Hi,
The last time I went through that area was the Fall of 2021.  It's probably not recent enough for you, but I thought I'd post my experience.  I was travelling solo, double carrying.  I went the other direction from Devine thru Stag and both portages to the Tim.  It was just after a big windstorm and there was a nice carpet of fresh leaves on the ground.  There certainly was some blow downs that I navigated around.  A few occasions I lost track of the trail in the leaves, hunted around again to pick it up and continue.  Overall I rather enjoyed the walk in the woods I didn't see a soul that day. It was  my first experience on a Low Maintenance portage.

As far as it being overgrown, overall I didn't find it to be too bad.  Some narrow spots on the trail perhaps.  Checking in at Kearney the Ranger told me that they had been through the area earlier that year.  There was a memorable muddy spot on one of the short portages, might've been Highdam Pond to Ranger...I can't remember, just remember falling in for a muddy splash somewhere on a portage.  But I was alone so guess it never happened.  
I enjoyed my time on Devine, had the lake to myself obviously, overall I great experience and enjoyed the "alternate route"   If you plan it I hope it works out for you.  Hope this helps.
CC2K

Last edited by captainchaos2000 (12/17/2024 9:03 pm)

This might not be too helpful, but I met a group of two men while I was travelling on the Tim River this past August. They had just come from the area you're referencing. It was their first backcountry trip and they were doing a 10-day loop from Canoe Lake, up through that 'unmaintained' area, and back down. It sounded like a crazy itinerary, let alone for a first-time trip. They said it was challenging but they still had smiles on their faces. They did mention the steepness and rough landings, but didn't mention anything else like blowdowns or impassable sections.

I’ll be going as far as Devine in mid-May.
I’m doing out & back - the Devine-Stag-Tim section looks like it’d be an adventure but 90% the this-is-nutty-amount-of-labour kinda way.

I’ll update with any helpful information when I get back.