I recently had the pleasure of a 14 day canoe trip with non other than Darrel Brauer, AKA Kingfisher. This was after over 2 years of lobbying.....basically groveling shamelessly for his company. He was as superb a companion as I suspected and I learned a great deal.

Much of what I will introduce will be academic for the experienced.......but for the sake of discussion perhaps we can flesh it out a bit.

#1. Have a backup light
Yup, you guessed it, my headlamp with my brand new double A lithiums went dead soon after our entrance. I carry much of my gear in waterproof duffels which tend to capture some air so accidental "on" was not much a concern........but it should of been. This put me in a bit of a fix since I often like to fish until dark which puts an ample amount of skeets in my tent which need to be dealt with. Fortunately I made mention of my gaffe and was quickly handed a small film container. Inside was a teeny tiny clip on headlamp which fit snugly inside. It was the backup light.......protected against accidental "on". Lesson #1.......always have a backup light.