BWCA Portage 582 (Zenith to Lujenida)

We hiked this portage. It is long! A good time was (almost) had by all.

Trail was easy to follow, though there was some deadfall to deal with on the Lujenida end when I was there. A few muddy spots and plenty of long climbs. When I was there in late May, fiddleheads were everywhere, and the guy that portaged before me said he saw a moose in the wide open beaver swamp at that halfway point.

My experience visiting this portage in January may be different than a summer portage so take that with a grain of salt. The portage starts with a series of gradual ups and downs, though a large spruce is lying on the portage near the start which can make the first stretch dicey. After the slight ups and downs, we stepped off and took the beaver pond until the marsh crossing. After the marsh crossing, the portage climbs steeply. It levels off for awhile before taking a sharp drop followed by a series of gradual uphills. A couple of these uphills lead into perched marshes which may gather water in the summer. The uphills continue for quite awhile before reaching a nice high point with a down tree to sit on. From there, the trail starts heading downhill towards Zenith with a couple brushy stretches and a small spring flowing next to the trail. It's then a steep drop at the end till the lake. This portage is quite long and challenging. Be prepared for the hike!

We were prepared for some of this portage to be flooded according to numerous past reports, however 2021 was a very droughty year. I knew the historically flooded areas as soon as I saw them because they still had puddles and mud even during this drought. So what else? Yeah, it's long, but it's never very steep. When you get to the bridge, you're half-way there, and there is space by this bridge to set everything down for a break or if you're doing it 1.5 style. There are a couple areas with some basic obstacles like mud with rocks/logs to step on, one or two small holes/gullies to step over and maybe a few short sections of steeper steps up/down some rocks/roots.

At the end of our trip (four guys, late twenties), we single portaged with a couple breaks in just over an hour. The week prior was very dry and yet we found a 40 yard stretch of ankle deep water right around the midway point.

Easily the longest and most difficult portage I have done, but the weather can make the biggest difference. I would consider trading in your water shoes for hiking boots here because it really is a haul With 6 people, 3 canoes Departure - 10 packs - 5 hours - rain for an hour before and after finishing made for extremely treacherous walking, with several deep holes to step in. Return - 9 packs - gorgeous ~70F degree, bug-free weather - 4 hours We leap-frogged, moving everything to the center creek/boardwalk, and then moving everything to the end. The end is definitely a site for sore shoulders. I plan to put together a video and post it [here]. The forest service stopped by our Zenith campsite and said the portage would take them 2 hours.

Slow and steady! It probably would not have been so bad had it not have been raining. This is the longest portage I have ever set my feet upon. I said after making it to the end that I would never traverse this way again. Like another canoer stated "The best part of this portage is the end!

No big hills but, several long gradual climbs along a well worn trail. Boardwalks & wet spots add a little spice. :)

Portage has to be closer to the 500 rod mark. The trail was in good shape overall, lots of up/down but nothing very steep, just exhauting. Hit a 40-50 rod stretch about 150 rods from the Zenith side of the trail that was flooded and required trudging through a foot of water. Luckily the ground underneath was firm and didn't sink. Had wooden-plank walkway towards the Zenith end as well. Nice landing on Zenith side for a break once finished.

The portage has been slightly rerouted-the southern end does not go thru the swamp anymore. it is now at least 480 rods and has an extra hill or two. At the time I visited it had not been brushed and branches were hitting us in the face.

This portage is longer than 444 rds. I measured it with my GPS and have it at 570 rds (1.75 miles). It took our crew of 8 a little over 2 hours to double portage. It has a good walking path with the exception of the low areas where it is muddy and one spot the stream is backed up over the planks that were placed to walk across. There was some rework on the south end where the portage was moved up out of the low area.

As was mentioned, the portage was flooded out a few hundred rods into it coming from the North. Following the trails of those before us, we were able to pick a relatively dry path around the water on the Western side. Other than that, its a pretty standard portage, just long.

This is one of the longest portages I have taken, but not the hardest. We single portaged, but it would be different if we doubled and had to walk this one three times. We had to get our feet wet because a beaver dam flooded the trail near Lujenida Lake.

Slow and steady! This is a long one but is pretty flat with a good trail. The trail has very few rocks. The best part of this portage is at the end!