How to Prep for a 30 Day Canoe Trip & How to Come Out Alive

[PaddlingPitt]

You are a very patient and understanding guy, Wild.

 

[Grandpa Paddler]

A square stern Sportspal on a 30 day trip? Really?

Eric and Doug (and everybody else),

If my post came off snarkey, I apologize. 'twas not my intent. Having been on a ten day trip with a fella and his Radisson and many 2-4 day trips with buddies paddling various square sterns, I was truly surprised to see it in the video.

To paraphrase a boot camp saying, "paddle'm if you got'm."

 

[Guest]

And Mr McC i remember your reviews in Canoe and Kayak or maybe it was Paddler?

Paddler magazine mostly, until the end when they switched Editorial staffs with Canoe & Kayak. Both magazines allowed me to choose the review boats, typically 4 to 6 similar canoes at a time.

T’was great fun, both for me and for my test paddler friends. Especially hearing friends relate “The Missus wanted me to stay home and help her paint this weekend, but I told her I had already promised to help you review some canoes”.

To help assemble the review information I gave each test paddler a printed sheet with sub-headings to fill out, including primary stability, secondary stability, speed & glide, seaworthiness & rough water capabilities, tracking & maneuverability, seating/comfort, gear storage, outfitting and construction. Getting the opinion and commentary from a half dozen different paddlers was far more valuable than simply what I thought.

After driving hither and yon to pick up boats that manufacturers had delivered to a dealer somewhere “nearby” (often one State over), driving the review crew around to appropriate paddling places, making sure they stayed properly hydrated in camp and treating them to dinner on the way home, etc I doubt I made a penny off that at 25 cents a word (later 50 cents).

But gawd it was fun. I got to know a bunch of manufacturers and dealers, and got to paddle 60 or 70 brand new canoes with friends. I told the manufacturers in advance that we were going to paddle those boats hard, taking the trippers on actual trips, running rivers in the moving water canoes, busting swamp runs and swapping off until everyone had sufficient seat time in each hull.

None the less I did cringe when someone WEEEKREEEE scraped a brand new carbon canoe over a sharp rock leaving a long white scar. Sorry about that.

There was always one I thought you should have considered but woe the limitations of allocated print space

YC, out of curiosity, which one? My interest began to flag in part because we had reviewed most of the then-manufactured canoes (that fit my paddling style and intentions); no WW canoes, no freestyle canoes, no C1’s or high kneel nonsense, although the latter would have been hilarious.

The one genre I wish we had done was Pack canoes.

 

[Guest]

Eric, you may have noticed that Canoe Tripping discussions are, quite naturally given our shared interest, akin to a bunch of old friends sitting around the campfire.

Like a downriver trip where we started out is often not where we end up, and like a lake trip there are detours and side excursions along the way. That too is one of the beauties of this community.

Pull up a seat.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Back in the day touring canoes were the basis for "FreeStyle" canoes which to this day do not exist per se.. No one would make money with such a limited market.. The first "FreeStyle" Canoe was the Galt Dandy which had no rocker but with constant flare it was superbly stable heeled to the rail
FS is a technique not a boat. Other boats it was used in were straight liner BJX and also the Sawyer solos like the Summersong.. A radical heel was REQUIRED to get that puppy to turn

But I don't recall the specific omissions. One may have been the DragonFly and another the Placid boats when they first appeared. I also believe that many performance solos were left out perhaps because they required balance and kneeling. I don't remember ever seeing a review of the Swift Heron. My yellow canoe that often threw paddlers testing it out
Small boat works do not have a dealer network and for some like Colden ( would have been to late to be reviewed) the owner and builder does not even have his own personal Colden Canoe. All money went into the business.

For the same reason you don't see these builders at many canoe selling shows. They simply cannot afford to come.They do not have hired roadies nor a budget to buy vendor space

No disrespect Mike; by the time I remember the reviews there was a flattening of canoe bottoms and a trend to build for the mass market. Such a trend continues today.. Boats are a little slower but more user friendly good for selling boats.. Plus the average time folks want to devote to honing skills less. They tend to regard canoes as transport.. In tripping a good idea. FreeStyle can for sure eject your pack.

Which leads us back to the original tripping canoe for many of us.. The original flat bottomed " scow" of an aluminum canoe. TA is correct that the Radissoncan be used but whether it is a happy experience may depend on paddler age as well as the presence of portages and whiskey and the need to cook eggs.

 

[TheTrippingAuthority]

Hey guys, never meant to rub anyone the wrong way with the name, was meant to be a simple catchy name for beginner paddlers looking to get some info on youtube. I don't claim to know everything nor do I consider myself the ultimate canoe tripper, but in hind sight with the name I chose I can see how it could leave that impression. Im actually glad, this all happened as this became a great learning experience. I'll definently continue to post on the forum, but will likely create a new account under my real name and I'm currently rethinking the name of the channel, but that is definently more of a process, so I won't be changing anything over night on that front. I don't wanna push people away (especially other trippers) or to come off as pretentious, my mistake. The whole point of all this is to get people off the couch and out on the water, while contributing to the overall dialogue.

On another note, I wish over the last 15 years or so I got out from under my rock and looked up this forum. You guys have something cool going on here; some great topics and discussions on all things canoe tripping. I thought we were a dying breed, as most young people I know nowadays are more into video games like Fortnite than the outdoors. To each their own I guess.... just like the Sportspal. Funny enough my girlfriend and I joked around all trip about how slow it was calling it "the tugger" as it handles very much like a tugboat.

Either way I'll be back, most likely under my real name, enjoy everyone.

- Eric

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Nicely said, TA. Welcome. You are probably right about the generational gap among trippers.

I didn't want to say anything about the SportsPal, because a canoe is at least a canoe. With the square stern, though, it would be difficult to back ferry in any kind of a current. Perhaps well suited to lakes and fishing?

 

[snapper]

Eric - Sometimes the most difficult thing to write is a mea culpa. Thanks for your most recent note. Glad to have you here with us all and hope to continue learning from you and everyone else who contributes to this site.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time....be well.

snapper (and yes, that's my real name)

 

[dougd]

Eric, I'm glad to see you back and as PaddlingPitt stated, "Well said!". If you need any assistance with your account please send me a PM and I'll help you out!

dougd

 

[Guest]

Eric, you have set the bar high for future posts. One of your very first posts saw 48 responses and 1600+ views. (Insert smiley face thingee).

Welcome to the congenial campfire.

 

[memaquay]

Just kiddn'. I owned one too, till I wrapped it around a tree.

 

[Guest]

It was the brown acid. The purple stuff was fine.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Welcome back Eric.. I think your video and the boat illustrates a successful trip is mostly mental. Reconsidering things very few of us oldsters started with Kevlar or Cobalt or Carbon ( except a number 2 pencil). It was the cold hard Grumman.. WIth the clamp on portage blocks. Affordable.
We survived using garbage bags as"dry" bags . Also survived jeans.. Pretty much '60s standard paddling attire

It's not about the stuff.. Its more about the mental preparation. 30 days just requires about twice the food I pack for ten days ( I always STILL overpack). And maybe some extra campsuds.

Let's go back over the video with imagining Eric at a symposium where presentations are given.. Beginners do need this info

Want to do that video again with the Square Stern of my Dreams? It's a Chestnut.. It keeps popping up for sale and disappearing around here for $3500 ( which is why I don't have it).It comes with trailer but no Percheron for the portage

 

[PaddlingPitt]

I still use Duluth-style canvass packs, with liners. I still, however, put the contents in double garbage bags. Ditto for the blue barrell and the white buckets. Even though waterproof, I still double garbage-bag all contents. Never want to have wet clothes or food or sleeping bags. Only the white bucket for the kitchen gear doesn't have garbage bags. I take along a bunch of extra garbage bags, as on a long trip they will eventually tear or develop thin spots.

 

[Canotrouge]

Canvas portage pack, LL Bean hunting boots, wool, Wanigan, fire box, campfire canvas tent, "trad" straight wooden paddles, single malt scotch, Coldhandle frying pan, to name just a few things of my kit and I'm not even as old a some here.... Life isn't a race and tripping is sure not a race, not for me anyway so may as well be comfortable and have fun!!

 

[Guest]

Sealline 115L Pro-pack, Chota Mukluks, Capiline & fleece, blue barrel, Sil-nylon tent, carbon paddles, bourbon, JetBoil stove and I’m at least as old as some here.

But I think I would enjoy sharing a campfire with Canotrouge.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Sealline 115L Pro-pack, Chota Mukluks, Capiline & fleece, blue barrel, Sil-nylon tent, carbon paddles, bourbon, JetBoil stove and I’m at least as old as some here.

But I think I would enjoy sharing a campfire with Canotrouge.

Ostrom Pack with liner, Merrell Moab water shoes, wool, MSR windpro. sil nylon tent insanely light carbon and wood paddles. But the traditional setup is nice.. It was VERY nice with Robin on one cold Oct day.. Sleeping in a cold tent was tolerable with his campfire and hot stove tent

 

[Canotrouge]

Sealline 115L Pro-pack, Chota Mukluks, Capiline & fleece, blue barrel, Sil-nylon tent, carbon paddles, bourbon, JetBoil stove and I’m at least as old as some here.

But I think I would enjoy sharing a campfire with Canotrouge.

hahaha, better start driving north cause the kid ain't driving south!!

The beauty in canoe tripping is when you find the people that have the same goals as you life is good... We did a lot of trip that included multiple family, 5-6 with one to 4 kids per family, make the math, that is a lot of people for a 10 day trip in the yukon wilderness.... Some of them family, like to be up at 7 and gone by 8 and paddling foot to the floor all day.... Not our style lol, we like it slow, real slow, we are in the bush to enjoy the slow past that we usually don't get in regular life( I'm slow all the time, so that doesn't apply to me lol) others like to drink there head of most night, that also isn't our style(anymore) so over the years we found the type of tripping we like and the people we enjoy tripping with!!

Anyway, my campfire is always welcoming to every one and I would be pleased to share it with anyone on here!! But we don't talk politics and we don't talk religion......

 

[Guest]

Anyway, my campfire is always welcoming to every one and I would be pleased to share it with anyone on here!! But we don't talk politics and we don't talk religion......

PC180149 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

 

[Steve in Idaho]

PC180149 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

I'd like to borrow that photo.

In the middle of our class 3 canyon run this weekend, a giant political campaign banner was strung across the river. Just another form of pollution, IMO.