Quetico Portage 5487 (Saganaga to Saganagons)

This has a difficult rock face to navigate with canoe going South to North that is close to the South entry point. It is well worn path through the woods. South landing is great - north side landing is okay depending on your choice for putting in your canoe. We prefer staying to the east away from the rock face on the north side. Awesome vantage point of the falls on the south side.

Beautiful, moderate portage. The worst of it is on the Cache bay side with several steep rocky sections to navigate. Even in dry weather, these are challenging. Be super careful in wet weather. Otherwise, a nice walk through the woods with great birding and beautiful views of the falls.

Yes, there are some rocky sections, but I would still rate this as easy in dry weather. Does have a little length to it.

A few spots required joint effort in maneuvering the canoe down/up the trail. More importantly, as we traveled north, another group followed the trail too close to the river and ended up off the actual portage. I'm not sure why they were unable to just turn around, but when we spotted them below us in rough shape, we spent some time helping them heft their gear straight up the side of the hill. The short of the story is to make sure to stay on the actual trail, which is on the hill above the falls rather than at the same level as the actual falls.

Be careful coming through here! There are some rocky portions for sure. Also the exit to the North can be a treacherous paddle if the water is really cranking. There are some beautiful Red Pine on this path that I enjoyed on the carry through.

Slippery when wet. The same rock wall that creates these impressive falls must be negotiated on the portage as well. One deadfall issue. Take your time and keep your feet rubber side down.

Decent length, combined with some elevation changes and tricky footing in a couple places combine to make this portage a bit of a challenge. This can be a busy spot and a bit of a bottleneck as the only way in and out of this section of the Quetico.