Kingfisher, great advice and summary.  It brings back memories from last summer's solo when I "hiked" part of the bushwhack from Camel to Hoare.  After about a 1/4 mile, slogging, slipping and hopping up a rocky creek and bobbing and weaving through the brush and thicket, I realized how  ridiculously difficult and time-consuming it would be with a canoe and pack.  A potentially tough situation could become really bad in a heartbeat.  Maybe in the future with a partner...