Got it narrowed down to two entry points for mid September 10-12 day trip. Lizz Lake Sawbill Lake. 66 years old, beginner/intermediate paddler. Not a fisherman. Looking for solitude, fairly easy portage’s. Should a canoe selection influence my decision that much? One outfitter offers a Canak, which is closer to what I have used out here on the west coast. Where is there less likely to be crowds?

I have done a few trips in an old Bell RobRoy which is similar to a Canak. It is nice in the wind and handles ruff water well but a disadvantage when packing gear in it and for portaging. I prefer a canoe of similar size.

Tough to find real solitude anywhere in B'dub. It's irrelevant - it's all good.
The outfitter there should have the solo to suit you.
I wish Lizz was about 10X longer. It's such a beautiful peaceful paddle.
You'll be in a great area with many trip possibilities.
Check out your maps for a camp site at a dead end bay. It really limits the traffic.

I owned a Canack and did a couple of BW trips with it. It paddles great in the wind and choppy conditions. But because of the partial deck, I found loading and unloading durning portages a bit of a pain.I used a Kondos Outfitter special pack which is one of the more narrow packs and it barely fit behind me. Also I rarely used the removable deck covers. Again a bit of a pain to use.You'll need to use one of those higher detachable yokes because of the center pedestal bucket seat. It goes on and off easily, but the canoe is high off your shoulders causing a less stable portage and I was scraping branches constantly. Because of the partial deck it weighs 40+ pounds. The disadvantages of the deck outweigh the advantages.I don't recommend it. I use a Northstar Northwind Solo (29lbs) now and highly recommend it.

Solitude is available after a few long portages. Going out of Sawbill there are a number or routes, but for solitude I would suggest this one.

http://www.sawbill.com/www/planning/sug_routes/louse_river/index.cfm

There will be some traffic until you reach Malberg, but once beyond there I did 3 days and only saw one other person. Because this is such a remote area I wouldn't do it solo (anymore) without a SPOT or other emergency beacon of some sort.

Goat

When I solo it seems solitude follows me wherever I go. On portages all alone, drifting down unused bays just to study the shoreline and sitting alone at night staring at the horizon. The sense of aloneness is always present so bumping a few folks now and again doesn’t bother me at all. It probably bothers them since I get pretty talkative after a few days of being alone!

I'd agree to just skip the Canak and get a solo canoe. Like Blatz, I like the Northstar Northwind Solo. You'll be fine in that (or similar) and it will easier.

I assume you're not interested in doing a portage like the Lujenida-Zenith portage out of Sawbill to get solitude, or even anything remotely like that . . . ?

You can have a good trip out of either one, but I think you'd have more and easier options out of Lizz, with a better chance of having some [relative] solitude.

You’re helping my attitude. Thanks.u.

If you go in Lizz to Horseshoe, it's a nice lake, but sometimes a little busier. There used to be a lot of bald eagles there when I was there in 2012, but didn't see any last year. Late in the fall, there were a lot of golden tamaracks around the area.

It will be quieter if you head west towards Omega; the northern site there is one like Karl was talking about - dead end bay. It was a nice campsite when I was there in 2012 - elevated with a nice view. West of Kiskadinna to Long Island is tougher portaging.

If you go south from Horseshoe, you can go to Vista. It was busier last fall than I expected it to be. You could go east towards Lux and Carl for a little more quiet.

You can also get south to Misquah without much trouble, but the portage to Little Trout is long and tough.

Gaskin and Winchell are nice lakes, but also a little more popular.

You could also go from Pillsberry up to Meeds. A lot of these you could do as day trips and maybe just walk some of the longer, tougher portages to get an idea of them.

Thanks. Very helpful. Leaning towards that route.

In 2012 I had Rockwood Outfitters shuttle me to EP #50, Cross Bay, and came across Muskeg, Kiskadinna, Omega, Henson, Pillsberry, Allen, to Horseshoe.

2012 Trip Report has some information and pictures that will give you some ideas about the area.

Here's 2017 trip report down to Vista, etc. you might also find helpful.

Starting your trip with a tow will help you achieve more solitude. However, I am wondering, what your idea of solitude is. That late in the season will help a lot. But, I suspect you will have more than you expect.

GraniteCliffs: "When I solo it seems solitude follows me wherever I go. On portages all alone, drifting down unused bays just to study the shoreline and sitting alone at night staring at the horizon. The sense of aloneness is always present so bumping a few folks now and again doesn’t bother me at all. It probably bothers them since I get pretty talkative after a few days of being alone!"

+1 I found myself chatting with just about anyone that would listen after 3+ days without seeing a soul. The solitude was great, but I agree, it doesn’t take much to find yourself alone on a lake, even in July and August.

Boonies 2012 route would be a good one. Mostly small water, short and easy portages, going with the predominate direction of the wind on the longer lakes. I went in through Lizz last September (on the 16th) and came out on the 20th. Other than running across a group on each portage the first day, we only saw one other group all week. We base camped on Gaskin. In my opinion you will see less people on the Gunflint side than on Sawbill. Also many more choices of lakes for day trips and more campsites to choose from. I did 3 trips of of Sawbill in 2015 and 2016, it's one of my favorite entries. I really think that Sawbill Outfitters is top-notch, the campground is great, and the lake is beautiful. You may also want to look at EP 37 Kawishiwi which is right down the road as well, close to Sawbill. The Lady Lake Chain would be a good route for you allowing you to spend 2 -3 nights at each camp along the way. It does have a several long portages however. You picked two really good choices. I'm leaning towards the Gunflint side. Rockwood is great to work with. You can either start right from Rockwood and paddle across Poplar into Lizz or they will drop a canoe off at Cross Bay EP for you. They have a bunkhouse and the Trail Center is just a few minutes down the road. Grab a nice meal and some Camp Chow freeze dried food for the trip.