In regard to the length of names for waypoints, routes and tracks be aware that Garmin software only reads the first 9 digits of a name when it downloads from computer to GPS unit. It will only download the first of a list of names that contain the same first nine characters. Tech support told me this a few years ago. I wish it was in the manual, I would have more hair left!

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Do you still have to move a few feet to register? [/quote]

If the compass has been turned off the GPS will assume you are pointing the same direction as when you stopped movement. If the wind spins the canoe you will need to turn the compass back on or move a short distance for the GPS to reestablish direction of travel.

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Do you still have to move a few feet to register?

I leave my GPS in North up and lay it on my lap with the little direction arrow facing the front of the canoe.  As long as I am moving (my unit does not have a compass in it) the top of the GPS is North.

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Different strokes, I guess.

I tried "Track up" for a few trips and didn't particularly care for it.  Since  I mostly use maps and will generally orient the map with North up, I found it to be sometimes difficult to make the mental translation between what the printed map said and what the GPS representation was.  So, I now generally just leave the GPS with a "North up" representation.  (However, I do find that map direction pointer helpful, rather than use something like to "go to" feature.)

I'd recommend giving each selection a try in relatively known or involved water before you commit to one or the other for the extent of a trip.

dd

In preparation for your trip I would become familiar with the difference in navigating using "North up" and "Track up." I much prefer moving with the map set on "Track up" and using "North up" when working with the GPS in camp.

To keep this simple, using "Track up" will keep my map view matching my surroundings. A bay on my right will be on the right of the map even if I am heading south.

Sometimes the electronic compass will keep the map jumping around. If you hold down the page button you can turn it off and on as needed.

Now to get a little more complicated, you can set at what speed and what duration the compass takes over navigating. I probably have mine set to take over if my speed falls under one k per hour for ten seconds.

Having said all this, my GPS is rarely turned on during most water travel. It is very handy though on island studded lakes where you have to navigate to a hidden bay. It allows me to enjoy the scenery and still go directly to the portage.

Another excellent tip Azalea. I could see something like that happening easily enough.

While I'm familiar enough with my route (I bet I have stared at it 10,000 times) I failed to make use of the "message" portion of the garmin base camp program to provide mental "cues" on the GPS as to what I was thinking when I established the way points. Probably 1/2 of my waypoints are cuts not portages. Unlikely it will be required but would of been more comprehensive usage of the program.

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One thing to watch out for, depending on how your software works.  In Garmin's Mapsource software, you can give waypoints with maybe 14 characters in the name.
But the maximum length of a waypoint name in my old Garm 60c is much shorter than the length in the software.  So if I create BigFishHole1 and BigFishHole2 in the software, then download to the GPS,  Both the waypoint names get truncated to BigFishHol and I lose one of the waypoints.  Depending on the specs of your software and GPS, this is something to be careful of.

I have my GPS on and saving a track almost all the time I am traveling. When I get home I save the tracks to my computer.  Helps when I am reliving the trip later. I also have a good record of where the portages are.  A set of lithium batteries will last me 4 to 6 days in a garmin etrix in battery save mode.

Interesting. I have lithium batts for my depth finder but the 60csx specifically mentions not using them. I will probably stay with the duracells.

Beautiful advice on checking to see if you can "find" the waypoint you just marked while you are sitting on it. My biggest problem is likely to be redundancy in labeling. big fish hole, big fish hole A, big fish hole B.............