Quetico Portage 5665 (Basswood)

We nicknamed this portage The Mosquito Mile. We started out single portaging this at the 21 rod Portage 5658 out of Poacher Lake, which ended up blending into this 303 rod portage, without locating navigable water from the previous portage. Perhaps we were supposed to push out into the marsh, although I’d seen nothing that resembled a path leading to water. I figure this turned the entire portage into 360-plus rods, although I’m not entirely sure. It’s not too hilly, but does get a little mucky in places. The mosquitoes were with me long enough that I became all too familiar with them, and I gave several of them names and am considering putting them on my Christmas card list. The portage(s) didn’t appear to be used much, although it has been routinely maintained, evidenced by cuttings with varying degrees of weathering and decay. The trail at times was hard to recognize, and I found myself contemplating if I’d wandered off on a moose path. The entire stretch without a break took us about 50 minutes, so adjust accordingly for planning. This is a viable option in and out of Agnes Lake as opposed to being wind bound on Bayley Bay.