Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: Ram to Bowers Trout
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treehorn |
I know it might be quieter in September, but you are using a very remote and peaceful EP and early portion of your route, only to travel right through that to the busiest lake on your route. Plus you wouldn't be getting there until mid/late afternoon no matter how early of a start you get or how hard you push. Tackling the Little Trout to Misquah portage in early afternoon after already doing the 4 previous from Ram to LT is no joke, especially with your aluminum boats. You guys will be pretty tired upon entering LT. Sure you can do it, but why? Don't plan to camp on Misquah unless you like a crummy campsite. Vista has one great site that will in all likelihood be occupied, one decent one, and one that you will NOT want to stay at. So options are fairly limited heading north out of LT until you get to Horseshoe. I know this might limit the amount of ground you will cover on this trip, and I think you should keep all options on the table including the plan to push to Horseshoe on Day 1 (knock yourselves out if that's what you're feeling), but also be prepared for the group to feel like you've gone plenty far once you get to Little Trout and want to stop and camp there for the night, saving the beastly portage to Misquah for when you're fresh the next morning. Little Trout is not a consolation, it's a beautiful lake. Be flexible. |
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JN |
cowdoc: "The old Pup portage is now a bushwack. There have been people who have done it but there is a lot of time spent searching." So why would a portage be abandoned like that? |
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JN |
treehorn: "Just my opinion here, but pushing to Horseshoe on Day 1 from Ram is not a great idea. That's not a bad idea. I think we'd be hard pressed to make our entire loop in 4 days if we don't go further than Little Trout on our first day, but maybe if we don't go all the way north to Caribou and Meeds and instead get to Winchell via Gaskin. Either way, we usually play things by ear and adjust plans as we go. Thanks for input! |
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sedges |
The Little Trout-Misquah portage has it all steep hills, deep mud, slippery rocks and logs and the landing at Misquah is drop off a big rock outcrop if I remember it right. I carried an 80 pound canoe over last time I was there, so your boomalums are possible. Just plan on taking your time and travel together over the portage so you can aid each other if necessary. Nothing worse than being thigh deep in loon shit and having to wait until your buddy comes by for help. |
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JN |
We've done a few rough portages with the old Grummans. I guess we're still young enough to see it as a fun challenge. Or still too poor to buy something lighter... Thanks! I'm always glad I ask about routes on here! |
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JN |
If anyone has experience or things they know about portions of this route, I’d love to hear it. I’ve gotten some good route tips on here in the past. I hear the horseshoe area is a good place for moose sightings. Thanks in advance! |
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sedges |
It is a beautiful section of the BWCA. A little pushy for four days, but not too bad. |
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scramble4a5 |
JN: "Thanks, Sedges. What makes the Little Trout-Misquah portage rough? Long and wet?" Everything tough about a portage is available that one. It’s long, lots of elevation change, rocky at the lake edge. I just walked it both ways with a day pack and thought it was one of the hardest portages I have experienced. Would love to hear your thoughts when you finish it. |
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cowdoc |
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JN |
scramble4a5: "JN: "Thanks, Sedges. What makes the Little Trout-Misquah portage rough? Long and wet?" Good to know. We'll be portaging 17 ft Grumnans, so we'll have to be careful. |
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cowdoc |
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JN |
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JN |
Scramble - the Trout to Misquah portage wasn't too bad. Long, hilly, and rocky, but we all agreed it was not a big deal. I do think the dry year helped a lot though. There were several areas that we could see were normally swampy or muddy, but they were firm and dry this year. I think our experience would have been much different had it been a normal year for rainfall. |
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cowdoc |
JN: "cowdoc: "The old Pup portage is now a bushwack. There have been people who have done it but there is a lot of time spent searching." There have been a number of portages and campsites abandoned over the years. There are campsites in the PMA lakes where there are small trees growing up through the fire grates and old, rotted wooden latrines, and many unmaintained old portages. They were unpopular areas that were not worth the effort of the short handed FS crews to keep maintaining. |
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straighthairedcurly |
You have selected the 3 busiest lakes to camp on so you had better be planning to find a campsite early afternoon. The portages from Ram to Misquah are on the tough side...uphill and rocky. Little Trout is almost always empty. Vernon site near the portage has a path to a little waterfall. Portage from Kiskadinna to Davis was very rough. Portage into Davis from the south is no joke either. I did it on a rainy day, slipped and almost injured myself badly enough to end my trip. Davis was empty for me. Cone Lakes were empty when I passed through. Brule is a very popular base camping lake and it is very tough to get a campsite in my experience. Winchell and Brule can both have wind issues if the weather works against you. I don't know you or the group you are traveling with...but in my opinion and experience, doing what you propose in 3 nights will be long days and exhausting. The longs days could make finding a campsite when you need one risky depending on the lake. To shorten, skip going to Meeds, go up to Horseshoe, go west to Kiskadinna (or if wind is not a factor you could do Winchell and then go in and out of Davis from the south), then south through Davis and the Cones . Then head back toward Bower Trout. Horseshoe is a great place to see moose, but you do not need to camp there to see them. Just paddling through will often score you a viewing. If you do camp on Horseshoe and get there late, the first campsite as you enter from the south is often available because no one entering from the north wants to paddle down there. The lake is shallow there as it transitions to river, but a campsite is a campsite when you are tired at the end of a long day. My trip report: Bower Trout to Ram |