If you were screening people for a canoe trip what would be a deal breaker.

[sweeper]

I'll take almost anyone, but then our trips are invite only. There are a few that haven't been invited back. We've done well only a couple that I won't ask back.

Last year's 'Rudderman' is tops on the list. I knew him for a long time, paddled couple day trips with him. In the by the we got down to Lake Umsaskis I thought he and his wife would need to be separated. All he did was rudder the canoe even on the lakes while his Olive Oil thin wife paddled. She would be welcomed back.

And the other was a Chatterbox even after I talk to her about 'Quiet Time'.

And there was the over achiever who doesn't want to come with us again. My grandson and I took 6 women down the Allagash. I planned a nice leisurely trip, it rained most of it and we made every campsite I had planned to stay at by 2 PM. She thought we should have gone earlier, farther, and faster. Those are not the reason we paddle the Allagash.

 

[rpg51]

No whiners. Got to suck it up.

 

[red langford]

If they bring extra booze and give it to me when I run out, well, let's just say that will make up for a lot of character defects.

Another Haslamism but do believe this holds true in all situations in life.

Actual conversation between two young guys at work today talking about being out at the local bar on the weekend.
1. "I saw you at the Balmer Saturday but you left pretty early"
2. "I wasn't even going to go because I was so sick. I tried to drink a bunch of beers to get ahead of it, but it didn't work"

Who knew you could drink away the flu?

Anyways, I would trip with just about anybody for a short stretch, and I like memaquay's idea of resigning to your own tent at the end of the day. It would have be somebody pretty special to spend every waking minute with them and then share a tent as well.

Deal breakers are pretty straight forward. As I ripen I become more particular but I am also learning patience with those who are not like me. For short periods only and I ultimately enjoy my own company the most.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Steve, I am guilty of carrying superfluous, or at least multiple, blades. I have a rescue knife on my PFD, a sheath knife in my essentials bag/belt when afoot, plus a Leatherman and a Mechanic’s Swiss Army knife in the repairs kit

The Mechanic's Swiss Army knife has slotted and Philips screwdriver blades and a small pair of pliers, but it would be danged hard to use the screwdriver and pliers concurrently to tighten up canoe parts or make repairs. Hence the Leatherman pliers/screwdrivers; one tool to hold the machine screw, one to tighten the nut.

Extra knives are only superfluous if they serve no purpose! The knife, spoon, fork tool never made sense to me as an eating instrument - because of the need for another knife in order to use the fork. But I really have no feelings about those who have them.

 

[stripperguy]

I paired up with a buddy once, for a 4 day trip. He was in the middle of a nasty divorce, and we both needed a break.
We pitched a shared Timberline tent. I didn't sleep well those nights, kept getting poked in the back with a big root.
When we tore down and were preparing to leave, I carefully inspected the ground under where our tent had been.

There was no root!!

I'm just sayin'....choose carefully.

 

[Guest]

I might be wading into deep and dangerous waters here, but here goes noth'n...no-one has mentioned snoring. There's a certain family member I trip with, who breathes in a very sonorous manner. Being the forgetful person I am, aside from reading glasses and duct tape, I also always forget to pack the earplugs. Being a bit of a night owl helps, in that I'll sit up late to tend a low fire, gaze at the stars, or listen to the rain. Eventually when I'm dog tired enough, I'll drag my carcass off to bed. I'm not too unhappy about it. I'd rather leave my beauty sleep at home, than my beautiful sleeper. For the rest of you though, adding snoring to your deal breaker list of doom, might be an idea worth considering.

 

[Mihun09]

Brad, I can relate to that. Christine and I have been tripping together for 6 summers and she not only falls asleep instantly but she snores like crazy. I'm a light sleeper and her snoring can wake me easily, so I either take some melatonin to assist sleeping or, got to bed first hoping she doesn't wake me, or lay there for 2 hours until I'm so tired I have to sleep.

She had a heart attack at work today, I may miss that snoring this Summer, will have to see what she can do after...

 

[red langford]

Here's hoping she has a speedy and full recovery.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Brad, I can relate to that. Christine and I have been tripping together for 6 summers and she not only falls asleep instantly but she snores like crazy. I'm a light sleeper and her snoring can wake me easily, so I either take some melatonin to assist sleeping or, got to bed first hoping she doesn't wake me, or lay there for 2 hours until I'm so tired I have to sleep.

She had a heart attack at work today, I may miss that snoring this Summer, will have to see what she can do after...

OMG... Karin, we all wish her well from here! What a shock that must be.. Here is hoping her MI is the one that leads to more tripping than less. I have seen that in several people..

 

[Guest]

Karin, I'm looking forward to many, many more years of beautiful tripping photos of you and Christine. Every trip happens one day at a time.
Take care you two.
Your friend,
Brad

 

[Mihun09]

Christine had 2 stents put in tonight so we just have to see what the future will bring.

 

[memaquay]

Holy smokes, I hope she recovers quickly! My brother in law has four stents now…after he got them, he was a new man, and pretty much oes whatever he used too.

 

[Gordie]

I wouldn't be able to go with someone who is into their electronic mobile devices. GPS excluded of course.

No drunkards. No loud people. You have to be able to just sit and enjoy. Basically mellow people.

I had one of my best friends asked about going with me, I just laughed and said not a chance. We were going to a concert and had balcony seats, he had to stop and take a break while walking up the stairs. lol

I don't care for cigarettes, but it is overlooked as I am a daily marijuana user, and I always let people know that if they inquire about going on a trip with me. Most don't care.

 

[Mihun09]

I would think in this day and age that the best person to go with is either someone you have tripped with allot before, or just go yourself. Judging character takes time and even someone who goes tripping now and has done so for years, may still not fit into how you like to trip. Although it sounds like Gordie is always Tripping , although that would not bother me at all.

There is a young fellow at work who goes tripping every summer but he is addicted to his cell phone. He is still learning and there has been talk of him coming out with us as he would learn a great deal and he is keen to do so, but I'm not sure our styles would mesh. He had to shorten a solo trip last year because his cell phone battery died and he couldn't contact his gf 4 times a day anymore. I have tried to talk him into getting a SPOT to solve that.

There are certain peoples occupations I would avoid as well, since that can influence their character.

My electronics are GPS and Camera's, no music, no radio's, we go to drink in Mother Nature. Many people these days NEED noise since they are so used to it, they cannot handle the utter silence of the back country.

 

[Guest]

I'm not sure about e-devices, I think I could coexist with plugged in people. I would wonder why they were coming canoeing though. I've thought of bringing my iPod and ear buds, for an occasional serenade, but am still undecided about that. I never tire of listening to Mother Nature. What would irk me about people's toys, would be how loud they might be. Someone quietly ticky tacking away with their i-don'tknowwhat would be easier to ignore, than a happy camper sharing their tunes dude.
Noisy people are bothersome, but context can be everything. One evening on a lake I thought we had to ourselves, I was star gazing and thinking about a skinny dip to wash the day off me, when some neighbours kicked off the festivities. Down the lake, some dancing fools were celebrating a roaring bonfire. I remembered those days with a smirk. Their party lasted as long as the firewood, which wasn't long. The darkness soon killed their ardour, and they went quiet again. Directly across from us, at a site I didn't even know was occupied, a baby started wailing. I could even hear the parents shushing the cute little trouble maker to sleep. I remembered those days with a smile. I slipped into the waters, and under the stars, and thought about the night time noise. Played out before me, I'd seen and heard vignettes of my canoe camping past. I realized that, in my canoeing life, I'd gone from howling at the moon to whispering bedtime stories. Where am I now I wonder? I'm hoping I have a good many years of canoeing stretched out ahead of me. I'm also hopeful they might be quiet ones.

 

[oldie moldy]

It almost seems like the folks who must have their noise whether music or blabby talking or cell phones are trying to hold back what's really out there. It's a created bubble surrounding them, where they feel more comfortable inside. Not that it matters a particle in terms of reality; mother nature doesn't give a whoop about us or our latest electronic gizmo. Be stupid enough at the right time and you'll be history and the waters will still flow, the seasons come and go. It's just that implacable and irresistible of nature that brings me back again and again. For me that's real; all the rest is shifting illusion and will-of-the-wisp cotton candy.


Mihun, I've been thinking about you and Christine and trying to come up with comforting words. Words are so inadequate, but that's all we have.
The doctors are getting pretty good at these heart operations and hopefully after a recovery time, you both can be out again in your canoes. I sure hope so.
I am sure that throughout all this, the fact that Christine has you as a faithful partner must be a real comfort to her.

Very Best Wishes, Rob

 

[Robin]

Hi Mihun, I hope Christine is doing ok and that this all works out for the best. Keep us posted.

As far as screening folks goes, I have had some pretty good luck meeting folks here on the net and arranging trips. I have gone with groups where it was pretty much a fishing trip out of canoes, where we moved each day, but fishing was the main emphasis. I mostly traveled solo, but have been paired up with others and back then it worked out well. In all the group trips I went on, the only issues I had where when the evening dinners became a big part of the day.

I'm not big on spending alot of time cooking, especially in the evening. I prefer a quick meal, over a fire, then back in the empty canoe for some exploring/fishing. This is hard to do on river trips, so most of my campsites are on lakes, if I have any say.

I have been on group trips where dinners became too much for me. There was a designated person who liked to cook, so I was delegated to fish cleaning, wood gathering for the dinner cooked over the fire, then wood for the desert cooked in a reflector oven, then wood for water heated for clean up. Then I cleaned the dish's pots, pans, while designated cook kicked back after cooking a great meal.
I didn't do all this by myself, I had help from others most trips, but it took alot of time for dinner to end.

It was fun, I did enjoy the trips with those folks, but it got to be too much after a few trips and I started either bringing my own food or just going solo.

So now when considering a trip with others, I bring my own food and paddle solo. It's kinda like "I'll meet you there" type thing, and if it doesn't work out, I can still salvage the trip on my own.

 

[yellowcanoe]

We've had a few of those "group" solos. They work out well. Sometimes we will be camped together and sometimes not. Sometimes we solo and do a potluck dinner the first night...everyone brings something to share. Not designated.. if everyone brings wine thats OK . If everyone brings cookies thats OK too.

I guess I would much prefer to trip with soloists who need not have a group all the time and rather come and go. I would love to do such a trip on the Allagash as its so suited to varying paces. The cars are left at the end. If one arrives Mon and the other Thursday as long as they are in separate cars, it doesn't matter at all.

The pace of an army seems to be much slower than the pace of the same size group of soloists.

 

[Guest]

memquay mentioned earlier that some trips are social in nature. That's a very good observation. Basically, all trips involving others, are social to some degree, but the social part is open to interpretation. Whomever you share your tent, canoe, or car ride with, better pass muster, or it could be a looong trip. In recent years, all my trips have been shared with family members. They are intended to be get togethers, not marathons. Though, when things don't go to plan, they can feel like marathons. Ha!

 

[shiraz627]

I paired up with a buddy once, for a 4 day trip. He was in the middle of a nasty divorce, and we both needed a break.
We pitched a shared Timberline tent. I didn't sleep well those nights, kept getting poked in the back with a big root.
When we tore down and were preparing to leave, I carefully inspected the ground under where our tent had been.

There was no root!!

I'm just sayin'....choose carefully.

LOL

SG, what's a mainliner?