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adam

Moderator

09/07/2008 12:45PM

It is time to start the September 2008 Photo Contest. This months contest is dedicated to long time member Mark Lawyer who passed away this last month at the age of 51. He was a Boy Scout leader for over 20 years with Troop 1 in Illinois. I would like to think he ends this long portage called life at a the most beautiful lake.

The theme for this month's contest is "Tough Portages". Post your best photos which capture tough portages from the bwca/quetico region.

Monthly Category: Tough Portages

There is again a special reward for this months contests. Along with winning a hat, Wilderness Passages Magazine, created by long time member QPassage, is giving a free copy of their great magazine and a 2 1/2 hour DVD of Quetico footage to the winner of the photo contest and trip report contest. For more information about Wilderness Passages, you can visit their website at WildernessPassages.com

Remember 1 entry per person please. This helps us vote accurately.

Rules:

- You must be signed in as a member with a valid email address in your profile to enter (or win).
- You can only enter one photo per monthly contest. You can enter the same photo if it did not win in a previous month.
- You must be the photographer of the photo.
- Photos are entered in the contest by making a reply posting to this message and using the "Add a photo to this message" link during composition. This will allow you to upload a photo from your computer to the contest or allow you to select a photo which you have already loaded into your photo gallery on this site. If you want to enter your photo in another way, please contact us.
- Please describe in the message where the picture is from.
- Judging will be done by the www.bwca.com staff and moderators.
- A member may win once per year.
- Photos must be posted to this message by 11:59pm on Sept. 30th.
- Photos must be in jpg or gif format to be uploaded to the site. Contact me if you have something in a different format or are having problems uploading to the site.

Thank you for participating!

Adam

P20080901

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fishguts

09/07/2008 03:41PM

Portage from Conmee into Suzanette, Quetico Park, June 2008

fishguts

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satchmoa

09/07/2008 04:21PM

boardwalk between Pauness and Shell Lake It wasn't really difficult but it sank maybe 6 inches which made it interesting.

I would rather be upside down in my canoe than right side up at my desk

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Arkansas Man

Moderator

09/07/2008 06:18PM

Satch, this past June that portage was under water! And everytime you stepped on it it went 5-6 inches under water... Cool!!

Bruce

Good Paddling, Great Fishing, and God Bless All...

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Navigator

09/07/2008 06:36PM

Silver Falls Portage - Quetico.

This rock face drops about 20 feet - not a lot of fun with a canoe on your back :)

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Ho Ho

09/07/2008 08:02PM

Yum Yum Portage in Quetico is famed as one of the "toughest." But to me it also has one of the most beautiful views of any portage - which I call Inspiration Point. The reward is commensurate with the work to get there. It's well worth it.

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snakecharmer

09/08/2008 07:22AM

Board walk portage along the Moose River.
Not tough at all. I just like the picture.

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after"
~ Henry David Thoreau

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Kiporby

09/08/2008 10:50AM

My picture won't really be a tough portage either. But it was my daughter's first ever and for short legs I guess you can say it was a challenge. Red Rock to Alpine Lake.

There is a light and it never goes out. Morrissey

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lilcowdoc

09/08/2008 08:40PM

kip~That is Adorable!!! She looks like a pro!

“A sky as pure as water bathed the stars and brought them out”

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Boppa

09/08/2008 09:08PM

Sloppy portage to Rush Lake

"Yesterday is the past, Tomorrow is the future, Today is a GIFT, that is why it is called the present".

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Jocobo81

09/09/2008 11:34AM

The portage from Lower Pauness to Shell - my wife jumped out of the canoe and promptly sunk in past her waist! and all this before the 220 road portage....

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RoJoYo

09/09/2008 04:25PM

Hey Jocobo....I notice that she is only holding one of her shoes...did she lose the other? I'm surprised she even got one out.

"You don't stop playing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop playing." B. Franklin

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aebrooks

09/10/2008 10:03AM

Knowledge is realizing that the street is one-way, wisdom is looking both directions anyway.

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suko

09/10/2008 11:52AM

What portage? Mcintyre Creek May '08

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hubbabubba

09/10/2008 02:33PM

first-trip ever (solo) muddy blues

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Jackfish

Moderator

09/10/2008 03:46PM

"The Mile Portage" into Badwater Lake.

It's only a spot on the map... until you go there.

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Jocobo81

09/10/2008 06:32PM

RoJo, luckily she has both. the one she holding is the one she pulled from the mud :). the other one was thrown on shore, if I remember correctly..

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laxhcky4

09/10/2008 08:06PM

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laxhcky4

09/10/2008 08:12PM

portaging in the PMA in the middle of July, 2008

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BigZig

09/10/2008 09:46PM

Portage from Little Trout to Rum - May 2005.

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kellyrth

09/11/2008 01:30AM

Agnes to Lac La Croix
It wasn't the longest portage but I now take an alternate route.

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wa0yle

09/11/2008 12:22PM

That portage into LLC isn't that bad. It's level and the landings are decent. The alternates are rocky, have bad landings, crowded, etc. I feel the 110 rod one is far better. Less traveled. We took them both on the same trip.

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prettypaddle

09/11/2008 01:13PM

Knife to Vera 2007. Not very tough, but it does have a decent ascent.

lax--that's a great shot =)

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oldgentleman

09/11/2008 05:56PM

Uphill from Sandpit to Mudro. It's a great place for a twisted ankle.

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L.T.sully

09/12/2008 03:33PM

The mile portage from poplar to meeds lake.

The creation of a thousand forests is in a single acorn- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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bumabu

09/12/2008 04:30PM

I wiped out on my first attempt crossing this sucker. Louse River into Trail lake from the east. From my report: "On the 125 rod portage into Trail lake from the east I encounter a strange portage obstacle I have never seen before. As I am trudging along the portage trail abruptly terminates at a narrow chute of rapids. I am thinking to myself at this point “How in the world am I supposed to launch into that?” I put the canoe down to scout out the situation and see on the other side of the rapids is a steep granite slope, no trail there. I look around for a trail down to the calm water and then it dawns on me that the trail resumes atop the steep granite slope: this is not good. I have not seen another canoe since leaving Sawbill lake yesterday and this looks a wee bit dangerous to be trying alone, but I am here for adventure so I start up the slope with my pack on my back. Climbing with a pack on your back is tricky business; lean back too far and you are done for, lean too far forward and the tread on your footwear will slide out from under you. I experienced the latter and found myself sliding backwards down the slope on my face, plunging into the swift current. The current grabs my feet and legs and twists them into the rocks and my downward momentum keeps my body going until the current is also able to grab my pack and start pulling it down stream as well. I am not sure how, but I lunge with my legs and get my pack onto dry land and then manage to squirm out of it and then get myself completely out of the frigid water. I take a moment to thank the good Lord for saving me and then I start up the slope again, this time dragging the pack and using my other hand to find whatever foliage I can find to hold onto for minimal support. I make it up with the pack and then complete the rest of the portage with just the pack, taking the camera out to take pictures of the madness I just crossed. I also drag the canoe up the slope without further incident and launch into Trail lake a bit unnerved by the whole experience. "

Who I am precedes what I do, not the other way around.

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Paddleboy

09/13/2008 12:44AM

Jackfish,

That badwater>quetico lake portage brings back memories. Me and a friend, 15 years ago or so, did half of that portage at night on the back end of our trip...it was ROUGH but turned into fun.

We took our time with flashlights...went about halfway or so and parked our packs and see sawed...went back and got the boat and third pack..flashlight man/boat man...when we got to our pack station about halfway we stopped....scrambled off to the left to a little clearing and got the whiskey out...we never made it to Quetico lake. Set up a tarp and sat in the middle of the woods in the dark dark, enjoying our drinks...lets say, more than a couple...just crashed out...we had a blast and finished the portage after breakfast the next morning. Pretty cool camping back in the woods away from the lakes.

I seem to remember that getting into Badwater on the East end was rough too...deep mud and shaky trail.

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TomT

09/13/2008 10:49AM

Somewhere around Thomas Lake we missed our portage and decided to go down a connecting creek. Was an adventure for sure.

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SOVOS

09/13/2008 02:28PM

wohelo!

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SOVOS

09/13/2008 02:36PM

Fish Stake Narrows on Lac La Croix looking NW. Sept. 6, 09

wohelo!

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kanoes

09/13/2008 02:37PM

walking on water WOULD be one tough portage...i can think of only one guy (besides Trygve) who could pull that off.(tough portages, this months photo contest theme)

i think bigfoot is blurry. (mitch hedberg...youtube it))

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09/13/2008 09:56PM

brooks-that must be before the proposal with all that extra carat weight to carry:)

Bigzig-rod for rod that goatpath from Rum to Little Trout is as tough as they come!

tg

that's how I ro'

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Georgiaboy

09/14/2008 11:06AM

A little snow to make the portage a challenge.

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billsta

09/14/2008 11:20AM

The first 160 rod portage at Moose River North.
This was a cakewalk when we entered, but very tough on the way out...because we knew it was the end of our trip!

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silentbeard

09/14/2008 03:54PM

Could'nt find portage from Pillsberry to Swallow...had to walk canoe down a creek. We had a blast though.

"Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing."

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wetcanoedog

09/14/2008 08:47PM

STEEP LAKE TO SOUTH LAKE--snow bay..

yes it's Steep--it's also rocks,muck and running water--

it's just a level trail thru the woods.

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SIRT

09/15/2008 08:55PM

Portage from Olifaunt to Fern lake,its only a 320 but it was no fun!

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leag

09/16/2008 09:04AM

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jdevries

09/17/2008 10:56AM

North Kawishiwi River to Greenstone Lake. 160 rarely used rods that goes absolutely straight up. If you survive getting up there, you're on top of granite with no real markers to tell where the trail goes next. Here are two pictures taken from the same spot, one looking down, one looking up. Beautiful, rarely visited lake once you get there.

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Beemer01

Moderator

09/17/2008 11:08AM

Portage from Emerald (Q) to unnamed lake to the North. This is so steep, that you are forced to grab roots and bushes to assist on the way up. Probably a 45 degree angle that goes up 15 or so feet.

Full disclosure - I nearly toppled over backwards just after this was shot, and would have done so with a 60# food on my back to cushion the impact.

"You're not serious about wearing sandals on this portage.... are you?"

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moose plums

09/17/2008 11:52AM

Portage from Tuscarora to Missing Link...not particularly hard ....just long.

"I am haunted by waters"~Norman Maclean "A River Runs Through It"

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Blackstick

09/18/2008 08:20PM

Babtism Creek

Not the worst portage I’ve ever been on, only the one I have a picture of easily at hand. The one mile Badwaters portage is the worst I’ve done in the BW & Q area.

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HighPlainsDrifter

09/24/2008 08:07AM

The toughest portage is the last portage......

at the end we pause, salute, and turn our backs to the trail.... it is a bitter sweet moment.

And so it was on September 21, 2008. My son and I salute each other at the Ram Lake entry having completed a loop from Bower Trout - Brule - Cherokee (by way of Cam, Gasket, Vesper, Town)- Ram.

There are many portages on this loop that can be called rough and challenging. But, at this writing, they all are better than being here.

Pictures show the downhill portage from Ram Lake to the truck and a toast to the trip.

"Boredom, Tyler - that's what's wrong. And how do you beat boredom, Tyler?... Adventure...(Never Cry Wolf, 1983)

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mr.barley

09/24/2008 11:44AM

Portage between Gillis and Crooked. I don't take many portage pics since I'm thinking more about getting across them.

Because I'm wearing one and I just did....

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kanoes

09/24/2008 11:49AM

gaskin to henson. tough, for a different reason.

i think bigfoot is blurry. (mitch hedberg...youtube it))

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wa0yle

09/24/2008 12:18PM

HighPlainsDrifter - ya got the right idea. Nothing like an 807 after the trip.

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DeterminedOrange

09/26/2008 08:48PM

Muskeg to Kiskadinna, some call it "the wall". In my top 10 toughest. My wife is such a trooper.

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highplainsdrifter

09/26/2008 10:48PM

Orange
great shot of that trail

"Boredom, Tyler - that's what's wrong. And how do you beat boredom, Tyler?... Adventure...(Never Cry Wolf, 1983)

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mr.barley

09/27/2008 08:56AM

It's tough to actually capture a portage's difficulty in a photo.

Because I'm wearing one and I just did....

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namaycush

09/28/2008 09:59PM

Here is the end of "The Long Haul" portage in Quetico Park between Pond Lake and the No Name Lake West of Wicksteed Lake.

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fishguts

09/28/2008 10:25PM

namaycush,
I know that portage well! You have it labled correctly, it's the "Long Haul Portage"....or Gratton Death March.....
That No Name Lake south of Wicksteed is known as Little Gratton. It was a mess this spring with swampy places and a tree down in the middle that you had to crawl under. We came up from McAree so most of the portage is up hill! Ugh!

fishguts

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karola

09/29/2008 09:43PM

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cericdahl

09/30/2008 03:02PM

Cherry to Lunar, fancy footwork required

A last minute entry! This is really very pretty portage... as long as you're not carrying anything...

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bromel

09/30/2008 07:43PM

This is a photo of my group on the portage from Boulder Lake to Ledge Lake on about July 6, 1999 --- within 1 or 2 days of the Big Blowdown. We had put on at Lake 1 and we were on a circular route north through Lake Insula, Lake Alice, and up through Boulder. This portage was completely impassable as it was strewn with hundreds of huge downed trees. The canoe in the background is laying where the portage used to be. The guy to the far left is a U.S. forest service employee holding a chain saw who had been brought in by float plane to clear the portages. We were confused when we heard the chain saws as we were paddling across the lake to the portage. There was absolutely no way we could continue. We had to turn around and go back the way we came.

Bromel

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eglath

Moderator

10/01/2008 09:22AM

not for the contest...just to share...

North Wilder to South Wilder (portage crosses the creek)

or this one...in the middle of the Hairy Lake PMA

cheers,
eglath

Pictures?

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serenityseeker

10/01/2008 07:20PM

I realize it is now October 1st, but thought I would share these photos. The photos didn't do the incline justice. Had this portage been wet, I think I would have been on my hands and knees to get up the incline.

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jdevries

10/02/2008 09:11AM

Serenity,

Is that portage along the Kawishiwi River, a few miles west of the Lake One entry point? If not, it's got a twin sister!

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serenityseeker

10/02/2008 09:41AM

That is the portage. Kawishiwi River just west of Lake One. You got it jd.

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Scrubb

10/03/2008 02:31PM

Too late for the contest, but here's my entry:

North Wilder to Hudson, creek was too low to paddle due to beavers and low water levels. Ugh.

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adam

Moderator

10/10/2008 08:38AM

Thanks to everyone for sharing those rugged, back breaking, portage photos and excellent trip reports!

The winner of the photo contest is DeterminedOrange!

The trip report contest goes to bogwalker's portage clearning report and who obstained from voting this month while away on a trip.

And the extra hat goes to JackFish.

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DeterminedOrange

10/10/2008 12:34PM

Thank you very much, I am honored.

My wife (in the photo) has this to say:
"I'm so proud to have my behind in the winning picture!"

Regards,
Bryan

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10/15/2008 01:29PM

I've done that McIntyre creek portage or lack there of in the past and it is a doozy, I am assuming into robinson? The rocks and interspersed holes, really make my knees nervous.

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.

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