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jdevries
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I wouldn't want to do the Wood or Little Gabbro portages immediately after a marathon. My first thought was a Fall Lake entry and up into Pipestone Bay somewhere. Short drive from Ely, no portage from parking lot to put in, and 2 very easy 80 rod portages. My 2nd thought was Mudro into Horse or Fourtown. A bit longer of a drive, a short portage to the put in, and then 3 portages with at least one of them being pretty tough thrown in regardless of which way you go.
JD
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jdevries
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Glad you had fa good trip and a good race. Have a great time at Chicago, that is my all time worst marathon....and all time favorite marathon. The crowd is 3 people thick, both sides of the street, for the entire route. I think Chinatown, somewhere around mile 18, was my favorite neighborhood.
JD
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MN_Lindsey
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HowardSprague: "The Wood Lake EP might meet your specifications."
+1 On paper that one looks like a good choice.
Otherwise maybe Little Gabbro towards Bald Eagle?
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TominMpls
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The marathon was great! I thought the community really came out for it and did a nice job with it, and of course the course was a lot of fun. The start at Camp du Nord was really fun - very different from a normal marathon and very Ely. It was a gorgeous day and I really enjoyed pacing the race. I'm kind of tempted to race it next year and try to win it...
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VoyageurNorth
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Sounds like at least you got in a day/night trip and enjoyed yourself. How was the marathon?
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Banksiana
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Burntside. Beautiful lake no permit, many of the campsites have picnic tables.
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egknuti
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What about Lake One? No portaging necessary. Isabella Lake has a short portage, could be doable.
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TominMpls
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GraniteCliffs: "I have done quite a few marathons. I would not contemplate, ever, going canoeing for any distance the same day as the race! My legs would cramp and I would always just want to sleep or at least nap off and on in the afternoon. I would look for a hotel with a whirlpool, a bed and food you do not have to cook yourself--- or portage. On the other hand everyone is different. You must have more Sisu than I do!
"
Haha, thanks but I'm the 3:55 pacer. I run a lot of marathons, and this is a gig for me, not a race. I certainly would recommend that nobody *racing* a marathon attempt going into the woods solo later the same day.
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Captn Tony
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I think I would take a tow up Moose Lake and then head out towards knife. You have a series of short portages and short paddles. Then when you get tired you can stop at any one of the lakes and set up camp. Or take a tow on Seagull then paddle across the main basin and camp in Alpine or head to Jasper or North to Red Rock Lake. You could always just stay on Seagull of course.
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AmarilloJim
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We are going for the week. A pretty leisurely trip. Will do a lot of fishing and day trip to most of the surrounding lakes. My friend is coming out on Thursday and I am exiting Saturday via Ima.
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mr.barley
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Lots of USFS campgrounds on small lakes up in that area. Free.
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HowardSprague
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The Wood Lake EP might meet your specifications.
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HowardSprague
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Well, that Wood Lake initial portage looks long on the map but it's pretty flat and easy. On the other hand, if I'd just finished a marathon you'd find me in a hotel bed watching tv with a pile of food from Culver's or someplace like that!
Snowbank, being half in the BWCA and half out, actually has some decent campsites...you could always paddle out to an island and camp there.
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OldTripper
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If you put in at Moose Lake Landing you could head up through Sucker and around the corner (east) from Prairie Portage and go towards the east end of Birch Lake. 10 miles to the first portage and some pretty nice campsites along the way.
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TominMpls
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Back in Ely. That was a fun little paddle, Fall Lake entry isn't one I'd choose for a trip but it fit the bill perfectly for a quick, short overnight. I liked the Prism in the water but what an annoying portage yoke setup - it's up way too high, which makes the canoe hard to get up and even harder to balance. Maybe I'd get used to it with more use but I wasn't a fan.
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billconner
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Enter Snowbank and head to Disappointment, by way of Parent if windy.
Or Farm - very clise to Ely - and head to Clear.
Lots of options.
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MN_Lindsey
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Tom - on an aside... are you doing the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon this year?
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TominMpls
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MN_Lindsey: "Tom - on an aside... are you doing the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon this year?" No, I'll be doing Chicago that weekend. Not expecting anything great, but it should be fun. You doing Twin Cities?
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TominMpls
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So the race was great, I hit my pace target and helped a good group of runners. Felt good so grabbed a Prism and a Fall Lake entry. Tired enough that I decided to keep it short, set up on the far north end of Newton Lake, which has cell service so I'm posting this. Thanks for lots of great advice!
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TominMpls
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AmarilloJim: "Tom I was persuaded to change to the half. A friend and I are headed toward Knife after the race (getting a tow to Indian portage around 1:30). You are welcome to join us. I can help with portaging if needed. Let me know if I need to pack an extra steak! " As I think more about it, I don't think I can make anything that close to a plan - I'll have to see how much recovery time I need after the marathon, and how I'm feeling. I'll have to play it by ear so probably best not to worry about goofing up somebody else's plan. Thanks for the great offer though, maybe see you at the race. I'll be easy to identify, what with the giant "3:55" sign.
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GraniteCliffs
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Slim Lake is also a veeerrryyy easy one nighter.
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walllee
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Big Moose
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TominMpls
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I'm considering going into the BWCA for a single night after the Ely Marathon, hitting the water some time early afternoon. My legs will be too sore for long portages, but sitting in a canoe for too long at a time would also be a bad idea, so ideally a series of short paddles and portages. Probably not looking to go too far, call it three hours of paddling, four tops, single portage.
My first thought was enter at EP30, go southwest down the Kawishiwi. BUT, I kind of hate the EP30 entry, and I've done it too much. Would be fun to go to a new EP, but it needs to be close to Ely, and meet my criteria above. I've done most of the Echo Trail entries, would prefer not to do those. Any other ideas?
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AmarilloJim
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OldTripper: "If you put in at Moose Lake Landing you could head up through Sucker and around the corner (east) from Prairie Portage and go towards the east end of Birch Lake. 10 miles to the first portage and some pretty nice campsites along the way."
This was my original plan or going to Ensign if I was doing the full.
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GraniteCliffs
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I have done quite a few marathons. I would not contemplate, ever, going canoeing for any distance the same day as the race! My legs would cramp and I would always just want to sleep or at least nap off and on in the afternoon. I would look for a hotel with a whirlpool, a bed and food you do not have to cook yourself--- or portage. On the other hand everyone is different. You must have more Sisu than I do!
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TominMpls
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egknuti: "What about Lake One? No portaging necessary. Isabella Lake has a short portage, could be doable. "
Isabella Lake is an interesting idea, how far is that to drive from Ely though?
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AmarilloJim
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Tom I was persuaded to change to the half. A friend and I are headed toward Knife after the race (getting a tow to Indian portage around 1:30). You are welcome to join us. I can help with portaging if needed. Let me know if I need to pack an extra steak!
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TominMpls
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That's an intriguing idea, just one night?
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AmarilloJim
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We do the group solo thing. We usually share a campsite and an evening meal and may go the whole day without seeing each other. Will sit around a campfire in the evenings till 10:00 or so. Nobody is rowdy or loud in our group.
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egknuti
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TominMpls: "egknuti: "What about Lake One? No portaging necessary. Isabella Lake has a short portage, could be doable. "
Isabella Lake is an interesting idea, how far is that to drive from Ely though?" I think it’s about 45 minutes.
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TominMpls
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So many good ideas here.
Moose and Snowbank make me a little nervous because that could end up being hard work if the wind picks up, but they do get to some nice places with little portaging. Ending up on Birch would be pretty nice, so I'll give Moose some thought, especially if it's a calm day.
Wood Lake, with that long portage right off the bat, seems out - maybe good for a trip not the same day as a marathon :) Similarly, Little Gabbro looks awesome, but not for this trip.
Fall Lake is promising, relatively short portages with lots of options depending on how I feel. Mudro would be easy enough but I'm kind of sick of Mudro so it's out.
I'm intrigued about Slim - I've never been over in that area, and it looks pretty decent. Only down side is that if I'm feeling good, I don't have options - there's no way I'll be feeling good enough for a 600 rod portage. But if I'm feeling good enough to go in but not good enough to go far, that might be a nice option.
So I guess right now I'm thinking it's between Moose, Fall, and Slim. If I'm feeling good and the weather's good, Moose gives me the most options but Fall would be a solid choice and would give me the most options I haven't seen before. If I'm feeling less good, or if it's windy, Slim is probably the best choice. Fair?
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TominMpls
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Well it looks like Slim is out, no permits are available for Saturday! So I guess that leaves Fall or Moose.
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anthonyp007
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You could hit Moose and head west into Wind, then you could camp there if the legs are like logs, or push on for Wind Bay and beyond. I wish I was doing the Ely Marathon... some day. Good luck and thanks for pacing those sub 4 hour folks! Tony
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QuietWaters
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How about one of these entries....close to Ely, options to travel a short distance or a little farther, don't have to worry about a permit. There are several trip reports for this area.
SNF Fenske/ Everett & more canoe routes
Trip Reports Fenske Lake Trip Report
Fenske Lake Trip Report
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