The water level shouldn't matter on the Crown Lake side, but it definitely matters on the Ragged side. We went in October 2013 and the water was *very* low in Crown Bay.

To find the portage from Crown Lake, we headed down to the end of the bay as marked on my map. We then bushwhacked 10-20m from the lake to the trail. From that point the trail was pretty easy to follow. 

To be a bit more specific about the bushwhack, there was no evidence of the trail at the shoreline. However, I got out of the canoe, crossed the creek, and very shortly thereafter I picked up the trail.

The trail was clear and obvious to the road, then we headed west along the road. Soon we saw flagging on our right side which marked a 'trail' down to Crown Bay. It had clearly been used before, but the forest was quite open there so it was not as if you needed to stick to that one particular path. I just wanted to so I could GPS it.

I have since heard that the area was logged, and I know that Peek mentioned there was blowdown along the trail from Crown Lake to the road (though he *was* able to locate the trail).

Hope that helps!!