PORTAGE ANXIETY noun
: a form of anxiety experienced by slow and/or unorganized BW/Q paddlers caused by the significant fear that the party who wants to pass (play through) at a portage will take the best campsite.... Oh relax. I'm a three tripper!

When searching this site, knowing who said what can be a decided advantage ;) and clicking the name of the person quoted will take you to that thread so you can read the quote in context.


Snow_Dog wrote on Jan 18^th, 2007 at 9:27pm:

What a great thread!  Lots of great suggestions out there. Just kind of pulling things together, I came up with this: THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF PORTAGING 1.  Plan Your Portage.  It doesn’t matter what your style is, single, double, triple, or more.  Have a plan before you start.  Modify the plan when you see a chance to improve it. 2.  Be Organized.  Busy portages are not the place to re-org all your gear.  Keep your gear tightly together if you leave any behind. 3.  Be Polite.  “Please” and “Thank You” go a long way, whether it’s within your group or with another group 4.  Be Courteous.  Keep your gear out of the way.  Yield the right-of-way to heavier loads or faster portagers coming up from the rear. 5.  Be Prepared.  Have a compass and saw handy on lightly-used portages 6.  Be Safe.  Don’t try to carry too much.  Help each other load/unload.  Watch your footing and don’t perform awkward movements while you carry. 7.  Simplify.  Minimize the hand-carry stuff by strapping to canoes/packs 8.  Assign each item to a person.  Stuff gets left behind when responsibility is shared. 9.  No Whining.  You are having fun, remember? 10.  Respect Other Groups.  Their pace is right for them whether it’s faster or slower than yours.  Ask permission before helping them carry anything.

To that I'll add, when on the trail, the person wearing the canoe hat always has the right-of-way. And if that person decides he can and wants to be kind and step off to the side of the trail for two folks going the other way - just to be polite, say thanks and keep walking - don't stop and force him to chat because you are standing in his path and then point out he's covered in mosquitoes.