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schweady
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Plenty deep for enjoyable paddling. It would get shallow and there would be a portage, all convenient-like. No worries.
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Maverick
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Agree with Outdoors. First portage is longer than you'd think, although it is all down hill from the parking lot and is an easy hike. The turns on the Snake, never seem to end. Feels like the twilight zone as you always think you are to the last turn but aren't. We counted them on the way out and there were around 20 turns.
We did this in August 07, which was a low water season. There was a fireban on as well. We had no problems with the creek. I know it was a concern of mine and I couldn't get good info from many people. We did it kind of last minute and just said what the heck.
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wkdoit
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The Snake is open all the time. The portage to it is way longer than listed, but who cares. The portages are easy and it's a mellow way to get in to the BW. It takes alot longer than you think it will to get to Bald Eagle. Twisty and turny. You will be rewarded with a very nice area to explore and fish. Good luck.
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ILikePike
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outdoors, how deep was the river at the time and was it a dry summer?
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ILikePike
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how deep was it?
can someone email me for more details on the snake river portages. thanks
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schweady
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Yeah, somehow (probably reading old posts on this site..?) I was made aware of the mismarkings before our 2004 trip, and was all gung-ho to chart the 'real' portages and such on a gps (it was the first time I ever brought one in, I think). Well, it was an old Garmin 45XL (no mapping capabilities), and combining that with being a newbie with using a gps and some pull-arounds or -thrus in low water, I didn't really get a good overall map of how different it really was... It wasn't a real biggie, tho.
I think troutbreath has nailed it as far as the sides of the river the portages are on. They didn't always show up real obviously, as I recall.
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troutbreath
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The challenge with the snake is that when you are entering the BWCA, as soon as you walk over the foot bridge that crosses the Snake, bear to the right. The entry point is an old roadbed and a well developed trail continues on from the entry point to well past the most downstream portage (don't ask how I KNOW this!) The carry in is long but easy and the others are not hard either. However, THEY WERE MARKED WRONG ON BOTH FISHER AND MCKENZIE MAPS IN 2006. You enter from the river left and the first portage downstream is on river right. The last portage on the Snake is on river right. Going in you should have no problem but we went in from the Little Isabella and because of the poorly marked maps took a really long walk on the way out.
TB
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Merganser
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Never done Snake... did Little Isabella in July of 06. Water on the Isabella River was low. I remember a gravel/rock bar with a rapid on the north end that we had to line over because it was so low. That was the only problem though. Lots of beaver dams...
This area is nice. Good wildlife oportunties if you move quietly. Both of these are narrow twisty rivers and you will paddle quite a few more miles than you will cover on the map.
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schweady
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We went in on the Snake during the first week of August 2004. Sorry, no pictures. It was plenty of water for the most part, but be prepared for portages and pull-thrus in places not marked on any map, depending on water level. I think we were out of our canoes 4-5(?) times while on the river.
Constant bends... Yes, it's a river that lives up to its name. All in all, a very pleasant way into Bald Eagle Lake.
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ILikePike
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Anyone have some pictures of the river and/or portages? how deep and wide is it? if it is a dry summer, can we still go through it in early august?
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greenydd
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i too, would like some info on the snake. someday id like to try it.
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outdoors4me
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We did it last August with no problems at all. The portage from the parking lot to the put-in is much farther than most maps show and the twists and turns in the Snake seem to go on for much longer than you would think they should. It is a nice trip - different scenery than most areas that I've been.
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