Solo Tripping is Safer

[alsg]

We need a better definition of “Solo Tripping”. I think of that as me, myself and I in a boat, without any companions, vs tripping in a solo boat with a companion or companions in their own craft.

I agree. If you are with others it isn't "solo tripping" even if you are in a one-person canoe. Likewise if you are in a tandem canoe by yourself with no others, it ain't tandem tripping. How about "unaccompanied tripping" versus "accompanied tripping"?

 

[Guest]

OK here's a question that will generate heat...Is tripping with a dog really solo tripping?

 

[sweeper]

So why not just keep "Solo Tripping" as it should be, Alone in a boat on a route by yourself

Solo Paddling in group of solo paddlers 'Value-added solo tripping' or VAST I don't think we'll confuse it with the 'VERMONT ASSOCIATION OF SNOW TRAVELERS'

​​​​​​​Movable Zoo Tripping works

 

[Black_Fly]

No, tripping with a dog is not solo. You don't get lonely 5 days in, and you can spoon on cold nights. You just don't hear complaining, insults like with a human partner. My boy followed me along a downed tree while lining a rapid once. He is always game for an adventure, and rarely questions my judgement, the weather, or the toilet facilities.

 

[yellowcanoe]

oh I disagree. Alans trips with his dawg Sadie qualifies as solo in my mind
As smart as dogs are they wont get your arse out of a bind

 

[Black_Fly]

Ok, if your human partner can't read a map, has no outdoors skills, no sense of direction and little physical stength (ie can't get your arse out of trouble), are you tripping solo in a tandem canoe... just with an excess supply of emergency bow meat?

 

[sweeper]

No. you may be doing all the work, but you're not solo

 

[Guest]

I considered getting a dog to keep me company on solo trips, probably a springer spaniel. It is not truly being alone, something different, in between. Company without complications.

 

[Black_Fly]

Very well said, "company without complications".

Just be sure he ain't a jumper or dancer. I start mine with a leash around a twart with a quick release near my seat. I leave it untied as much as the dog respects the need to be still when shat is going down.

 

[memaquay]

Me and my buddy always travel together in solo canoes. I like it that way. I also like traveling solo by myself to get away from the infernal complications of humans. My buddy and i sort of swap off leadership stuff..when it comes to white water, I usually scout it and pick a line, when it comes to finding ports, he's the pro...its a good working relationship. I've got another friend who sits in my bow and paddles all day without complaint, but has no experience in the woods, if i died, he'd be in big trouble. But he's a heck of a funny guy, keeps us all laughing during the trip.

Everyone has their uses, although the idea of a portable meat supply had only occurred to me one time, when a guy that came with us started having chest pains in the middle of the Kapikotongwa river, where extraction would have been very difficult. At that time, I had brought more booze than food, and I was cooking on a coleman one bottle propane stove that tipped over and the food for me and funny guy sank into the forest floor. The guy with chest pains had a hockey bag full of deer sausage, and had made some very hard deals with involving trading one small sausage for a considerable amount of booze.

We weren't hoping for his demise, but because of his frugal bargaining, we both agreed that if he went down, we were co-opting the sausage bag. He made a full recovery that night, and because our food had spilled, he made an even sharper deal. The Yankee trader of the North, lol!

 

[Iskweo]

I have a bunch of solo work in mind for this summer. We shall see how it all goes. What I dont like about solo is you have to do ALL the work both paddling and in camp. I have made some crossings of nasty water that would not have been possible solo. And while I like paddling alone on a quiet night it is more fun with someone to share it with. I am not a solitary person so I prefer some company.
I think three people with one solo and one tandem is a really nice mix. On our Marshall lake trip we doubled those numbers and it was the best trip I can remember being on.

Christy

 

[yellowcanoe]

I have a bunch of solo work in mind for this summer. We shall see how it all goes. What I dont like about solo is you have to do ALL the work both paddling and in camp. I have made some crossings of nasty water that would not have been possible solo. And while I like paddling alone on a quiet night it is more fun with someone to share it with. I am not a solitary person so I prefer some company.
I think three people with one solo and one tandem is a really nice mix. On our Marshall lake trip we doubled those numbers and it was the best trip I can remember being on.

Christy

Kind of depends on the company.. On two trips we had a solo.. One worked out really well and the other was a paddler who really wanted to do the Allagash solo with a bunch of folks. And he touted himself as an expert though he had no solo boat.
We started the trip at Chase Rapids.. Two miles of class two plus rapids with few respites.. Not technical though.. The tandem teams had a blast.. Our expert soloist in a Raven by Swift did the rapids sitting on the bottom of the boat.. Blaming the boat for being unstable..Anyone who has paddled a Raven knows it is hardly unstable and is a very big cuddly Mack truck of a canoe.

Then over the next lake part he whined about how slow that boat was. Sure its slow but it needs a paddle to be applied to the water in an efficient manner.. Not one stroke on one side and one stroke on the other ten seconds later.

and then there is the cooking chores which he refused to partake of.. i lost it then.. and the curse words flew.

Christy you had good company. That is all that matters.

 

[Iskweo]

That has been the recurring theme to my best trips yes...good company. Twice we have taken friends with us...Karin in a solo and I with my new bow paddlers. It has been the friendships that made it work. We also politely decline to take those who we know will not fit in. I took my niece last year and she was great...I may try to get her out on a longer trip this summer.

Maybe should get a tripping cat.

Christy

 

[Steve in Idaho]

I haven't done any canoe trips more than four days, and I'm relatively new at it, compared to this group. But I've been going solo through the wild on land most of my life before this. I have always been questioned about it, but I explain it in similar terms. I am a safer (fill in the blank) when I'm on my own. I tend to be far more cautious. Most people still don;t understand the difference, but they can't argue with the fact that when going solo, I set the pace and direction. Some call that selfish, and I don't argue that. What I do like to do now is quote Bill Mason....

“All of my life, people have been telling me that you should never travel alone...but it's interesting - I've never been told that by anyone who's ever done it.”

 

[sweeper]

quote Bill Mason....

“All of my life, people have been telling me that you should never travel alone...but it's interesting - I've never been told that by anyone who's ever done it.”

He is correct.

I solo mostly because all the people I paddle with have to work for a living. I try to put out a list of paddles I want to do early in the year and give them a chance to work it into their schedule, but I came to tripping late in life and I've got way too big of a bucket list of places to paddle to wait for others to go.

 

[Erica]

What I do like to do now is quote Bill Mason....

“All of my life, people have been telling me that you should never travel alone...but it's interesting - I've never been told that by anyone who's ever done it.”

Exactly. I like traveling at my own pace and assessing my own risks. I like quiet evenings without a fire and without human noise and speech. Solitude for me is more comfortable than being with others. It changes one's state of mind. I have done all my trips without technological safety gizmos except this last one. It makes a difference; even a Spot changes the ambiance.

Solo tripping is is one person, one boat. Anything else is a different experience.

 

[Grandpa Paddler]

He is correct.

. I try to put out a list of paddles I want to do early in the year and give them a chance to work it into their schedule,

Sooo... when can we expect the list?

 

[frozentripper]

Maybe should get a tripping cat.

Benefits will include fewer deer mice infesting campsites, which in the past have come close to driving sleep-deprived campers crazy. Also, since cats hate water, they're less likely to jump overboard... like these contented cats pictured below.


Also this... the old saying about herding cats, plainly not true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ0ur5GKC0w

 

[sweeper]

Sooo... when can we expect the list?

Working on it

 

[Alan Gage]

OK here's a question that will generate heat...Is tripping with a dog really solo tripping?

Like others have said I think it's somewhere in between.

It's nice having someone to talk to and someone to watch. It can make you feel like a proud father as they adapt and figure out new situations. I'm sure it helps with loneliness.

But other than the "company" part not only do they not make the work of canoe tripper easier but they generally make it harder. On our last long solo trip I had to carry over 20 pounds of food for her; not to mention other dog specific items.

What does the dog do when you decide to line a rapid waist deep in water? They can't stay in the boat in case things go wrong and you can't trust them not to unexpectedly shift weight fore/aft or side to side. Generally they can clamber over the shoreline rocks but what happens if there's only a nearly vertical cliff or you get separated by a side channel? I've run into both of those scenarios and in an already stressful situation it's one more very important thing I'd prefer not to have to figure out. Getting them out of the canoe and onto shore is easy enough but how do they access the canoe 50 yards up/downstream? Can you trust your dog to follow you when separated and then find a safe way to get back to you, even if it involves them going farther up/down the trail to find a safe access route? I'm quite confident in Sadie but those situations still make me very nervous. You never quite know if an anxious dog is going to do something stupid.

There's also their safety and comfort to consider. There are risks I'd be willing to take by myself that I won't take with Sadie along just because I know that if things go wrong having her in the mix would make things impossible, or nearly so. I'm also willing to paddle in more inclement weather (cold and rainy) because I can stay warm by working. But all day long I have to look at her soaking wet and shivering with a hanging head in the bow of the canoe. Takes away any fun left in a day like that. So that means more weather days stuck in camp. The same would apply if I was traveling on a hot and sunny day.

Dogs need exercise. They usually get plenty by portaging but when paddling big lakes or rivers without rapids that need carrying you've got to get the dog out a few times/day for a good walk. And when I'm crossing large lakes in good weather about the last thing I want to do is stop for an hour so my dog can run around and give the wind time to pick up. That's assuming I can even find somewhere suitable to go for a walk. But on the other had we've seen some beautiful country on those walks I would have otherwise missed and made some great memories; like Sadie chasing the bear.

Sadie has yet to offer to setup the tent or even gather firewood but numerous times she's given me something to laugh at when I'm down in the dumps. It's a fair trade.

Alan