kstar ...(thread diversion)....
that one took us eight, and out of Cache to the S took us six...but just for comparisson....PAW did it in a dryer year in 4 and 3 hours.

I have only timed one portage. The portage from Trousers Lake to Cache Lake took us from about 8:00 am till 9:00 pm. It was quite an experience. I agree that time in not that important. We have found and setup camp in the dark many times.

I never wear a watch.

But I confess to asking people the time, if only to gauge progress on a long travel day.

Nevertheless, to me the true measure of whether I've let myself get immersed in the wilderness on vacation, db, is not whether I monitor a societal yoke like "time," but how many days it takes for me to think about work and the problems I'll be returning to.

Smashdancer and I used to work together in a pretty stressful environment, and one trip we went six days before talking around a fire about any work issues.

That was a good trip.

-- kypaddler

One of the nice thing about a GPS is it gives you data.  Here are some examples.  The 164 rod from Crooked to Argo took us 150 minutes.  This was our first day out, the third portage of the day, and we were exhausted.  There were four of us, 2 men and 2 women, out-of-shape, and two of us with bad knees.  A group passed us on that portage (3 people in one canoe) and they easily did the portage in half the time. We were double portaging and our canoes were an 18' aluminum battleship and an 18 kevlar.  The next day, we did the 126 rod portage from argo to darky in 80 minutes.

I always wear my watch on solo trips as well...don't want to miss mealtime!

Dead_Dog_Paddler wrote on Dec 11^th, 2009 at 2:53pm:

The only time I wear a watch is on vacation because it is THE most valuable time I have to spend. It's in short supply and it's value increases every year.

Dead_Dog_Paddler wrote on Dec 11^th, 2009 at 2:53pm:


Welcome aboard D_D_P

Once you YOU get acclimated, you'll see that in MP's mind and others with similar personalities, planning and "pondering" are the way they operate.
MP goes were few do, and to accomplish what he has, planning is an important facet.
I fall somewhere in the middle. I understand the not watching the clock comment, but I keep one handy for reference on travel days.
As for enjoyment, MP at his ripe "old" age, probably enjoys his trips more than most of us
As always, different strokes for different folks.

once your out there you will see that this question is meaningless. The journey is the destination. The sooner you abandon a watch the better time you will have on the trip. If it is any comfort, in the summer you can paddle to 9:30 pm or so.

Kick back and enjoy!

We carry our clothing in a transparent waterproof duffle pack (goes inside the Sealine bag) and I always sit on it to compress it before I close it up.  Great way to make a bag smaller!   

Yes, Tim, we follow MSU hoops.  We are going to the game with Oakland tonight.  We don't have season tickets, though.  Just lucky to have a friend who offered us a couple tickets tonight. 

We still have a Duluth pack that we bought used from Canadian Waters in 1971.  And are using the cook kit we bought (new) from them in 1973.  THAT I would sometimes like to upgrade, but probably won't.  At 65+, I don't think I'll need to trip with new stuff.  Well. . .someday, a new knee, probably.

db, I thought I was a minimalist! That sitting on the pack is a great idea. After dumping the tent contents in. Gotta try that.

Tim af