Quetico Portage 5128 (Cache to Trousers)

I completed this portage in Sep of 2019. It was a nightmare then. It rained all day long and had been wet for weeks prior. Took me two nights to complete it back then. The majority of the portage was soaked and swampy. Water flowed down the rocky areas of trail. There were at least 4 areas where mud was knee to waist deep. I tackled it again in Sep 2024. Total opposite experience. Long but perfect weather and totally dry from start to finish. Took me 7 hours leap frogging with two carries. I took my time and actually enjoyed the experience. How things go all depends on prior and current weather/wet conditions. Worst part wasn't the portage this time. It was Baptism Creek leading to the portage. It was extremely low with a bunch of beaver dams. Had to drag my canoe on several occasions over areas of low water.

Well used. Not as muddy as some claim (and we were there 1 week after ice-out). Long but relatively easy. Have to cross Cache River about half way through portage. Second half of portage (after crossing river) is fairly repetitious uphill/downhill until you reach Cache Lake. The trail is easy to follow.

Extremely long and tough portage with numerous bogs and areas with poor footing. You will need to use your canoe to ferry across the Cache river in the northern third of the portage

This was probably my least favourite portage of the entire trip (36 days). It is long, but the mud, obstacles, and bugs on it made it very difficult. Also, there is a spot in the middle where you have to wade through a 2-3 ft deep creek.