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Driftless	07/24/2024 09:34AM   That figures. My daughter, Beth, wants to camp on her namesake lake. Sounds like we will need to get there early. Thanks for the heads up!
Jaywalker	07/24/2024 10:09AM   First, I think Michwall2 nailed it, but I’ll toss these two bits out there. I hope your daughter does get to camp on Beth, but if it should be full, consider taking the fairly short but somewhat muddy portage up to Ella. I think Ella is a pretty overlooked lake because most people take the longer 288 portage to Grace, but I rather liked one of the campsites (southern I think) on Ella. It was pretty open as I recall, and there were plenty of blueberries growing right in camp. The fire pit is awkward, but I liked the rest of it. Not much of a fishing lake (small pike maybe) but decent swimming. If Beth were full, I’d much rather go to Ella than to Alton. Secondly, when you do portage out of Beth toward Alton, you might stop at the top of the hill which is close to Beth. That’s where the Laurentian Divide is - water behind you runs to Beth and toward Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean, and in front of you it runs to Alton and toward Superior and the Atlantic Ocean. Not everyone finds this as cool as I do, but thought I’d share it.
Driftless	07/24/2024 11:46AM   I do find that cool, thanks Jaywalker! I will be sure to point that out. Thanks for the tip about Ella. Getting excited now, head up tomorrow after work!
Driftless	08/01/2024 02:30PM   Just want to say thanks for the advice again Jaywalker and Michwall, we had a great trip! The first night, we wound up staying on Kawasachong Lake because everyone coming from Polly said it was full. The next day when we got to Polly, a group was just leaving a gorgeous site, so we decided to take it. Next we camped on Phoebe and we did get to camp on Beth for the last night - great fishing and cliff jumping! Bugs we pretty much non-existent in camp and only a bit of rain at bedtime on Phoebe.
Driftless	07/22/2024 10:48AM   Excited to do this new to us route starting this Friday! Any words of wisdom before we head out? Hard to find portages? Crowded? Good fishing? Etc.? Thanks!
Michwall2	07/23/2024 12:30PM   Thanks. I put one quick edit - Beth (not Grace) is often full.
Michwall2	07/22/2024 03:58PM   Is this the Lady Lakes, or are you taking the Louse River, or all the way north to Little Sag and then back down? For now I will assume Lady Lakes. You will likely find a beaver dam or two between Kawishiwi and Square Lake. Most of your day today will be in the Pagami Creek Fire burn zone. I would expect lots of fireweed and potential blueberries. Check out the waterway next to the first portage off Square Lake. You may be able to pull over it instead of taking the portage. You will find a couple of beaver dams to pull over between Square Lake and Kawasachong. The last beaver dam before Kawasachong will require a short portage. The portages between Kawasachong and Lake Polly are relatively flat. Polly Lake is a nice place to stop for the first night. It is a busy lake. Hang your food pack high as busy lakes tend to attract critters. When you leave Lake Polly, you are traveling on the Phoebe River. It is a lovely route. Portages are not hard to find. You are traveling upriver so every portage will be gaining elevation. They are not particularly hard or long, just know that you will end higher than you started. I think Hazel Lake is a lovely lake. I have spent a couple nights here, but if you stayed on Polly you probably won't stop here. After the first portage off Hazel Lake, the river passes through a rock garden. In low water it will look like you can't get through. In high water, you may not realize there is a rock garden and there is only one channel. They dug out some rocks and built a channel along the north shore (see photo). As you reach Knight Lake is a shallow, weedy affair. Once through you will find a narrow channel that may have a couple choke points with faster moving water. It usually takes some muscle to get through these spots. Phoebe Lake is known for its walleye fishing. I have never stayed here. Grace Lake has both SMB and walleye. I have stayed on campsites on the south and west shores of Grace. Take the longer portage off Grace to Beth Lake. (Portages to Ella are described as both rocky and muddy.) Once here you will find a much busier area. Beth is often full. But it is full of smaller SMB. Alton Lake is not to be underestimated in the wind. Alton also has some nice SMB. Hope this helps. Have a great trip.
Driftless	07/23/2024 09:16AM   Michwall2 - great info, thanks so much! Yes, I should have mentioned we are doing the Lady Lakes.