BWCA Portage 703

Solo trip to Wood lake. I did not expect this portage to be a problem. It's en entry point portage, sure its long but how bad could it be? I had no idea that it gets muddy and the 180 rods listed on my map was off by 40 rods. Also given that I was doing this solo I had to make 3 trips. It's about a 15 minute walk each way so I spent over and hour getting all my stuff to the other side. The path itself isn't tough but due to heavy June rains it was very wet and muddy. Suck the shoe off your foot kind of mud. There were 3 areas with ankle deep puddles and no way around them. The mosquitos were really thick too. I almost slipped and fell on one of the boardwalks due to how much mud had accumulated on the bottom of my Keen's. There is a big turn at the end of the portage. That turn also includes a pretty steep decline. Be prepared for it. Its probably a good idea to drop all heavy gear at the turn and go back for the next load. Once all gear has been moved, then move the heavy stuff down from there to the portage end. This can reduce slips and falls. The turn and incline are easier to deal with on the way out because the portage begins with them instead of ending with them. I was pretty frustrated by the time I was done, mostly due to my "entry point" packing. With other people to help carry stuff this portage would be way less work.

This is a beautiful walk in the woods and I've been through here in all types of conditions, usually with my young children. It's not overly difficult and it seems there is always plenty of wildlife to observe. The landing can be muddy but is fairly easy to load and start your trip.

This is a reasonably easy portage. We entered in the winter with sleds and got across fine, though the trail was already broken. There was already a pair of swans sitting on wood lake waiting for winter.

Voyageur map 4 has this as 180 rods, but 220 seems correct. 100ft of climb from the water, but it was not too bad. Trail was wide and well established.

While it is on the longer side for a entry portage, it was mostly flat and wide.

This is an easy walk in the woods with "some" elevation. In is easier that out but I would give the path a beginner rank. Watch for some spots with roots and rocks. there are also a couple of spots that can be "wet." The second "bridge" is about 2/3 of the the way in just to give you an idea of how far you have to go. ;-)

About what you'd expect for an entry point trail of this length. The only caveat being, that if you exit out this trail, there will be a big climb just after the boardwalk up to the parking lot.