Woodland Caribou Portage 20042 (North Prairie to Prairie)

*2024 Update*: The south end along the creek is flooded out from beaver activity including the creek crossing where I had to re-launch my canoe. I waded through this to get through. 2023 Update: I travelled this portage starting on the North Prairie Lake side and was expecting many downed trees based on using it in 2022, but found it clear and easy to walk for 2/3's of the way. This was cleared by the Park earlier in the season. Even through the burned area in the middle that has thick eye-level jack pines growing back. The path has been brushed out. The remaining 1/3 south end along the creek was thick with tag alder-brush covering up the trail. I took the time and handsaw cleared this, so it is now much easier to follow. The south portage entrance was very wet due to beaver activity plugging up the creek.

This is a bloody long portage but it's actually easier terrain than either of the two shorter portages on either side of it! There are two tricky areas to beware of. The first is the middle (see photo) where an old burn is hiding the trail in open forest. There are ribbons but they're falling off the trees in key spots and the trail is VERY faint through here. The other tricky spot is along the southern end of the trail along the creek where the trail is very bushy / reedy / rocky and overgrown.