Hi fellow BWCA members. I am looking for insight on the difficulty of certain portages as one of my crew broke a bone in his foot and is wearing a walking boot.
Our entry point is #23 Mudro Lake on May 25.

Can anyone comment on the difficulty of the three portages to Horse Lake? How about what looks to be three river portages to Fourtown Lake. If neither of those is doable, I am looking at Fall Lake #24.

Can anyone comment on the difficulty of the portages to Newton Lake and the one at Pipestone Falls? Thanks!

The portages into Fourtown are relatively short but a couple of them are like incredibly rocky goat paths. If your friend isn't carrying a heavy load I imagine it would be doable, all would depend on their pain tolerance I would assume.

The portage from Mudro to Sandpit is a bit steep and will get your heart going, but after that they're easy to Horse. The portages to Fourtown are definitely rocky with some steep-ish landings, but overall they're not that hard, just technical with footing, especially the first one out of Mudro which is basically a boulder field.

Given "the boot" I'd say the Horse route would be easier. The Fourtown portages are probably a little more technical than I'd want to deal with given a boot.

A walking boot/cast is meant for getting around the house, or maybe a trip to office or the grocery store. To heal properly your friend should sit this one out.

I'm sure we'll hear that someone hiked the Appalachian Trail in a walking cast, but the risk of re-injury of an unhealed break is definitely higher when you are pushing beyond the ability of your gear to protect your foot.

That said, if he must go, I would suggest a portage-less trip. Brule, Seagull and Saganaga come to mind. Basswood would be nice with only one easy portage(Prairie Portage).

Thanks for the guidance!

I don’t know your friend’s specific situation so this is only opinion, but I do work in health care so have seen people screw things up making assumptions way too many times…for what it’s worth.

Your friend needs to talk to the provider that issued the boot and SPECIFICALLY tell them what they intend to do. Don’t assume they will understand.

1. He will be entering and exiting a canoe on uneven and slippery ground
2. He will be walking 3 miles of portages to get to Horse Lake on uneven, rocky, slippery, muddy, hilly ground.

T

If you haven't done so already? You might poke around on the maps section of bwca.com. You can scroll around & then just click on the yellow lines for portage info or the red dots for campsites.

The portages from Fall to Newton and Newton to Pipestone Bay are among the easiest in the BWCA. They are both wide, gently sloping paths with decent landings at both ends. Combine that with the fact that EP24 is a boat ramp and your trip partner can walk 25 steps from the car to the canoe, this is a strong option for a gentle trip. That being said, I'm not sure I'd want to go anywhere with a walking boot in muddy conditions. Good luck and take your time!

The Fall Lake entry is a good for sure. Both portages to Basswood allow portage wheels. You could roll your buddy over the portages! Basswood is a huge, scenic lake offering lots of good fishing opportunities.

As someone who has had to wear a "walking Boot Cast" on 2 seperate occasions/injuries I have to say don't even try it. The boot completely immobilizes
the ankle from any movement making walking on any sort of uneven ground
really difficult. Or getting out of a canoe at a takeout for a portage very
difficult.
I wouldn't even consider going on a trip myself or taking someone who
was wearing a boot cast on a trip. Especially on the portages from 4 Town to Mudro or the Horse river portages. During low water there are a lot more
than 3 portages required on Horse river and they are over a lot of big rocks
that may move when you step on them.
Jus sayin'
Larry

I strongly suggest going portageless. Some of the portages like those into Fourtown are very slippery even when dry. When wet, with a boot on, and carrying whatever, it is a disaster waiting to happen. For this trip I would avoid almost all but the flattest and simplest routes. And I would be extremely careful around camp when walking on solid rock. Good luck.

I would not attempt the Horse River in a boot. Depending on water levels you will face a lot of rocks and slippery areas with small, rocky landings. The Fall Lake route is FAR easier portage wise. I also would second those who suggest going portage less or extremely easy portaging. In a pinch you could get a tow to Basswood. That would get your friend over PP in one of the vehicles. An outfitter could even get the tow close to an island site. Bottom line is getting and out of a canoe with a boot on almost any portage, save those with sand beaches can be a challenge for anyone. Plus your friend with the boot probably can’t or shouldn’t carry much.

Just chiming in here to add to the chorus. Mudro to Fourtown is full of ankle breakers (first portage) and what I'd call technical portaging (2nd portage). Getting to Horse Lake would be fine if you could get through that as there is a small portage next to a campsite at the east side of Fourtown if the water is low and a very gentle portage into Horse after the nameless lake between FT and Horse, but there is no chance I'd go with someone on the Horse River who was in a walking boot. That whole trip is a disaster waiting to happen, and it only takes one small mistake in some tough portaging to immobilize that person and significantly increase the work and risk that the rest of the group will undertake. I would highly advise that you consider taking this off your route list for this year.

OP didn't mention doing the Horse River so I'm not sure where people got the idea. There are 3 portages from Mudro to Horse which is, I believe, what they were inquiring about. I do agree though that the Horse River is no place for someone with limited foot mobility.

Been there, done that, just had surgery this winter to repair the damage

One other option would be Moose to Ensign. Portages aren’t too bad. I also apologize for misunderstanding you were doing Horse River as opposed to Horse Lake. Even then those portages can be a challenge in a boot. Going north you have one portage that ends in a long walk on a plank walkway. It is no big deal just walking but I wouldn’t want to do it in a boot. The Fourtown portage back to Mudro would be downright crazy in a boot. I also am assuming the boot will need to stay dry, so no wet footing. That will make exiting and entering the canoe a challenge. I suppose you could do the tourist thing of running it up on shore, but that can get interesting and is not good for the boat plus he still has to get in and out. If you have access to a canoe and your friend is nearby you could always take a short trip on a nearby lake. I once had a kid on a trip accidentally tip a pot of boiling water on his foot. After tending the burn I wanted to be sure he didn’t contaminate it so I kept him out of the water and had a plastic bag on his foot. Not something I would want to do again.

A walking boot/cast is meant for getting around the house, or maybe a trip to office or the grocery store. To heal properly your friend should sit this one out.

I'm sure we'll hear that someone hiked the Appalachian Trail in a walking cast, but the risk of re-injury of an unhealed break is definitely higher when you are pushing beyond the ability of your gear to protect your foot.

That said, if he must go, I would suggest a portage-less trip. Brule, Seagull and Saganaga come to mind. Basswood would be nice with only one easy portage(Prairie Portage).


This man speaks the truth.