HighnDry wrote on Mar 14^th, 2020 at 7:47pm:

I'll clarify a bit if I can. The last time I went through there about 2 or 3 years ago, the park had relocated the bog trot portage to the western side of the bog. I paddled carefully through the bog, on  the western side to the northern end of the cliff face. At that point, I was able to take out on a narrow, flat landing and follow a new trail cut into the woods, the trail I followed met up with the old trail at a turn in the old path, just after it climbs out and heads north away from the bog. It would be interesting to head in that way and see if that new trail is still in service.

That route is the "old" trail- used year after year while the beavers kept the water level navigable. I traveled it for the first time in 83.  I think that the dam blew out in 2014. The beavers repaired it during the course of the following summer and it was possible to paddle the pond and use the "western" portage late in the summer in 15 and it was still passable in July of 17, though when I used it then  the portage crew had "barricaded" the trail to the "western" route by piling limbs at the junction of the western route and the bog route.  In 18 I heard that it was no longer possible to paddle the pond- but I haven't tried since July of 17.

On the op's original question the route between Sarah and Kahsh is very nice. It's rugged with a couple of difficult portages- but it is also beautiful. I love Irene and the portages between Kahsh and Irene hold some of the tallest white pines I've seen anywhere.