Due to scheduling SNAFU this years solo will be in October...if at all.

I"ve done October trips before, so I know weather wise what I am signing up for. What I don't know is how much traffic I can expect at busy entry points. I know I can pick any single permit per day lake and have a great trip but, I've never been to the likes of the number chain, Fall, ect and am thinking about giving it a try. There must be something appealing about these places to make so many people want to go, but with all the people in mid summer I'd never find out. In October, however, there should be significantly less traffic. How much traffic should I expect?

I did a mid October trip some years back through Mudro. Usually the parking lot is completely full just about everyday during the summer. When we arrived, there were 3 other cars in the lost. First day we saw one group. The next three days we saw nobody. We stayed on Horse and then up through Moosecamp, Gun, Fairy, Boot, and out through Fourtown. Our car was the only one in the lot when we exited.

I recall a great northern lights display in October enjoyed from Lake Two, right at the passage from Lake One to Lake Two. Saw a few people going through, but it was not at all busy.

I do the popular EPS in October. Maybe a dozen cars at Lake One. I think we saw a couple landing as we launched but otherwise rarely saw anyone. My favorite time to go.

In October, I take clothing/gear for down to 10 F /-12 C and yak tracks, as an inch of freezing rain followed by two inches of powder would be almost impossible to move in.

I love going in October. It's much easier to feel like you are really remote. On those popular lakes that you would expect to be 80-100% occupied in July and August, you will likely find are 0-20% occupied in October. The leaves are changing, the moose might just still be in rut, early darkness makes campfires more enjoyable, and the fishing should be good.

Thanks a bunch for the info. I'm looking into Snowbank to Lake one in mid October.

If launching on a weekend, watch the weather report. If it's going to be gorgeous, you will have "weekenders" on your entry point lake or one portage in. After that, you'll likely see very few people.

I did a mid October trip out of Mudro 2 years ago. I had perfect weather. Had I gone a week earlier I would have had suck weather. You never know.