Isle Royale was not especially tough (although a few in our group would differ). No up to your butt bogs and generally cleared portages. I'm having a hard time understanding why I got so beat up. Rigorous and faithful working out all winter should of put me past that or so I had thought.

All I can come up with is I didn't stretch. My daily workouts include 5 minutes of warm up and 5 minutes or so of stretching. My canoe trip included zero warm up and zero stretching.

My back was the most troubling issue. Perhaps having to lay on a camping mattress during an exceedingly cold and rainy spell contributed to my issues. Got tight, then cold and "bing".

Anyways, I'm over 50 (52 in a couple of days...........my great gal picked up a few suick's and floro musky leaders for the b-day.....what a woman :) ) and not as limber as I once was. If you are over 50 it might be a consideration for you as well.

Always warm up before stretching. Run in place at a low level or easy jumping jacks just to get the blood flowing otherwise the stretching could cause an injury. Thought I would pass this on for some contemplation.