Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: Travel Time to Wine from Sawbill
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Pilgrimpaddler |
On the plus side, the long portage was mostly dry. |
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Michwall2 |
Pilgrimpaddler: "Well, the travel time from Sawbill to Wine was about 7 hours for my group, but we got a late start right off the bat and our planned 9:00 AM entry became an almost 11:00 AM entry. It really didn't matter because there was no chance that all 3 campsites on Wine would be taken. No, wait, that's not right - there was actually a 100% chance that all the sites on Wine would be occupied! I'll have a trip report later on but it took us almost 24 hours from the time we put in at Sawbill to when we got to a real campsite on Wine. I wasn't too far off on my estimate then. I am glad to hear that the beaver have allowed the middle section of the Lujenida/Zenith portage to dry up. I am not surprised that Wine was full. Early spring and lake trout go together. |
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Pilgrimpaddler |
TIA for any information you can offer. |
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straighthairedcurly |
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Pilgrimpaddler |
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AceAceAce |
I generally figure about 2 mph and it seems to be about right, with that long portage probably taking a little longer, 5 hours or so sounds right. |
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Michwall2 |
The paddle to the portage to Kelso Lake is not bad. But, your newbie's could take a little longer. Especially if they are learning to deal with wind in the canoe. Any wind in your face will slow you greatly. Kelso Lake can be a longer paddle. The Kelso River north of Kelso Lake is twisty and will take you some time to find your way through. Will you be stopping to see the Viking Dolman? That will take a few minutes. Make sure you have have full water bottles before starting the 480 rd. portage to Zenith. We break up that portage into fourths. (I think there are portage rests at those spots.) There is a 200 yd spot in the middle of the portage where you will likely have to wade in water from ankle to knee deep. Depending on your fitness level and portage strategy, this portage will take 2.5 to 4 hours. You will need time to stop for lunch or at least a snack and to pump some water when you get to Zenith lake. You will likely need breaks in the middle of this long portage too. (Especially your newbies.) As you turn west toward Frederick, you will run into another twisting channel. Depending on the water levels, there may be a spot where you need to at least lift over here. The campsite nearest to the portage entry on Wine is a good one, but the best campsite on the lake is the on the island in the northwest corner of the lake. It seems to me that we started about the 7:30-8am and got to Wine about 2:30pm. Have a great trip. |