The Portage between Alton Lake and Kelso Lake

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Portaging Direction: From Alton Lake to Kelso Lake

The foam will not typically be here. There was a 30 plus mile per hour wind from the south blowing right into the portage on this visit. When you land your canoe here, you put in just to the left of the big boulder (on the right), into the middle of the foam. If the foam wasn't present you would see a sandy lake bottom here through the very clear water of Alton Lake. There are a few boulders here, so it's not a perfect landing, but quite manageable nonetheless (October 8, 2019).

Another image of the landing (July 1, 2023).

A portage requiring very little effort following an old railroad grade. Therefore, there is almost no elevation change. There are some artifacts of that logging railway visible along the portage (July 1, 2023).

Older video footage of this portage (October 8, 2019).

A piece of rail lying on the edge of Kelso Lake at the portage landing. Dates back to 1960's when this railroad was removed (October 8, 2019).

Tough spot to land a canoe on this end of the portage (July 1, 2023).

Easiest place to drop the canoe in the water here is to the right side of your view in that sunlit grassy area. There are a few boulders to navigate on the shore and a few more below the lakes surface. The water is shallow so it is easy to stand in the water (being careful not to trip on a slimy underwater rock) while loading and unloading. Boulders are slimy here because the area is shaded most of the time (October 8, 2019).

Now that you've made it over the portage, visit: KELSO LAKE

Portaging Direction: From Kelso Lake to Alton Lake

The rocky portage landing on Kelso Lake. It looks worse than it is (July 1, 2023).

Older image of the portage landing. Water level was much higher than it was in the image shown above (October 8, 2019).

A short walk over a flat portage. This is the location of a logging era railroad. This area was logged fairly recently (1960's), one of the last areas of the BWCA to see the saw and axe of the lumberjacks. There are some remnants of the railroad to be found along this portage (July 1, 2023).

Older video footage of this portage (October 8, 2019).

Alton Lake landing is easier than the Kelso Lake side. Neither portage landing is particularly difficult. The foam you see here is because the wind was really ripping across Alton Lake this day. This big and wide open lake can be quite dangerous. There used to be a narrow gauge railway that extended across the portage. It was installed sometime in the 1930's and removed in the 1960's after the passage of The Wilderness Act in 1964 (Source: Sawbill: History and Tales by Mary Alice Hansen, pages 210-211) (October 8, 2019).

Close look at the landing. Lots of boulders, but the water isn't deep and has a hard sandy bottom (July 1, 2023).

Now that you've made it over the portage, visit: ALTON LAKE

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