Winter travel question

[BWCA66]

So I am heading out on a 20 day road trip on Christmas day. Leaving fom southern MN going west to California. The trip out will be a northern route weather permitting and the trip back a southern route. Am going to take a canoe and was wondering about thoughts any of you might have about whether taking a cedar strip or old Thompson brothers WC. Could see some really cold weather and snow and not sure if 5000 miles on my truck is a good idea. Always have the old Alumicraft as an option.

 

[Alan Gage]

I don't know anything about WC but I wouldn't hesitate to take any of my strippers on an extended road trip in the winter. Can't see how cold/snow/wind would have any ill effects.

Sounds like a great trip, have fun!

Alan

 

[stripperguy]

Pretty good question. I too would say any wood strip boat should be fine...but then I started to look at the coefficients of thermal expansion for the glass, resin and wood. If there is too great of a difference in the expansions, high stresses could actually yield the epoxy/wood bond or the epoxy/glass bond.
Interesting that wood has a 10x differential whether with the grain or 90* to it. Epoxy resin generally has a coefficient 3x that of glass. Even so, the small delta T's likely to be seen here on earth are not that extreme. I keep all of my strippers in an unheated garage, low temps last winter were about 15F below zero and all of my hulls are just fine.
WC boats, I have no clue.

 

[BWCA66]

My thought is that it might be one thing to be 15 below in storage and another thing to be on top of a truck possibly on bumpy roads below zero.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Me ? I'd go with the alumicraft ! HA !

I wouldn't worry so much about the snow, and I doubt the cold would cause a problem.
I store my strippers inside in an unheated building. And have some over 25yrs. It's been 20- F here. No problems.
But 5,000miles on a rack ? I might look at my rack.
That's just me !

Jim

 

[Rippy]

Another thought. I might sleep better in a motel with the Alumicraft strapped on the rack. Not as valuable a target to a thief in the night. I guess for that matter theft could happen anytime we trip.

 

[Odyssey]

Well I know which I'd rather paddle. Not sure what if any the effect of salty truck wash, grit and grime over 5000 miles might be.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Never had an issue. My wood Dacron canoes regularly get car topped south and west for FreeStyle events in Feb and March
Some 21 years of that. They live in an unseated barn in Maine. Putting them in boat bags from the Bag Lady prevents damage from stuff thrown up from plows and sanders
Maine is full of wood canvas canoes and not manyone of them live in heated spaces

 

[Guest]

So I am heading out on a 20 day road trip on Christmas day. Leaving fom southern MN going west to California. The trip out will be a northern route weather permitting and the trip back a southern route. Am going to take a canoe and was wondering about thoughts any of you might have about whether taking a cedar strip or old Thompson brothers WC. Could see some really cold weather and snow and not sure if 5000 miles on my truck is a good idea. Always have the old Alumicraft as an option.

I can’t help much with the boat selection, although the issue of salt, sand and freezing stuff may be an issue to consider. I travelled across I-50 (signposted as “The Loneliest Highway in America”) late one November from California into Utah in a 2 day long freezing rain and ice storm, blowing hard sideways from the south. I finally gave up in Beaver Utah and stopped at a cheap motel.

When I got out I noticed that the truck was leaning oddly to one side. There was a good 2 inches of ice caked along the entire length of the passenger side.

I can offer a suggestion as to gear safety during motel stays. Not just the canoe on the racks but the gear stored in the truck

I do lock the canoe(s), either to the roof rack or, better, to the vehicle. Still, a determined thief with the right tool could make short work on freeing the canoe, and easier work of emptying the vehicle with a slim jim or busted window.

The magic motel words there are to request a room “Down and out, up front”.

“Down and out” means a 1[SUP]st[/SUP] floor walk-out room, where I can park the truck four feet from where I’m sleeping. I really do not like 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] floor rooms, and will not stay in some multi-story hotel.

“Up front” means I want a room near the well-lighted and well-trafficked front of the motel, not way in the dark back near the dumpsters.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Locking is a good idea at motels. I think I have traveled 200,000 miles with canoes and locked once at Newark Airport for two weeks. I don't follow any prescribed room taking. Often the trailer can only be parked out back I do feel better in enter from the outside mom and pop motels but only with a certain clientele

 

[Guest]

Locking is a good idea at motels. I think I have traveled 200,000 miles with canoes and locked once at Newark Airport for two weeks. I don't follow any prescribed room taking. Often the trailer can only be parked out back I do feel better in enter from the outside mom and pop motels but only with a certain clientele

I have stayed at some pretty sketchy motels, more frequently decades ago when travelling on the far end of cheap. The one I mentioned in Beaver Utah was just such. When I walked in and asked for a room the clerk replied “Don’t you want to see it first?”

I should have. The bullfighter on velvet painting on the moldy wall would have been a good clue.

I have had vehicles cleaned out at least a half dozen times. Once they actually cleaned it, even stealing the trash off the passenger floor. It was the cleanest my old Audi had ever been.

But never while on a canoe or cross country trip. A companion family did have their van “cleaned out” on a paddling trip; they hadn’t left much inside and the worst loss was their kid’s ratty comfort “blankie” items.

A few precautions are worth my peace of mind. The boats are locked on from the get go and stay that way until they are in use. The truck is fully curtained so that when parked the gear in the bed is less of a temptation. The rack crossbars are easily removable and stored in back while we are tripping, so the vehicle doesn’t advertise “Off paddling, help yourself”.

BWCA, if your truck has a cap or cover a tailgate lock is cheap insurance. I have an aftermarket Pop and Lock on the Taco tailgate. I don’t use it all the time, but it’s nice to be able to fully button up the back in some situations. My thanks to the Canoe Tripping contributor who suggested that device.

http://www.popandlock.net/manual-tailgate-lock

I guess that begins to sound a bit paranoid. Maybe I am. One exciting moment on every trip is finishing with the sight of my vehicle safe and sound and intact.

Kim, it would be tough to calculate the miles travelled with canoe. Coming up on 20 cross country trips, including on that went on for 18 months and 64,000 miles, circling around the country twice, and innumerable trips north and south along the east coast.

 

[BWCA66]

BWCA, if your truck has a cap or cover a tailgate lock is cheap insurance. I have an aftermarket Pop and Lock on the Taco tailgate. I don’t use it all the time, but it’s nice to be able to fully button up the back in some situations. My thanks to the Canoe Tripping contributor who suggested that device.

Mike,
Thanks for the link, I had been thinking about a tailgate lock and now one is on it's way. Still have to decide between the cover and the topper but since the canoe will probably ride better on the topper I think I will go that way. Hwy 50 in Nevada is on the itinerary, weather permitting at the end of December. I have road tripped many times before but have never taken a canoe this far or had the option in the past of a cedar strip or WC. Still undecided which to take but I have a few weeks to decide. Probably won't find a lot of places to paddle and don't plan anything other than day trips or maybe an over night somewhere on the way home taking the southern route.

 

[yellowcanoe]

My calls were on four Xcountry trips. The biggest 12000 miles with canoe. Three times a year since 1996 the trips to Texas Florida and Louisiana (separate) which add up to about 10000 miles a year Those are for instructing. Fun trips of course add more always had a truck cap that locks. I'm more concerned about theft in campgrounds. Been robbed of tent and bag in the Adirondacks at one of those unsupervised places. And once inQuebec car camping at Montmorency. Food went. Oh and on the Yukon at Ft Selkirk. Was a kid lurking around

 

[yellowcanoe]

But to be on topic wood canvas canoes usually have brass tacks. Salt corrodes them but it's not instantly. Wash well when you can

I've seen w/c from Florida that was held together by the skin. When the canvas came off the canoe became a pile of dried bones

 

[Guest]

Hwy 50 in Nevada is on the itinerary, weather permitting at the end of December. Probably won't find a lot of places to paddle and don't plan anything other than day trips or maybe an over night somewhere on the way home taking the southern route.

There is some pretty cool stuff along Rte 50 in Nevada; I’d get the Nevada Delorme Atlas and Gazetteer and have a look before you go. Weather conditions permitting I’d take what open water you can get in western Nevada.

Just glancing at the Delorme, from west to east: There are a couple of lakes in the western part of the State; Lahontan Reservoir, Carson Lake in the eponymously named Wildlife Management Area and Stillwater Marsh in another nearby WMA.

After that things get drier, but there are a bunch of National Forests (cheap to free camping) further east along Rte 50 (Shoshone Mnts and the Toiyabe Range). And Great Basin National Park near the Utah border; not exactly a Yosemite or Yellowstone on the tourist list.

One last thing. I’m not an I-phone or other communicative device guy by any means, but having some piece of electronica in the truck to pick up a wi-fi (rest area or truck stop) weather forecast is invaluable for cross country travel.

Not the forecast for where you are now, you can look out the window and see that, but the forecast for the part of the country you’ll be in 1000 miles down the road. If you are rolling non-stop on an inter-State 1000 miles is only fifteen hours away; that driving distance forecast should hold pretty firm, and if that locale is predicted to be fugly I’ll find a place to wait it out.

Same for any brushes with a metro-area. I don’t need to go around the beltway or loop road at rush hour. I have better things to do, like sit all by my lonesome in some WMA pull off, reorganize the truck, make a cup of coffee, sit and look in peace. . . . yeah, I’d much rather kill a couple of hours that way versus creeping along stop-and-go in traffic.

Have a great trip. There is a lot of elbow room in Nevada, and a lot of beautiful country. Stop at one of the WMA or National Forest stations and chat up the staff, you never know what hidden treasure they might be willing to share.

 

[Alan Gage]

And Great Basin National Park near the Utah border

I spent a day or so in Great Basin NP a few years back. It was a nice area. Higher elevation and greener and cooler than the 90+ degree desert I had been driving across. That might not be such a good thing in December/January though.

I don't remember much other than some thick stands of Aspen, interesting bristle cone pines (2,000+ years old) and a nice climb to the top of Wheeler Peak in the morning. It was the location of one of my favorite pictures I've taken.

20070826_014_11x14 copy_web by Alan, on Flickr

Alan

 

[yellowcanoe]

Yegads I ought to have read this from the beginning. We are picking up a trailer in prep for our road trip out West in April. Two books I find interesting ( remains to be seen how useful they actually are) are the Guide to Free Campgrounds ( includes legal rest stops) by Don Wright,available on Amazon and also the Mobile Internet Handbook by Chris Dunphy. The campground book seems well organized as it gives exact GPS coordinates and an overview map of the state so you know what will be near your route.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Hwy 50, end of December? I spent a few winters knocking about that area. Folks who haven't been there think of central Nevada as mostly desert, but it's far from it. Lots of mountain passes and most of those in what amounts to remote wilderness when the weather goes bad......which it often does. Snowfalls over those passes can be surprisingly heavy at times. Be sure to pack plenty of food, water, and warmth - as well as traction devices and tools for getting unstuck.

Awesomely gorgeous country though! Especially at that time of year. Didn't even have paddling on my mind whenever Iwas there, so I'm not much help in that department, but.........if you're going south from Carson, you should plan a stop for a paddle at Mono Lake if weather permits. No place on this continent quite like it.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Thought I'd also mention.......I haven't paddled it yet, but if you get far enough south you might want to check out Topock Marsh on the southern Cal/Arizona border. That's one I've promised myself if I ever wander down there in winter again.

 

[southcove]

This is a great thread for some lunch time mental meanderings for my part.

Coming through Yosemite on Hwy 120 from my folks ranchette in Mariposa CA, I made the drive eastward for college about a dozen times, a few more times in years thereafter... Loved those big mtn vistas of the east side of the Sierra, Mono Lake, Bodie SP, the area north of the military zones (watch out for flat hatting training jets! And even rarer ground hugging B-52's!) and those wonderful scenic long drives through countless desert basins, each with it's own distinctive look. Never got boring for me even going over the same route for 5 years. Got some interesting weather over the years too.

Took the family out there several times, they were not as enchanted as I was/am. Might be time to do that trip again, just before the snow flies is the best for temps and camping. Never had a boat though. Thanks for tripping that mental switch for me.