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BnD
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Never done the complete route but I have done the first part and can say with confidence you can get from hook island through Kawnipi single portaging in a single day if that helps planning. Tough day double portaging.
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cburton103
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Banksiana: "cburton103: "Any reason for traveling counterclockwise?
I don’t know off the top of my head if either direction is more common, but if I were personally doing this route my main planning consideration would be to have the prevailing winds at my back headed up Agnes, and to start off with the least seclusion (border route) vs end with it. And finally, it’s always nice to stack more portages towards the end of the trip when your food pack is lighter and your body more adapted to the rigors of wilderness travel and portaging. With that in mind, those three factors would encourage me to approach this loop in a counter clockwise direction.
Edit to add: the wind direction will be pretty impactful along the border lakes as well, so on second thought, that may be enough to balance out the wind direction in terms of favoring clockwise vs counter clockwise."
Prevailing winds are generally west to east- not really a "prevailing" wind direction on a north/south lake."
I had previously heard that prevailing winds were out of the southwest, so I was guessing the southerly component of the wind might be a problem on big ole Agnes. I don't know that I've ever paid enough attention while out there to figure out how often the wind comes from various directions - I just deal with the conditions in front of me like everyone else I presume.
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cburton103
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Any reason for traveling counterclockwise?
I don’t know off the top of my head if either direction is more common, but if I were personally doing this route my main planning consideration would be to have the prevailing winds at my back headed up Agnes, and to start off with the least seclusion (border route) vs end with it. And finally, it’s always nice to stack more portages towards the end of the trip when your food pack is lighter and your body more adapted to the rigors of wilderness travel and portaging. With that in mind, those three factors would encourage me to approach this loop in a counter clockwise direction.
Edit to add: the wind direction will be pretty impactful along the border lakes as well, so on second thought, that may be enough to balance out the wind direction in terms of favoring clockwise vs counter clockwise.
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Gaidin53
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Knife Lake and Ottertrack are Great Lakes and I’ve tripped through them on the BWCA side multiple times. Relatively busy area. If I was doing that route I’d recommend going through the Man chain although it would add on some miles and difficulty to the trip. Wouldn’t be border route then though. If paying Quetico camping nightly fees I’d prefer to be further in away from the BWCA crowds.
Ryan
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Primitive man
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I did that route last August 15-25 with lots of fishing time. I always go back through Louisa Glacier McEwen. I’ve done that route five times as it has everything. Too many people on the border route. I’ve done it in as few as 8 days but always had at least one layover day. It’s my favorite route.
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gravelroad
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Personally I would do out-and-back to Kawnipi or thereabouts with some time set aside for swimming, "lizarding" on sunny rocks and/or fishing. YMMV.
If you haven't seen it yet, this is a mildly helpful resource for the first part:
Falls Chain to Kawnipi Lake
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ISRO
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Hi folks, I am thinking about a loop starting at Hook Island with a tow and heading up the Falls chain to Kawnipi, south thru Agnes to PP then taking the border route back to Hook Island.
In your opinion, is this too ambitious for a two-person, 7-night trip in a Wenonah MN 2?
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portagedog09
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I have done a similar route from PP up Agnes to Kawnipi then back down the Man chain in a comfortable 10 days. Seven days should be doable, but I would not plan on any layover days and hope that weather does not impact the trip - like being windbound for any length of time. Agnes can be tough and is prone to a S/SW wind. A lot may depend on how far/long you plan to travel each day, do you plan to fish, what your skill level is and how efficient you are at portaging. Getting through the falls chain takes more time than most people expect. I would also look at possible ways to shorten the trip up if travel does not go as planned early on. Good luck planning.
pd
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Gaidin53
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I only fished lakers for about a minute on Agnes last year and caught one! Turned into a huge mess cutting my line to get it free in the boat. We paddled after that since we had about 10 miles to paddle. Taildancer in blue or purple I can’t remember. We weren’t even that deep yet, but I didn’t have a depth finder. We had just looked at some pictographs and we’re headed across to the petroglyphs mid-lake.
Ryan
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ISRO
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Thank you for the different considerations, that is what makes this site an invaluable resource.
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cburton103
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deancal20: "Found your thread and was wondering if anyone has done well with lakers on the route?"
Agnes is the first lake in Quetico I caught Lake Trout in. Pretty good numbers, and a decent mix of size.
Basswood has LT, but you may not end up spending much time there.
Saganagons also has LT. The only lake trout I've caught in it the couple times I've passed through was early spring in a high and cold water year at the base of the outflow of Silver Falls. I know people catch them in the various open bays as well.
Knife Lake has LT as well, and I've caught several trolling through of nice size. I haven't been on Ottertrack personally, so I'm not sure there.
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Wables
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BnD: "Never done the complete route but I have done the first part and can say with confidence you can get from hook island through Kawnipi single portaging in a single day if that helps planning. Tough day double portaging."
We did it double portaging. First tow to hook island, set up on Kawnipi in the dark. It was a very long day.
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deancal20
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Found your thread and was wondering if anyone has done well with lakers on the route?
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ISRO
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My thought was the wind direction on the return trip up the border, I will travel Agnes early in the day.
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thinblueline
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Prevailing wind direction will always be in my face, regardless of what the norms are or the forecast is. If you're in the park when I'm in the park, better to be going the opposite direction as me.
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dogdigger
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deancal20: "Found your thread and was wondering if anyone has done well with lakers on the route?"
Ive caught lots of lakers on Sunday and Burke lakes.
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Banksiana
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cburton103: "Any reason for traveling counterclockwise?
I don’t know off the top of my head if either direction is more common, but if I were personally doing this route my main planning consideration would be to have the prevailing winds at my back headed up Agnes, and to start off with the least seclusion (border route) vs end with it. And finally, it’s always nice to stack more portages towards the end of the trip when your food pack is lighter and your body more adapted to the rigors of wilderness travel and portaging. With that in mind, those three factors would encourage me to approach this loop in a counter clockwise direction.
Edit to add: the wind direction will be pretty impactful along the border lakes as well, so on second thought, that may be enough to balance out the wind direction in terms of favoring clockwise vs counter clockwise."
Prevailing winds are generally west to east- not really a "prevailing" wind direction on a north/south lake.
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