Shane,
We leave the dock at Moose around 8:30AM and are dragging across the Indian Portage by 9. There are a total of 6 portages into Knife. We always portage, but I have seen canoers who always walk their canoes up (and paddle down on the way out) every portage. It took us about the same time as the non-portagers, but when we hit knife, I was warm and dry and they were soaked to their chests. The guys we watched shooting the rapids on the way out had sunk canoes and gear floating away at several of them.
When we hit Knife, we either eat lunch at the portage, or if the wind is wrong and the bugs are bad, we made the short paddle to Dorothy's Island and eat there. We are in our camp by 2-3 in the afternoon.
We don't fish on the way, except on Knife while we're paddling to camp. You could probably make better time, because we make 2 trips each portage. If anybody has to make 2 trips, bring enough gear so everybody gets to make 2 trips. Otherwise you don't really save time.

In answer to your other querry: Some of my partners have these plastic maps that have lake depth on them. They found them in some of the outfitter stores in Ely.

Posted by Dwight on March 16, 2002 at 17:13
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