All,

We're working on a possible trip later this summer and one of our group members is concerned about their knee holding them back. The goal is a 6-7 day trip, but with several days in the middle of relaxing. We're not looking to push ourselves to cover lots of ground every day. We're early in the planning stages, but wanted to ask an open-ended question:

Where would you recommend NOT taking our group to avoid the horrendous portages? Conversely, where do you like that is still a solid trip and has only low to moderately challenging portages?

For reference it sounds like the biggest concern by this group member is slippery surfaces like mud or lots of exposed, slanted rock surfaces. In camp is one thing, we can manage. But on a portage with packs I can see the concern.

Thanks in advance!

Knife or Basswood

How bad is the knee? Sounds like there is time for PT unless they know they have repairs that need to be done. I went up with a bad knee this year. ktape and advil. Toughest part was sitting in a canoe fishing. We had some younger bucks along to carry the heavy packs.

Your choices for EPs this year may be limited, but moose entry into knife with a tow is a good option as mentioned.

Yeah, a tow on Moose and head toward will have you on 5 or 6 portages the first day if you go all the way on Day 1. (most do but not a requirement) All pretty easy and good landings for the most part, very well traveled.

Where NOT to go....Mudro to Fourtown portages. Or down the Horse river. Lots of other places but those come to mind right away.

Moose River North is pretty easy, Little Indian Sioux N is easy start. I've never been but I've heard the Granite River route (magnetic entry to Saganaga/trails end) is a nice one and not hard portages.

The tow into Knife would be my recommendation. Then you can hang around knife fish & explore.
Another idea is to go to Big Sag and come out of Seagull or vice versa. Easy portages and a lot of water to explore.
Or you could just spend a week on Basswood there's plenty of area to explore and fish there also.

A few years ago I did the Lady Lake Chain wearing a knee brace and the portages weren't bad. I agree with Adam, the hardest part for me was sitting in the canoe, and getting out of the canoe when it was stiff.

Sleep in a hammock, take lots of Aleve, and some good bourbon. I’ve got a bum knee and it works for me.

How about using Hiking Poles? You are probably not putting this member under a canoe for the portages. A quick check of REI show pairs for as little as $60 and as much as $160ish.

Would help keep balance and some pressure off the knee. It is harder on a knee going downhill and the hiking poles can be extended to help with this. The rocky portage ends are also problematic.

Hope you have a good trip.

I agree that landings are where a knee is probably worse than just walking the actual portage. Yes some have some off-camber and steep sections, but there's 2 landings to every portage....I'd be more worried about jagged/nasty landings than the hiking part.

I will chime in as I got first knee replacement surgery on Feb 16 and 2nd knee replacement surgery on March 19th ... too many miles on them playing basketball into my 40’s and competitive running for 15 years. Then I fell in a ground hog hole on a farm and had all of the cartilage taken out of my right knee. Knee replacement was my only solution to help with the pain.

The renowned knee doc in Chicago Performing minimal invasive surgery doesn’t take Medicare and I retired June 5th. So I went ahead and “got er done” so my company insurance would cover. Very happy with the surgery and rehab so far.

I have been to Quetico every year since 1979 and I just had to go up north this summer. Rahab went well but I decided it best to do a 14 day “NO PORTAGE” or minimal BWCA trip over the 4th of July ( Canada Border is closed). Got the ok from Orthopadic surgeon.

Myself and 2 other seasoned veterans took a Anderson shuttle from Crane Lake to Snow Bay on Lac La Croix. We also camped in Tiger Bay and Fish Stake Narrows. Knees did well but had to get out of the canoe after 2 1/2 hours to stretch my knees. Although my knees were strong, I made the decision to forgo portaging into some side lakes like Toe and Talcumich Lakes. I felt that I didn’t have the balance yet to handle a 75 lb pack. I just didn’t want to risk taking a fall as my surgeon said “ whatever you do ... just don’t take a fall on your new knees”. Took a prescription and 2 Advil’s every night to help with inflammation and pain. In

Thumerian, I am not sure how bad the persons knee is in your group but only he knows what he can and can’t handle.

If his knee is unstable I would recommend big lakes like Lac La Croix or Basswood for a No Portaging alternative. If your guy is up to it you can help him with his Heavy pack and do some side lakes or even just do some day trips on some side lakes without heavy packs.

I have always been one to go deep into the Center of Quetico to get away from the crowds and enjoy better fishing ... but this years trip to Lac La Croix was a great alternative and easy on my knees.

Wallee has said that there is great fishing in Lac La Croix and he was right.

I got a nice laker on Snow Bay fishing 40 feet down in 105 feet of water.

Keep the weight off his back, only have him carry a light pack. Paddles or hiking pole for balance. No carrying a pack into or out of the water at landings. If you have a lot of rain and wet portages, spend more time fishing and less time traveling so pick a route that is flexible. Getting out and walking during the day is important, though. Just sitting and paddling all day can result in more discomfort.

Michwall2: "How about using Hiking Poles? You are probably not putting this member under a canoe for the portages. A quick check of REI show pairs for as little as $60 and as much as $160ish.


Would help keep balance and some pressure off the knee. It is harder on a knee going downhill and the hiking poles can be extended to help with this. The rocky portage ends are also problematic.


Hope you have a good trip.



"

This is a very good suggestion. When we took the trip with HoHo and David in 2012, David loaned me his trekking poles! They were a big help on portages (where I carried one backpack with my photo equipment) and also on latrine trails, which are often steep. Sometimes those of us who have two good knees tend to only think of portages, but camp situations can be a problem, too. Anything that requires squatting, rough ground, trails to the latrine. . .all of this adds to the pain and sometimes unsteadiness, too.

What has been said about coming down an incline being worse than going up is very true. My orthopedist sent me to a prosthetic/brace place when I began having knee issues and I was fitted with strong knee braces that had a metal hinge. They were awkward to put on and take off, but I think they made my last ten or so trips a lot safer and less painful. Have had both knees replaced now, but unfortunately have other issues that preclude canoe-tripping.

Canoe-tripping with bad knees is difficult, but there are ways to make it easier. Don't be afraid to suggest help for your friend. And I would also second the comments about unloading and loading at portages. If the person with the bad knee wants to carry a pack, someone else can always lift it onto his back and help adjust it. In that way, he/she can still use the trekking poles and be safer. (For me, not carrying anything across a portage just didn't fit my style. I had to do the work, so I adjusted to make it possible.)

Brule Lake. Big Lake but you can travel many miles without a portage and the entry is at the parking lot.

At the risk of sounding negative, I would suggest you plan for a worst case scenario (and I'll leave that up to your imagination), with a plan to get him back safely. I guess that is what we all should do whenever we head up to the Great North!

I ALWAYS take a Mueller knee brace with me. I've used it on one trip out of the 6 that I've brought it on, but worth it.

Appreciate all the responses and tips from everyone. We have a lot to consider, like a lot of other things with planning this trip. We'll see how she feels after reading the thoughts above and with how her knee and PT/rehab are going and go from there. I suspect the portages will, in the end, be less of a concern than spending many hours a day in the canoe. We're not fussed about pushing hard for the first two days then relaxing once we're further in, hoping that'll give her knee time to relax after getting to a sort of basecamp and perhaps she skips a day trip if there's a particularly nasty portage.

Thanks again.