Assuming you intend to camp together each night, is it more common for your group to paddle and portage together on traveling days or do you pick an agreeable destination each morning and travel at your own pace?

we go as a group. its more fun as a group because of the shenanigans and trash talking opportunities. plus being near each other helps if anything happens to go wrong, its better to be close by to lend a helping hand. also on portages its nice to have someone besides your paddle partner to chit chat with and help carry stuff. also, if we have an odd number we sometimes will change up who paddles/sits where.

on fishing days we split up unless we find a spot that is really working well or the weather restricts us to only a few select locations

Always as a group.  Portage together, and have lunch breaks together.  Discuss routes, etc.  Day trips are different.  But travel days, together.  Cancelled one trip cuz the other two guys wanted to race ahead and meet up on some distant lake.  I didn't like the feel of it, even in the planning stage.

prouboy

My groups of more than one canoe have been Scout groups so together.

Unless you had some way to contact each other from a distance, I would say paddle and portage together.  Too many possibilities of one or more canoes straying off path, getting lost, taking wrong portage, having a hold-up for whatever reason, capsizing, unable/fearful of crossing a windy section of water, etc. etc.
On one trip I was on, 2 solo paddlers and a tandem in a canoe; the canoe was substantially faster and finally just pushed on ahead to a designated camping lake.  Left a message for us to "catch up" at a portage....we were ready to stop 2 portages before we knew they were planning to and it was supper time, so finally we did stop without them.  We were annoyed and they, when we didn't show up, were both worried and annoyed....an uncomfortable end to an otherwise pleasant group trip.  :thumbdown

We travel in a group. Sometimes on a large lake we get a little spread out, but we close up for portages.
Kind of like jaximus's opinion, we feel its more fun!

I once had very tough day in Quetico due to going our separate ways to a campsite. There were 6 of us, myself and my brother Stan, my pot smoking friends Chris and Scott and my friend Eric and my Dad (he ignored the weed as he was just happy to be there). This was about 1985 (in June) and we were all 25 years old except my Dad age 55. We left in the morning from Delahey and were moving over to Veron. 2 canoes wanted to fish Delahey and one wanted to hustle over to Veron and fish there and set up camp. It was agreed that the lead canoe would take most of the packs to the portage but leave the food pack at the start for a later canoe to ferry across. We left camp with the lead canoe making a bee line to the narrows and the others fishing for trout and pike around the islands. It soon started to rain and quickly became a cold hard rain. So the 2 canoes (I am part of the second group) quit fishing and headed for the portage. At the portage there was no food pack and after a little discussion (pot smoking was always part of the decision making back then) we agreed it was nice that the first canoe hauled everything over and would have camp going when we arrived. What had happened was they made a navigational error and got lost in the channels on the east side of Delahey. By the time they got to the portage we were already over it. Not knowing this they left the food pack. Meanwhile the pair of now lead canoes fished our way through Veron in a drenching cold rain and when we got to the island site in the middle of Veron we discovered it was already taken. But not by us. The inhabitants reported they had not seen any other canoes which seemed  little odd. All of us were now wet and too chilled to keep fishing. It was suddenly obvious that we need to find our camp and get everybody warm. We had previously camped on another site on the east side of the island at the end of the narrows coming down from Camel. We thought they must have gone there (this site was not in the recent campsite reviews of Veron in the BWJ so it may no longer be in use, and it wasn't a great site).  As you now can guess when we arrived it was uninhabited. There was no alternative other than to set up camp. We had with us the personal gear, tents, and sleeping bags for the four of us, the lunch pack which included some soup and one stove, a tarp and the saw and hatchet . The cold hard rain continued and as we stood at the empty site wondering where the hell Scott and Chris were I realized that my dad (Wally) and Eric were shivering and starting to succumb to hypothermia. My brother Stan and I decided to set up the tent we had and get them into sleeping bags, then make the soup and set up the tarp. Right as we finished, Scott and Chris showed up and stumbled into camp, drenched, shivering and shaking. They explained how they went down the wrong channel came to a dead end, got in a big argument, finally retraced their route and found the correct channel, left the pack at the portage, landed at the occupied site and were shocked to discover it was not us there. They seemed extremely relieved to have found us. Stan and I got them in the tent and some warm soup. Now the fun started. Stan and I found a big dead tree, cut it down, chopped it up, built a fire under the tarp, stacked and covered a pile of dry wood. We left them with one headlamp and took the rest with us. Then we took off in an empty canoe in the fading daylight and a light drizzle for the portage back to Delahey and our food pack. The wood exercise had warmed us up but it was only 55 degrees and we had been wet for hours so paddling really, really hard became our mantra. When we got to the portage there was just enough light to see it but we used the head lamps to locate the pack. When we got back to Veron it was too dark to see anything outside the beam of light. It was a scary paddle back, and when I finally saw a flicker of campfire I was more relieved than I have ever been, both before and since. Everyone except my Dad had warmed up enough to get out and keep the fire going and big celebratory joint was rolled and smoked upon our return. Ever since this episode I have been very leery to let the other canoes in my group out of sight.
Jon
PS It rained hard all night. The next day water was running into Veron from little streams and at every one Walleyes were stacked up and feeding. Best fishing ever.

Good story Jon and very illustrative of the potential for miscues when getting split up.

On the other hand a good many folk would rather paddle at their own pace without a bunch of boats and noise cluttering up the scenery........uh, that would be me. So what's to be done?

My solution, at least with my guys, is that you portage and paddle at whatever style you prefer (MT's philosophy of everyone doing want they want). Do you want to do a side trip on a lake to view pictos or a waterfall? How about paddling the shoreline versus beelining across? Need a snack? How about some water? One time I had a guy take a 30 minute nap.

BUT, here's the catch..........No one portages to a new lake until everyone is together. So paddle separate, portage together. If something happens it is very reassuring to know that your partner/s are somewhere on your current lake. It is way to easy for a comedy of errors to occur otherwise IMO.

Here is a good example of potential miscues.........My partner and I (solo boats) were coming from Conmee (where we did not catch many walleye  :P ) and ended up in Burt. As per our agreement we were to meet at the portage to Marj. It's been said I portage fast and my pal is more steady so I ended up gone before he had his boat in the water. I trolled my way through Burt (very nice) and ended up at the Marj portage where I entertained myself with some fishing. An hour later still no Dan........what's up with that? I broke out the map and noticed 2 possible portages to Marj. I had assumed the route.........fortunately our self imposed restraint worked perfectly and I knew he was somewhere still on Burt. A few minutes later I see him coming having finally figured out what had happened.

Some can argue that speed and efficiency are compromised. I have not really found that to be the case. What I have found is happy campers that feel no pressure to live up to what they imagine are others expectations. The do what you want philosophy has worked very well so far for me. If I have to do more camp chores I could care less. What I want is folk with happy faces and if someone needs a nap instead of collecting firewood so be it..........no biggy. 

Jon,
Your story with the pot references brought back memories, some funny as hell, most just frustrating as hell. :P
I used to be 1 of 4 guys who made annual backpacking/paddling trips.
I wasn't opposed to a little recreational herb at the end of the day, but when you end/start and smoke ALL day and try to keep some semblance of order/schedule, it becomes one big FUBAR.
I got tired of it and went my own way. Another reason to make sure everyone is on the same page.
MT's suggestion about paddling separate but not leaving one lake for another until you meet up is a good one.
Unfortunately it only works if everyone leaves camp sometime before the day is over. :(

We paddle as a group, but may get spread out along the route, and portage as a group. We switch canoeing partners daily. My canoe is faster than the others, so we may get ahead of the group, so we regroup and usually wait at points out of the wind every hour or so.  We regroup at portages and portage as a team.  I've never tried solo tripping, but maybe one of these days.  Tell you the truth, I really like the group experience.

starwatcher

I only did the separate travel option once. I knew the guys were capable of traveling on their own, but one was painfully slow, in everything he does. How can a guy that's so nice drive me nuts?? Look up "passive aggressive" behavior.
They were very easy days, Batch Bay - Jesse, Jesse - Walter, Walter - Lonely. I made sure they knew the campsites I was heading for and gave them all the maps, he loves maps. I used a GPS and had been there before. I even let them start off ahead of me each day while I did some paperwork in the bush. Still I ended up well ahead of them.

The guys used a very fast tandem, 18' Sundowner, and I had my Voyager. Upside was it helped me to decide to rent a Minn III for a later trip I was doing with 2 gals. That worked great too, except I'd rent a Minn IV and remove a seat next time.

After the two trips last fall I was left with one simple impression. "Guys are stronger, but gals are tougher"

Jim J Solo wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2013 at 7:23pm:

After the two trips last fall I was left with one simple impression. "Guys are stronger, but gals are tougher"

I have heard that mentally women can be a tough group if need be. One of my favorites comes to mind.......Margaret Thatcher  ;).

On the other hand (now that my male chauvinist disclaimer is firmly in place  ;D ) I know lots AND lots of women folk who would not do well with heat, mosquitos, cold wet weather and a great deal of physical exertion. So I would beg to differ.......

My take is fairly independent of sex........everyone is an individual and toughness of spirit cannot be generalized by gender. What seems plausible though is the physically stronger one is the more apt one would be able to deal with the demands placed on the body.........when you become wore down physically it can be hard to be "tough" mentally regardless of sex.   

Hey Starwatcher, I'm with you.  I tried soloing, but after a few trips decided it wasn't for me, even with my dog Puck.  I sold my Bell Merlin II, and got over it.   Even though getting a group together can be a hassle, I enjoy the company. 


prouboy

I answered that we regroup at portages. Our idea is to paddle together keeping all canoes within sight. But, given bays, islands, points, etc, we occasionally lose sight. But we all have maps, and at least one seasoned paddler in each canoe. Our agreement is to meet at the portage and regroup there. It is ok for wheover gets there first to go ahead and portage, so the trail does not get clogged. But no one leaves until everyone is over the portage.

Quote:

What seems plausible though is the physically stronger one is the more apt one would be able to deal with the demands placed on the body.........when you become wore down physically it can be hard to be "tough" mentally regardless of sex.

I look at this a little bit differently. If your talking someone who's fit vs a couch spud then the odds are the fit person will prevail.
Assuming everyone is fit enough to undertake a trip, then the mentally tough will prevail long after the physically stronger but mentally weaker throw in the towel.
Look at the elite Navy Seals. Everyone that enters training is the fittest of the fittest in their respective services. 1 in 100 make it thru the training. The difference is mental toughness, the will to persevere.
Your mind leads, your body follows.

I've taken enough mixed workout classes to know that while women may initially "whine" more than men, once they get their minds "right", they find that their not really the "weaker" sex and guys find out that muscle without resolve doesn't take you very far. ;)

I voted "Everyone paddles and portages together" because that's the goal.  But then what happens is we get a bit spread out and "We regroup at portages". 

I like the company of groups, but one great thing about our 2012 1-canoe trip was that no one was asking "where do we go" from 1/4 mile ahead over the radio.  The last couple trips before that I've been the organizer/navigator/leader, but I've ended up with a relatively slow canoe & navigating from behind sucks!  "If you want to be in the lead, you need to know where you're going!"  :P

-Tom

Puckster wrote on Apr 24^th, 2013 at 12:08am:

Hey Starwatcher, I'm with you.  I tried soloing, but after a few trips decided it wasn't for me, even with my dog Puck.  I sold my Bell Merlin II, and got over it.   Even though getting a group together can be a hassle, I enjoy the company.  prouboy

I haven't totally given up on trying a solo trip.  I go on an annual fall trip with a great group of friends, but now that I live closer I may try a trip one day.  I have a Souris River Quetico Duralite with a removable middle seat that I believe would work as a solo canoe.  Maybe one day I'll give it a try.

I'm reading "One Man's Wilderness" about Dick Proenneke homesteading on a lake in the Alaskan wilderness and can't imagine living alone for thirty years in the wilderness. Like I say, I enjoy the group experience.

starwatcher

Quote:

I'm reading "One Man's Wilderness" about Dick Proenneke homesteading on a lake in the Alaskan wilderness and can't imagine living alone for thirty years in the wilderness

PBS has this on video and it just aired locally awhile back. I've watched it numerous times and understand his motives completely.
"Loneliness" is a state of mind. Some people feel alone even in a group.

Proenneke was never truly alone, he just had different "neighbors" than most of us. ;) :thumbup

We get a little spread out at times when travelling, but in general we stick together when I go with the usual suspects.

Layover days its every canoe for themselves if that's what people want.  We all know how to navigate and where camp is.  Dinner is served at dusk.  Be there if you want some.