Canoe Pulk

[SilentWilderness]

Hello Everyone,

I was thinking the other day of getting to some hard to reach lakes in winter time.

Where I reside winter is a long ordeal and summer is anticipated with a lot of longing. Canoeing being that longing.

There are so areas where sections of river and or lakes are difficult to access. Wintertime out here especially, there is a lot of snow and ski touring and xcountry skiing are a winter past time. I was wondering if anyone had made a canoe Pulk. Unlike a canoe cart a canoe Pulk would be skis that you would mount under your canoe to slide it over the snow. They would have to be fairly wide for the weight and if you had gear in it. Also you would need something to prevent side slippage and a way of keeping the nose behind you. Pulk poles would keep it lined up behind you.

Perhaps the idea better left to imagination. I would like your thoughts on it and perhaps you have made something similar.

The idea is to get a canoe to a spot unreachable in summer and then leave it there for you to hike in to later to run the section or lake in spring flood or summer.


Thank you!

Ps. Happy Winter

 

[Mason]

I've towed canoes over snow for about a mile at a time with skis. No big deal, but flat. Pulling canoes over snow on long expeditions is fairly common when there's paddleable water, usually by skis. Unless you're pulling over rocks, something to put the canoe on is not needed. Mine was a gel-coated fg solo, and others used Royalex. Again, no big deal.

 

[Alasgun]

My son in law moves massive amounts of freight into their remote cabin this time of year; on a freight sled behind a snow machine. I would think it would be fairly straight forward as long as your not intending to ski it in manually?

 

[MyKneesHurt]

There's a strong historical precedent for canoe skis. Per Tappan Adney, the Malecite used to drag canoes out on skis before the breakup and hunt muskrats, and I would bet that there are some of his models featuring them online somewhere. I haven't done it, but I would think a tobaggan-type system would work if you're worried about ski width - although at some point pulling it you might wonder why you didn't just load the tobaggan instead. As Mason mentioned, they were working with somewhat more fragile materials than we do today.

 

[Alan Gage]

Will Steger has done some large trips like this in Canada. He should pretty much have the kinks worked out of the system by now.

Will Steger tackling 1,000-mile solo trek across Canadian barrens

When Will Steger goes on spring break, he knows how to avoid crowds. He heads in a familiar direction — North. Steger, who lives in Ely, Minn., and has led successful dogsled expeditions to the Nor…

www.twincities.com

Alan

 

[Boreal Birch]

When I trapped beaver with an old trapper, we used his Grumman 17 foot lightweight canoe as a toboggan on the ice of frozen lakes in the spring, when all the snow had melted. When the ice got iffy, we would walk next to the canoe pushing it with paddles wedged against a canoe rib. When the ice was really bad, we would walk bent over with our hands on the gunnels pushing (one on either side, bow and stern) the canoe. When we came to open water we would get up a head of speed, jump in with one foot outside the canoe pedaling like mad, until we coasted out into water.
Getting from water to ice was harder. Both of us would get in the stern to lighten the bow. Once the bow was up on the ice, we would inch it further, using our Collin’s Hudson Bay axes as ice axes. Seemed safe enough back then in my early twenties. Doubt I would be doing it now, but if I did it would be only while wearing a dry suit with a couple of Sanfields wool union inside for inside for life support. We never got wet except for the exterior of our Finnlander wingtips.
I believe that trapper Bob waxed the hull of the canoe make it slide easier. I have a couple pulks and a long narrow toboggan that are far more practical for hauling camp equipment. They definitely would not work to cross open water paddled by people on board. The pulks could be lined from shore if the water was calm, but I never have, never will at this juncture of life.

 

[ppine]

No, but I have used a plastic kid's sled as a pulk for XC ski trips in winter. My dog can pull half my gear which makes telemark skiing much easier. I could see pulling a canoe over snow especially an aluminum one. Putting skis under it would be very hard to turn.