I am a middle aged tripper, fisherman and all oround wilderness enthuiast who learns and studies everything I can about canoe country. All my trips have been with my son in the past. He is now 24 and recently married and unable to go on any trips in the near future at least. I am wondering if anyone out there has ideas on now to connect with potential new tripping partners who share my similar passions for this great country and feel the physical and mental lure of this area. Not going is simply not an options. Thanks

Northman -- You strike a cord.  I share your challenge.  My friend of 25 years who introduced me to canoe country turned 72 this year, and announced our trip last year was his last. 

Someone should set up an online "canoepaddlersmatch!" 

prouboy

Mat Mat and I belong to the Rocky Mountain Canoe Club.  We do day-trips with them and some more extended trips.  One thing you learn there is who you get along with and who you don't, so that when you want to do a Quetico trip, you know some people you might be compatible with.  The umbrella organization is the American Canoe Association, I think is their name; they have local clubs all over the U.S.  Try their web site.
Last year, I took an old college buddy on a Q trip; turns out I might have been better off solo--he ended up not being able to portage well and not being able to paddle well.  I have a trip report elsewhere on these pages.  So your concern is a legitimate one; you are smart to try to raise the question.  You need someone who can help with the portage, help with the paddling, help with the camping, help with the cooking, and you can get along with in close quarters.  The canoe clubs emphasize safety and planning, and that filters out some of the idiots who think that is stupid.  Anyhow, that might be a start.  Oh, when you go on their web site, pay attenion to the focus of the local clubs--some are into SUP and sea-kayaks more than canoes--even though the word "canoe" somtimes remains in their name.  But I have had good luck with our local club and have met a lot of nice folks who enjoy paddling and the outdoors.  I plan on leading several of them on a Q trip this coming Labor Day.

Northman -

Since your profile says you live in WI, you have a great opportunity to connect to potential paddling partners at CanoeCopia in Madison every March.  More than half of the folks I have hooked up with on trips over the past ten years have been QJer's I first met at Copia.  Most years feature both a QJ luncheon AND a QJ supper.  These events are great opportunities to compare notes and experiences.

Jimbo   8-)

Northman
What has worked well for me is to joining a group in my solo canoe.  I will be self sufficient so if things do not work out I can go my own way.   I have always been lucky and gotten people I get along with well.
When deciding if a person will be a good partner for a trip ask some questions about what kind of trips they prefer and see if that matches with what you would like to do.  When asking how far you travel in one day do not settle for some thing like “we go hard on the days we travel”.  Ask how many miles and how many portages so you do in a day or ask for the lakes they camp on for a recent trip and judge for your self if you would want to do that trip. 
Jimbo’s suggestion for Copia is a good one if you do not meet any one you will have a good time anyway.

I moved this thread but will leave the breadcrumb trail for posterity's sake.

Puckster wrote on Dec 25^th, 2012 at 5:27pm:

Someone should set up an online "canoepaddlersmatch!"

Timing is everything.

About ten years ago I did a three week trip with Tripper (basically just some stranger I met in the internet) years ago. It was a great trip! This forum was his idea a few years later and doesn't get used enough IMO. I think I first met him on a trip he did with Jimbo whom I don't think I had ever met before that either but they were easy enough for me to find downstream from Beaverhouse one afternoon.

Copia and various gatherings and organizations are good starts. The group solo idea is easy, kinda like speed dating. Trip reports, posting, PMing works better IMHO. We've all heard horror stories from folks who went with people they knew well in other situations but a trip is different. If it's more than a meet and greet or a rideshare ... you need to commit to some ground-rules, know yourself, what you're getting into and that they do too.

I still have fun seeing/hanging out with some guy(s) "I met on the internet."

All great ideas. But I think you'll still need to be flexible during a trip even if you think you found the right tripping partner.

Find Mountain Paddlers' trip report and read it carefully. It's a great example of adjusting expectations and making the most of a trip. There's no right or wrong way, but there are many different ways/styles. You might even enjoy another style then you've been doing.

Of course you could always bring a newbie and introduce him/her to canoe tripping.

What I have found to be a great impediment is what I call "projections" and "imaginations". Let me explain.

Often people will project or imagine what the other persons desires and intents are without having fully explored the perceptions verbally to find out if what they are imagining is really true or not.

For example.........One of my now regular canoe partners early on was reluctant to go with me. Come to find out through conversing was that he was afraid that he would "slow me down". That I had "agendas" that he felt he would interfere with. I had to spend some time in dragging this info out of him as I couldn't understand his reluctance since we had been friends for many years.

In our situation he was not especially confident in his abilities and foreseen that if he did not "keep up" there would potentially be tension. Add in that he is a non-conflict type person this caused considerable angst on his part and thus his reluctance.

Much of his worry was imagined. That is why it is so important to talk about expectations. A good question to ask is "how disappointed will you be if we do not make the planned mileage each day"?

Once I found out that I was putting pressure on my pal through my eager planning of routes I could put his mind at ease. He found out it was sufficient enough for me to be out there and if/when he wanted to break or stop it was fine by me.......I had no agenda set in stone. The funny thing was is that he never was the slowpoke that he had envisioned but rather gained in strength as the trip went on.........now he goes regularly without concern.......and now we are quick to discuss expectations. Beware of projections and imaginations.......do not assume what the other people in your group are thinking.......draw them out and discuss things in a frank manner is my advice. 

Just a point of clarification.  You list yourself as Northman, but your profile states that you are female.  So which is correct.

Wstwood...thanks for pointing out that error. Better edit my profile!!!
Thanks for all replies so far. I have some good ideas and seems like I have a plan on moving forward with this idea. Again...thanks to all.

Westwood wrote on Dec 28^th, 2012 at 6:31pm:

Just a point of clarification.  You list yourself as Northman, but your profile states that you are female.  So which is correct.

That would be my fault due to (I'm guessing) a 2004-5 script update. Ooooh have you seen the new privacy policy?  ;D

as db pointed out, finding other paddlers to go with was the original purpose of this forum - and of the "profiles" and questionaire at the top of this forum.

if you haven't filled out a profile yet (I didn't look) it would be a good idea to do so, so that your preferences are out there for people to see


you could do the same thing over on BWCA.com for a somewhat wider audience; and if you want to be somewhat more adventurous, over on Paddling.net (a much wider audience) which has a "Getting Together & Going Paddling" forum for that purpose.  might be easier to find people from your area on there, so that you could do some shorter "getting acquainted" type of trips before commiting to a longer Q trip to check for compatibility

Thanks for the great advice on this. I'm going to check out the American Canoe Association website. I'm looking at scouting out a route or two in Q in May/June for my family (to do in Aug) and will probably have to solo it as my wife teaches and kids will be in school. Come to think of it, I need to get myself a dog to accompany me...that cat is useless around our house! Anway, I'm in the twin cities if anyone is nearby and still hasn't locked down a canoeing partner for that timeframe. I certainly echo the sentiments that's all about adjusting expectations and going with the flow --- as long as you're out in the backcountry, why not just enjoy yourself no matter how the trip is turning out  :). Anyone can ping me here if it works into their plans. Thanks again for the great advice on all these forums.

being from the great north woods of wisconsin and growing up with nothing better to do than fish and paddle, i have a pretty large group of guys to choose from when it comes paddle partners. however, i was also blessed with 2 brothers that share the same interests. after college/marriage/moving, i lost touch with a few of them, but a bunch of my coworkers also have common interests. i consider myself pretty lucky.

on top of that, my father in law and i started a paddling club to meet up with like minded people. most people are kayakers so i tend to be the only canoeist, but its still fun

check us out on facebook!  "ROCK'S"

Nice site! Some nice paddling pictures in there! :dankk2