Thinking about entering Hog Creek and go west to Bald Eagle, North through Clearwater and Rock Island to Two, and then east and south to Kawishiwi. Hike to car. Probably enter late in day on a (last in this September) Saturday and take out the following Saturday morning or noon. One map suggest 73.7 miles (or 90.6 with double portage) and a total time (with my estimated rates plugged in) of 41 hr 34 min. We can usually average 10-12 miles a day but the Rock Island leg is reported iffy or at least tough and we have a 2.5 mi hike to car at end. And no way to short cut without what would seem to be a worse bushwhack out of Quadaga or Isabella to Three or Hudson. Just a route that has attracted me.

Crazy for first week in October?
Water levels in Isabella Creek this fall?
Anyone know if the old portage (on old maps) from Kawishiwi Lake to Parent Lake is a sane thing to attempt a bushwhack?

(Maybe this is the year and time of year to do a Mudro entry instead. Never been there. Or decide while driving north.)

Sounds ambitious. Never been there.

Love Mudro. Always have. Always will.

Late fall should be GORGEOUS!

There's a tiny bit of advice about the old portage from Perent to Kawishiwi and that general route in this thread.

I saved a couple of old maps from 1929 and 1986 in my photo gallery. I also just looked on google maps for the recent sat images and don't see much except maybe a few old scars of a trail closer to Perent. If you use Google Earth, you can get back to imagery from 1991 that is in black and white. There may be a variety of trails in the area between the two lakes at that point in time. But none is obvious all the way from one lake to the other.

I think this would be best to try as a day trip without a canoe and see if it is remotely possible. Even if you can find a route it is 2 miles as the crow flies.

I think if we try it best to start at Hog Creek and end at Kawishiwi or opposite, and walk road.

Well probably decide on drive north.

The loop could be hard if there was much bad weather. Probably need to be on Clearwater for night 3 of 7 or turn around.

Thanks.

I agree. The road will be much easier. It might even be faster if you started on Perent Lake, paddled to the EP, and then walked the road to Kawishiwi as compared to bushwhacking between the two lakes.

Suggest the walk. A 2.5 walk is easily handled in less than an hour and amounts to not much in the way of time in the grand scheme of things.

It was simply a slight preference to start and end loop closer to Ely but doesn't seem feasible. Thanks.

You could start and end near Ely and portage on the road. It’s October and so there is no issue with leaving and entering the wilderness and needing permits...

Been some years, but I've done that route a couple times. Note, though, that it was before the Pagami Fire. Think Rock Island is in a PMA and you could get a permit to stay there, in case the portage up to get there is as messed up as I have heard it is... (Weasel Lake PMA, zone 2) Before the fire, it was a nice trail that started off a sand beach at east end of Clearwater. I recall a campsite on the east side of Rock Island... Caught only small pike in that lake, but some good fishing on the other lakes you travel coming from Bald Eagle.
We would enter at Hog Creek, but sometimes shuttled the car up to park at Kawishiwi and walked the road back to Hog Creek on the day of put-in. Or walk down to Hog Creek and bring up the car when you come out. It takes a little while but is no big deal. It was a nice route, with some challenge on those portages out of Bald Eagle and up.