur-of-the-moment fall trip. We're middle-aged, not terribly fit. Our Kevlar canoe needed repairs so we brought the "rock boat," which weighs at least 80 lbs. It was a load to carry toward the end of each day, but didn't cause us to modify the trip other than resting on a couple of long portages. If I had to use it again I don't think I'd let it prevent me from paddling whatever route I preferred. |
| jwartman59 |
03/09/2020 10:51PM At one time, not so long ago, the entire bwca, quetico and Canada was an aluminum canoe route. |
| djwillco |
03/07/2020 07:32AM The Granite River is another good route for heavy canoes or kayaks. All short portages, put in right on Gunflint Lake, take out on Sag (no portages in and out). There's only one portage of any consequence on the route (it's 100 rods). The rest are all shortys. Good fishing too if that's something you're interested in. |
| Cricket67 |
03/05/2020 07:10AMNorthwoodsman: "EP #38 Sawbill Lake. You can stay on the lake or take very short, flat, easy portages to Kelso or to Alton, or from Alton to Kelso. You can actually do a loop. They have a terrific campground and outfitter at the EP." I will second this option...did it 5 years ago when my son was 11. Sawbill to Kelso on day one, two very short portages. Stayed on Kelso for 2 days. Moved from Kelso to the North part of Sawbill with one short portage, stayed there 2 days and the paddled back. |
| Sandman2009 |
03/04/2020 03:37PMBrule is a great lake for zero-portage-basecamping. You could even move a couple of times and get the feel of a 'loop' trip without ever leaving Brule. As on any big lake, wind can be a problem but the eastern end offers plenty of protection from the wind and the campsite near the EP is spectacular in the event that your entry day is windy." +1 Nice day trip options where you could leave most of your gear at camp when basecamping. |
| Z4K |
03/03/2020 12:35AMThedude: "On the gunflint side east bearskin,Adler, conoe, Crystal,and pierce, all have very short easy portages to them." If heading from East Bearskin to Alder be sure to use the portage in the south arm of E. Bearskin, the portage from the north arm to Alder has not been cleared in a few years. Great area. +1 for Seagull-Alpine-Red Rock-Saganaga. Make sure to take the 101 rod portage (#307) between Seagull and Alpine. Brule is a great lake for zero-portage-basecamping. You could even move a couple of times and get the feel of a 'loop' trip without ever leaving Brule. As on any big lake, wind can be a problem but the eastern end offers plenty of protection from the wind and the campsite near the EP is spectacular in the event that your entry day is windy. |
| nctry |
03/02/2020 02:42PM Not very popular, but put in at Crane Lake and enter Little Vermillion and hit that Dover Lake. I’m guessing at the name. Almost thirty years since I did that, but I don’t remember anything bad except waiting at Williams Point for the wind to die a bit before coming back across Crane. |
| Northwoodsman |
02/28/2020 09:12PM EP #38 Sawbill Lake. You can stay on the lake or take very short, flat, easy portages to Kelso or to Alton, or from Alton to Kelso. You can actually do a loop. They have a terrific campground and outfitter at the EP. |
| WHendrix |
02/28/2020 08:02PM If you can tolerate power boats you could get some portage wheels and go from Fall Lake into Basswood. There are a lot of good camping opportunities and some very good fishing there. And you can go far enough North to get beyond the boats. |
| Solotrip7Day |
02/28/2020 01:17PM Thanks, everyone for the ideas, now just to arrive there. |
| mirth |
02/27/2020 11:31AM Seagull to Alpine & Red Rock all have fairly short portages. If you go out to Sag to make it a loop then probably the portage along the road at Trail's End campground is the most difficult carry on the trip. |
| Thedude |
02/27/2020 10:56AM On the gunflint side east bearskin,Adler, conoe, Crystal,and pierce, all have very short easy portages to them. |
| bwcadan |
02/27/2020 09:09AM With that kind of weight and my advancing age, any border lake would be my preference. If you must make a portage, consider Lake One into Lake Two as the total portage distance is short and flat to boot. Lake Three and Four are actually connected by water. Another Lake which has 3 names and no portages at all is Moose Lake on the American side of the border. A couple of short portages leave moose lake including Prairie Portage into Basswood lake where you can spend as much time as you like without getting bored at all. A Q permit may be needed depending on your travel/camping plans there. |
| TominMpls |
02/27/2020 09:02AM It depends on how strong you are and how hard you like to work, just like if you had a lighter canoe. There's nothing you *can't* do with an 80 lb canoe as long as you're in shape to carry it. I expect what you're really saying is that you're looking for routes with short, flat portages. I'd say that means an Ely or Tofte entry, not a Gunflint entry. With those criteria I'd personally suggest the Fernberg Road entries - Lake One of course, or Fall Lake, Moose Lake, Snowbank, etc. Most of those allow motors, though I haven't found the motorboats to be problematic when I've done them. Some Echo Trail entries have really easy portages, but they do tend to be longer than the Fernberg entries. If you stay in the Horse / Fourtown area the portages from Mudro are pretty easy, but they definitely are long. The Tofte entries get you right on the water, but if you want to get off the initial lakes there's quite a lot of portaging in that area. Depends how much you like to move. I do think though that if you're worried about the weight of your canoe enough that you're looking to plan routes around its weight, it probably means the canoe is too heavy for you to portage, and even on short portages you'll find it a burden. Consider if your financial situation allows you to rent a kevlar canoe. At about $50 a day they aren't cheap, but in the grand scheme of trip costs it's not unreasonable, especially if it alleviates this significant source of concern for you. |
| Solotrip7Day |
02/27/2020 08:12AM Hello Having an 80lb canoe I thought I would ask if there were any routes that are Grumman friendly? With a pack and the canoe being as heavy as it is I would like easy portages if any. Any ideas from some of the seasoned paddlers? |
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