New Trip Report posted by tmccann

Trip Name: The Circle Tour.

Entry Point: 31

Click Here to View Trip Report

Just read about this on https://queticosuperior.org/blog/paddling-through-history-canoe-crew-retraces-historic-boundary-waters-loop/

Excellent trip! Great to see that perhaps that portage is doable in the future. 3.5 hours for 2 miles of unmaintained portage seems pretty good.

Also cool that you saw Saw-whet owl and Lapland Longspur!

Yes, lots of migratory birds were seen. The longspurs were actually standing on lily pads in the Isabella River.

The long portage had a lot of use prior to the 1960’s and in many places, the portage path is worn deep into the soil. Use the GPS coordinates to locate the beginning. Once you get on shore, you’ll have no trouble following it.

I really enjoyed the report and the history of that area and portage. Thanks for taking time to let us know about the wonders of the area.

tmccann: "New Trip Report posted by tmccann

Trip Name: The Circle Tour.

Entry Point: 31


Click Here to View Trip Report"

RE:
Coordinates for Kawishiwi end: 47.835704, -91.104914 Coordinates for Perent end: 47.813140, -91.120141


Tom,
I and a friend are planning to do this route in August (starting at Lake One and going counter-clockwise).
Could you tell me what coordinate system you are using for your coordinates for the Perent end of the portage. When I simply drop the coordinates into Google maps or Google Earth, they both show a point a bit into the wilderness. I was assuming your coordinates would be closer to the shore of Perent Lake... But maybe the location in the attached picture is indeed in the right neighborhood? Any guidance you might have for finding the south end of the portage would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Randy

P.S. ignore the label on the point on the picture... Not to be confused with Lake One...

Just returned from trip, give you a response tomorrow.

The Datum used is NAD 83. Coordinates entered into Avenza went to correct m p location.

Thanks!

Hey, hold on a minute... The coordinates shown at the top of the map image you just posted are not the same as the coordinates cited in the original article.

from the article: Perent end: 47.813140, -91.120141.
translates in DMS to 47° 48' 47.304", -91° 7' 12.5076"

yet the numbers at the top of the map image posted
are 47° 48' 45.6", -91° 7' 19.4" (a few seconds different). These coordinates would translate back to 47.81267, -91.12206. Which are correct?

I can easily just follow the map in the picture if that's a good indicator of the start of the portage.


Sorry to be a pest.

Randy

Greetings - the minor differences in coordinate presentation format will make no difference. Enjoy the trip!

Sorry for my confusion. But I'm not talking about format of the coordinates. I'm observing that the coordinates in the article (in whatever format) are not the same as those shown on the map image you sent this morning.

I'm asking which of the two are correct.

If it is easier to talk on the phone, I can be reached at (847) 341-0618.
Don't want to consume a bunch of your time.

Thanks

Thinking about this further, I'd guess your original coordinates are probably the correct ones. They show only about 65 feet from the shore which seems reasonable for a GPS. The other set (taken from the top of the map snippet you posted earlier today) may simply be off (they differ by about 500' from the original coordinates).

Thanks for your responses. I'm really looking forward to the trip!

Randy

I just read the David Backes biography of Sigurd Olson and I believe that it was in that book that he mentions a chance meeting of Arthur Carhart and Sig (I think) when Carhart was on the Circle Tour trip. Two future giants of conservation.

Carhart met Sig on Seagull Lake later during the summer of 1921. He and Soderbeck took three long trips that summer: Circle Tour, west to Lac LaCroix and east to Sag-Seagull. Sig would have been 20 yes old and Carhart was 28.

In June of 2022 at the Perent Lake end of the portage, someone gathered a lot of dead balsam and piled it up there presumably for easy access to firewood. Maybe it’s gone by now. The portage starts at a nice rock ledge. If the fuelwood pile is still there, get on land a few feet to the west.

Just wondering why you intend a counterclockwise route direction?

tmccann: "Carhart met Sig on Seagull Lake later during the summer of 1921. He and Soderbeck took three long trips that summer: Circle Tour, west to Lac LaCroix and east to Sag-Seagull. Sig would have been 20 yes old and Carhart was 28.

Thanks for clarifying.

Thanks for the extra tips! As for our counterclockwise direction plan, it wasn't a strong consideration. Our entry point is at Lake One (not Farm Lake) and we've paddled the northern half of the route multiple times and figured we'd paddle the "new stuff" first and evaluate extensions to the route if we are ahead of schedule after a few days. I think there are probably more opportunities to extend or do side trips on the northern half of the route.


Thanks again.

Just returned from our trip this afternoon. My paddling partner and I did the loop in a counter-clockwise direction starting at Lake One in 8 days. Water levels seemed pretty low. We were able to easily find the start of the big portage on the Perent Lake side without use of the GPS (but did check the L/L after finding the portage - right on). The portage was pretty tough and the whole loop had quite a few portages albeit generally pretty short. We cut a few down trees away from the path and finished it in about 3 1/2 hours. We saw plenty of moose droppings on the Perent-Kiwishiwi portage trail but no moose. We also found a multi-tool on the trail (if anyone lost one, we'll happily send it to you). We went pretty fast on the first half of the loop (Lake One to Polly) and did some side trips after that to use up extra time we had and exited as scheduled rather than a day early. Total route length was 104 miles.

thanks for the stimulus!

Randy

A good follow up would be to read the Arthur Carhart biography called Wilderness Prophet written by Tom Wolfe. Glad to know others are doing the Circle Tour.

Nice report!