Plotting a course here

Who has gone from Fraser to Little Sag, via Sagus> Roe> Ledge> Vee> Fee> Hoe> Makwa> Elton. is that more than you'd do in a day?

I've done Makwa to the east end of Fraser in under 8 hours according to my gps track. It's rugged and remote and adventurous, and you're talking about mile or so longer than what I did, but it's definitely doable with enough daylight and an early enough start. There are campsites along the way if you come up short.

It's a long day, even single portaging. Totally possible. Sagus-Roe-Ledge is long and has spurs off those portages (one of them does) do your researhc ahead of time to stay on track.

T

Groovy, good to know. We will have to do a time check as we go, it definitely seems like a route few people undertake.

Don't know if this helps or not, but, we just did Snowbank to Thomas a few weeks ago (May 2026).

Single portaging, it took us 4.5hr from entry point to Thomas Lake.


It looks like from the middle of Fraser to the bottom of Sag is 2.7mi portaging and 6.7mi paddling. At the pace we used above, it would be about 4hrs.

So, if you've done Snowbank to Thomas, you might be able to extrapolate your pace accordingly.

Yes, that is more than I would do in a day. 2 years ago on a double-portaging solo trip I went from Little Sag to Ledge in about 5 hours. Fishing some, seeing the sights, taking pictures. All the way to Fraser would have been too much for me. I'm sure an ambitious young group that isn't easily distracted can do it in one day. I'd call that a workout though, not a vacation.

I've done Sagus to Cap and Makwa to Little Sag. Makwa to Little Sag is easy, portages in good shape. Sagus to Cap wasn't too bad. Portage out of Sagus is cool if I remember right. Portage into Cap was brushy but also pretty easy (just need to paddle further than you think into the swamp to find it). We headed south to Boulder from Cap so haven't been between there and Makwa.

If traveling solo and single portaging that would be manageable for me because I tend toward long, hard days. But when my husband and I did that route, we stayed Fee after coming from Little Sag. The second day we went to Sagus. The portage from Ledge to Cap has a fork that goes to Boulder...not every map shows it correctly. The year we did this route, the portage from Cap to Roe ended in a muddy mess. We had to portage across bogs to reach actual water we could paddle and even then it was like paddling through pea soup. Unless I know there is water in Roe, it is not a route I wish to repeat.

The portages and lakes thru there generally are not well traveled and we enjoyed the isolation.

When we returned, we went from Adams thru Boulder and then Ledge-Vee-Fee-Hoe-Makwa and stayed on Makwa. We did that in one long, rainy day.

Great feedback, sounds like it could be a slog! I will be going from west to east when we do this so hopefully we can find a spot in the middle if we are exhausted. Looking for exactly the kind of solitude being described here. But who knows, weather may end up changing our route anyway, all plans are just plans until you hit the water!

afromaniac: "But who knows, weather may end up changing our route anyway, all plans are just plans until you hit the water! "

So true! On our trip we actually had a PMA permit and had planned to cut north from Roe. However, the low water and crazy winds made it impossible for us to reach the creek into Raven. We paddled as hard as we could thru the mud and then a wind gust would just send us flying back again. Finally gave up and just went to Sagus.

I've paddled most parts of this route, and it's some quality solitude for sure! If you like that sort of thing, as I do, I recommend stopping along the way.

Here's a trip report that covers part of it....not in the order you are planning, but it still gives you some info.


type 2 fun

Thank you for this! Great trip, and boy oh boy, noting the time it took you to get from Ledge to Hoe is unbelievably valuable to us. Do you remember if you were double/triple/single portaging during this? Also holy smokes I hope some day I get 15 spare days to do a trip like this!

We double portage. I think on this portage we took the first 2 packs half way, then went back for canoe and second pack, and leapfrogged like that.

Definitely find a way to do a long trip like this...it's amazing to have such a big reset for my brain. This year we are doing a big loop up from Moose River to the border and back.

I highly recommend stopping on Ledge or Fee for a night. Both campsites are very nice, and you'll get to soak up the silence without anyone for miles except beavers and loons.