Warning-disclaimer: experienced trippers may find the following boring and/or tedious.

Portaging can be a lesson in life! Start with a bad decision, do it a few times and then bingo, it becomes the method of operation.......you just keep doing it that way because that is the way you have always done it.

My more experienced canoe partner was big into efficiency, no wasted movements. It was woven into the pleasure of the trip from his perspective. It was also, in part, why he was usually anywhere from 10 minutes to 1/2 hour ahead of me (he was also just flat out faster on the trail itself but I digress).

KF's procedure was to have 2 packs, one is placed on the bank, the other was wore and with the boat still in the water it was then hoisted and off he went. At the end of the trail the boat was placed immediately in the water (tied off of course) or partially thrust out ready to egress.

It is likely I will never be able to emulate this process and that is OK for me. I prefer on longer portages to take my heaviest load first and without the boat. My belief is after walking a trail twice you can note what obstacles that might cause you some difficulty while carrying your boat. Shorter walks I did take the boat first. But what I did do was evaluate where every motion went.

The take aways for me were I was wasting time using those velcro paddle holders each and every time. Darrel just slipped his paddle underneath a piece of elastic and off he went. The other thing that was not well thought out was my map case. I had been clipping it on my pack via a biner. Clip it on, clip it off........more wasted time.

As per putting the boats in the water.......I had always resisted the thought but it was pointed out to me that when you have 2 boats you can always use one to retrieve a "misplaced" vessel. We had darn near perfect weather our entire time so I am assuming you don't place your kev canoe in the water while the waves are crashing in.......I have enough scratches already.

So basically the key is to be critical of every movement, evaluate it with a eye on efficiency. But everyone has their own style and that's a good thing.    

 

this all sounds about right!

i like the sound of the elastic for paddle holders. i have velcro on the blade and handle that stick to the side of the canoe and thwart respectively. i also have some pretty neat blaze orange rubber coated wire tie dealy bobs. they are the diameter of a pencil and 1 foot long. they wrap around the paddles for a just in case kinda thing.

i have to replace my yoke for this next trip and maybe i will try to incorporate some elastic straps for even quicker paddle securing.

my paddle partner (we do duo canoes and im in back) usually stops paddling around 100 yards from shore, secures his paddle/rod, unlashes the gear and puts on his pack. i have 1 inch nylon straps with buckles that snap through shoulder straps and around a thwart. upon hitting ground i secure my paddle and hop into the water and up goes the canoe and off we go.

mastertangler wrote on Sep 26^th, 2013 at 11:32am:

Warning-disclaimer: experienced trippers may find the following boring and/or tedious.

and/or completely nonsensical, contradictory, repetitive, over romanticized, self gratifying, sanctimonious BS.

Working a carabiner is a colossal waste of time?  I think mountain climbers would disagree. 


Quote:

be critical of EVERY movement, evaluating it with an eye on efficiency.

Every movement?  Can I just have one moment of my portage with some inefficiency?  Please?  And, how would I know if it's efficient or not?  I'm so confused.


Quote:

But everyone has their own style and that's a good thing.

Wait . . . What?  Whew - you had me going for a moment.


jaximus wrote on Sep 26^th, 2013 at 12:55pm:

my paddle partner (we do duo canoes and im in back) usually stops paddling around 100 yards from shore, secures his paddle/rod, unlashes the gear and puts on his pack.

Your bow paddler stops paddling and puts on his pack 100 yards from shore?  Why?


Quote:

But everyone has their own style and that's a good thing.

Oh, ya.  I forgot.

All right, all right.  I'll offer something constructive regarding portaging for those that may have difficulty with the concept of carrying your shit through the woods from one lake to another.  If you are one that finds yourself mentally paralyzed for fear of inefficiency or developing a "bad" portage habit (that results in a lifetime of regret) at one end of a trail, this is for you.

I basically have 3 suggestions/practices with portaging.

#1)  Don't run my canoe up on shore.  The extra 6 inches you gain does not get you to the other end any quicker. If you're in the bow - you get wet - if you're in the stern - you get wet.  (If you have a rental canoe, you can skip this step - everyone beats the piss out of those things.  Don't lie - yes you do!!)

#2)  Take what you can carry and I really don't care how much you do or do not take.  I don't count trips and I don't keep time.  Hell, I'll even carry you if you need it.  I typically prefer to carry my personal pack and the canoe on the first trip.  I then waste about 3 seconds clipping a whisky jug to my sternum strap, but that's just me.  (I've even been known to set everything down 1/2 way through, take a pull and rest but don't tell MT)

#3)  Hand carrying items is a b**ch.  If you can pack it, strap it or lash it to something, it is much easier to carry.  (Us bagpipers have sensitive hands.)

Essentially, if you are a newbie to canoe camping, portage how you want to - I might laugh at you but I won't judge you (except those guys who had the clear storage bin filled with 18 loaves of white bread at Quetico Falls a few years back - that's just crazy)  But don't worry guys;  God's Grace even covers bad portaging.

Excellente! Your back! I much prefer to hear what you have to say than what I have to say. But don't hold back next time........tell us what you really think  :D

Everybody in my Quetico entourage knows I can field-dress a deer in very few minutes. If somebody were to snark at me for taking three seconds as we arrived at each portage to unclip/clip a carabiner, I'd just pull out a knife and twirl it in my hands a bit.

That would be the end of THAT nonsense.

;)

OK, here's how we portage, and we don't care if others can do it more efficiently or less efficiently, it's just how we do it and it works for us.

Each canoe has three packs: A big rubberized dry bag with 2 sleeping bags, 2 sleeping mats, clothes for 2 and a tent, and toiletries/books/journals etc. (that canoe's stuff) A Duluth bag with food and gear (dishes/ax/stove/saw/trap) used by the whole group. And that canoe's day pack (raingear/water bottle/snack/camera/binoculars).

Any given year, we have 4-8 people, so 2-4 canoes.

Canoes come in and clear the landing soon as they can.

First guy grabs paddles, life jackets, fishing poles and puts to the side, then grabs a big pack and puts to the side. He then grabs the second big pack and some hand gear and goes. Second guy puts on day pack, grabs canoe (from in the water) and goes.

They're out of the way of the second canoe pretty quickly. 

Second canoe comes in and repeats the process etc. etc.

As each "party" leaves, they take everything but a big pack and a little hand gear from their canoe, which means theoretically one guy comes back for a second portage and the second guy in the canoe doesn't have to.

But the way we work it is both guys from the lead canoe(s) come back and double portage, and the guys in the last canoe(s) at the landing only single portage.

Saves time. And typically the lead canoe(s) are the younger (haha, relatively speaking) guys in better shape, so they're better able to double portage.

The first guys over the portage with canoes set them partly in the water on the other end, but off to the side so as not to block the landing for anyone coming in on that end. Obviously, if there are waves or it's not a sheltered landing, we don't do that.

Keys: Don't block other parties. Don't linger in the water too long. Don't run canoes up on the rocks. Wet feet saves canoes, also saves your back from injury as you load/unload bigger packs.

We don't mind hand gear. We also don't necessarily rush. Heck, if you want to take the time to get a drink of water, grab a handful of gorp or take a shot of single-barrel Kentucky bourbon, no one's going to yell at you. Especially if you share.

And we help each other out. If someone's exhausted or limping or in a bad mood, we let them single-portage. We just came back from nine days in Quetico, and our best paddler had a 72-year-old with very little canoe experience (but Mr. 72 IS a former 2:50 marathoner, and a tough bird) in the bow of his canoe. We knew the Captain was having to put out more effort than usual in crossing the big lakes with the less experienced older newbie, so we let him single-portage every time and told him to leave his heaviest pack for us. We also gave Mr. 72 a lighter pack each time. Take care of our people, you know.

But Mr. 72 DID buy us all a beer at the Chocolate Moose when the trip was over, and I heard him telling his wife how cool the trip was and how we all looked out for him, so you know, karma's a good thing.

Oh, and if another party does come in the other end when our double-portagers are walking back emptyhanded for another load, we offer to take one of their packs over with us. Can't say anybody's ever done that for us, but I know dang well that the older couple whose bear-proof food barrel I carried over on one of the Twin Agonies this trip (I think it had concrete blocks in it) will eternally think fondly of men from Kentucky.

-- kypaddler   

 

mastertangler wrote on Sep 26^th, 2013 at 4:51pm:

But don't hold back next time........tell us what you really think  :D

If I didn't exercise the level of restraint I currently employ when responding to your posts, db would find good cause to banish me forever.

PhantomJug wrote on Sep 26^th, 2013 at 5:27pm:

mastertangler wrote on Sep 26th, 2013 at 4:51pm: But don't hold back next time........tell us what you really think  :D If I didn't exercise the level of restraint I currently employ when responding to your posts, db would find good cause to banish me forever.

OK, look.......
I start a series of threads about what I learned on my trip with someone who has far more experience than I......... I'm sharing those thoughts in a transparent way. I'm not instructing or telling anyone how they should do things and for the trouble I'm getting the stuffing kicked out of me. Really? And by a moderator no less........sheesh!

I can understand how some folk might be reluctant to express their views when we have other folk always waiting to pounce and twist what they have to say and relish in mocking and degrading them. You don't like me.....I get it, but its not my problem and I'm not going to make it my problem. If you want some satisfaction allow me to make a suggestion>> if your ever in the Detroit area stop by and we can go to the gym with some gloves and footpads. One of us will feel better. Then we can go out and have dinner together. 

I'm not going to win the "whose the bigger prick" game PJ because frankly I don't have a lot of practice......its not my nature.

IMHO there is no-one style of portaging that fits every type of paddler. Gear and fitness levels play a major role.

I'd compare it to making an "omelette". Plenty of types, all good for the needs of the person making it.
But there are a few "don'ts" or at least " better think about's" that many would agree with.

Rather than concentrate on what to do, maybe we should think about what NOT too do?

These are in the order I feel are most important, but I'm a solo paddler so others might have different ones.

#1. Don't block the landing/put-in area.

#2. Keep your gear organized in one area, not strewn all over.

#3. Avoid hand carrying if you can over any portage other than a short pull-over/walk type.

#4. Don't overestimate the load you can carry. No sense being exhausted 1/2 way and taking a longer break than if you just hustled along.
I like to make it across without a break IF possible and rest on the return. Can't make it without a break, I leapfrog my gear.

#5. Find a way to secure gear to canoe that your comfortable with and stick with it.
Efficiency/speed comes with repetition. Unless your method is a complete dud, you have plenty of time in camp or after the trip to figure out something better.
Guy's that own their own canoes can set them up in more efficient ways, renters have limitations.

#6. Never and I mean NEVER leave your canoe unsecured while your not there.
      Bad enough if your in a group and you have a "chase" vehicle, but a potential trip ruined or maybe even a life taker under the right circumstances if solo or single tandem.

Time of year plays apart as well. My preferred time is May. Often the portages have blow downs that you might have to saw a path thru. I take my heaviest pack and my day pack which I clip with a large carabineer to my left pack strap D -ring. Unlike a dedicated front portage pack that can obscure your vision, my set-up allows me to hold it with left hand in front when the walk is flat and easy and off to side while descending/climbing tricky areas. In right had I have my double paddle which acts like a hiking stick when the footing is bad.

I don't take my canoe and a pack first because if I don't see signs that others have been thru, I assume that I might have to do some saw work.

For me, it's easier to drop day pack, which holds my saw and in most cases leave big pack on, rather than drop/lift canoe.
If I'm pretty sure trail is clear, I'll take lightest pack/canoe.
I try to not get so rigid that I can't adapt to conditions/energy level.

:thumbup kypaddler, I beleive in Karma as well.
I'm even MORE afraid of knife twirling good ole boys. ;D ;D

mastertangler wrote on Sep 26^th, 2013 at 5:51pm:

PhantomJug wrote on Sep 26th, 2013 at 5:27pm: mastertangler wrote on Sep 26th, 2013 at 4:51pm: But don't hold back next time........tell us what you really think  :D If I didn't exercise the level of restraint I currently employ when responding to your posts, db would find good cause to banish me forever. OK, look....... I start a series of threads about what I learned on my trip with someone who has far more experience than I......... I'm sharing those thoughts in a transparent way. I'm not instructing or telling anyone how they should do things and for the trouble I'm getting the stuffing kicked out of me. Really? And by a moderator no less........sheesh! I can understand how some folk might be reluctant to express their views when we have other folk always waiting to pounce and twist what they have to say and relish in mocking and degrading them. You don't like me.....I get it, but its not my problem and I'm not going to make it my problem. If you want some satisfaction allow me to make a suggestion>> if your ever in the Detroit area stop by and we can go to the gym with some gloves and footpads. One of us will feel better. Then we can go out and have dinner together.  I'm not going to win the "whose the bigger prick" game PJ because frankly I don't have a lot of practice......its not my nature.

Ahem.  Gentlemen, please!  (Its not even winter yet.)

dd

DentonDoc wrote on Sep 26^th, 2013 at 8:58pm:

Ahem.  Gentlemen, please!  (Its not even winter yet.)  dd

Anyone from Texas is disqualified from saying when it is or when it isn't winter in northern MN.  My tomatoes froze out yesterday.

How about this for a win-win PJ.......you post more and I'll post less? I like it lively, I like it entertaining, I like information and I like you and your postings (well, mostly  ;) )

I self promote for a reason. I'm transparent with a goal in mind. There is a method to the madness. There are going to be people who might take some interest and the end result is an expansion of my world. I believe in happening to life, not waiting around for it to happen to me.

Of course the pitfall is obvious. There are going to be folk who don't like what they see. I will be the first to admit there are plenty of warts which are hard to conceal.

But so be it.......that just has the added benefit of weeding out prospective accomplices early ("Hmmmm.......OK, that guy hates my guts, cross him off the list"....etc. etc.  ;D )

Alrighty then, now that that's settled, I use to dread portages but now I look forward to them as something different especially when that pesky sun is beating down on me. Plus they make my knees happy again.

I do three trips and always hand carry my camera case and paddles but one hand is always free to squish mosquitoes. I'm organized and my stuff is out of the way if you ever saw me on one. I'll even just wait for a bit if someone else is using the portage and I don't see or expect to see anyone coming. Because I'm not overloaded I can walk faster and always feel a little uncomfortable passing people with heavy loads on a portage.

I will put my map, compass, camera & lenses, tackle ( I am sometimes surprised at what's all laying out and around) away before reaching a landing but I want to hear more about the bow paddler putting on a pack in the canoe. I'd be dead set against that w/o seeing it in action first. I do put my juice bottle and knee pads in the food day-pack just before I portage it and pull them out as I load up along with the map and compass if needed. I normally do the canoe first because I just put the yoke on it and I have to pick it up one less time that way.

So, while I have sort of a system, every trip and every portage is different and I do them a little differently all the time. Length, difficulty, timing, mood and energy level all play a factor so I guess I should say I have systems. That's why I like to hear about all the other different ways people approach accomplishing the same thing. I'd much rather have someone pointing out that they think I'm doing wrong than a bunch of folks all saying +1.

Agreed. Dithering around with toys isn't exactly portage efficiency but hey, we're on vacation, not manufacturing widgets! The trip starts and ends at the same time anyway. How can enjoying yourself tremendously in the meantime be a waste of time? Ahhh therein lies the beauty of a solo, solo trip.

Jimmars self imposed portage guidelines:
1.Don’t block the landing.
2.Don’t run the canoe aground. Wet footing is fine by me.
3.Plan on a double.
4.Carry most of your $#!+ in a pack(s).
5.If someone is struggling and you are not, ask if you can carry some of their $#!+.
6.Get your $#!+ to the end of the portage, that’s where the fun is.
7.Don’t bring too much $#!+.
Keep it simple. Less time on land = more time on water.

If feasible I stand in the water alongside the canoe. Bungee-dealee in my paddles, slip the pfd through the bow thwart, attach the yoke, grab the pack from the boat and onto my back, flip up the boat and a way we go.

Reverse the order on the other side.

---

db said he generally portages the canoe on the first leg. I generally (though not always) do the opposite - the canoe goes through on the second leg. That way I have an opportunity to scout out rock ledges, mud patches, downed trees or other features that might be more difficult to navigate if I came upon them cold with a canoe on my head.

Phoenix wrote on Sep 29^th, 2013 at 4:52pm:

db said he generally portages the canoe on the first leg. I generally (though not always) do the opposite - the canoe goes through on the second leg. That way I have an opportunity to scout out rock ledges, mud patches, downed trees or other features that might be more difficult to navigate if I came upon them cold with a canoe on my head.

What you are advocating makes perfect sense to me too and I do/did that as well.

The solos I've been borrowing recently are a joy to carry plus my saw is BDBed to a thwart. It's also my easiest load to get on and off by far.  I just need to remember to lift the bow to see what's ahead every so often.

The reason I say that is I have a fun (for me) story to tell from Baird to the noname towards Metacryst portage last trip. Unbenounced to me their are two portage paths to get there. One is high and dry the other is, umm, low and full of juice. I took the canoe first trip on the low road. Half way through I came to a rather large muddy section with no footprints. Fine. It's getting deeper as I go and by the fourth step I'm in past my knees and basically stuck. That's like my worst nightmare even with help around but there wasn't any.

I flipped the canoe off into the mud, used it to get myself out w/o losing a boot and used the painter to drag it to solid footing.

Oddly enough I know both portages now and the upper one better since I carried the canoe over both. Turns out at some point I remembered I left my rod and reel at the campsite and had to go back for it. DOH!

Biggest lesson I'm learning is that there are some fairly universal "no-go's" and to be flexible your portaging routine.

You can't change the terrain but you can change how you approach it.

db wrote on Sep 30^th, 2013 at 6:51am:

... from Baird to the noname towards Metacryst portage last trip. Unbenounced to me their are two portage paths to get there. One is high and dry the other is, umm, low and full of juice. I took the canoe first trip on the low road. Half way through I came to a rather large muddy section with no footprints. Fine. It's getting deeper as I go and by the fourth step I'm in past my knees and basically stuck.

Mad_Mat wrote on Nov 12^th, 2012 at 3:03pm:

at the landing at Unnamed to Baird, there are two trails - low route goes thru alder swamp to a bit of landing - the high route is a much better trail, but drops very steep to a next to nothing landing on Baird.

HoHo wrote on Jan 12^th, 2009 at 12:19pm:

We were forewarned about the portage from Unnamed to Baird.  There is an obvious path that goes straight ahead, but reportedly takes you through a boggy mire.  There is also a less obvious path that heads off to the left, taking you up above the bog.  So you have a choice of low wetland or hilly dryland.  Although the bogs had not been bad so far, we opted for the bogless up-and-over route, which drops down very steeply at the Baird Lake end.  This picture looks down at the canoe at the Baird landing after our first trip across

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Snow_Dog wrote on Jul 24^th, 2008 at 12:08am:

The (Baird to Unnamed) portage starts innocently enough but quickly plunges into a bog.  I start across and a couple of missteps warn me that I need to make sure I hit corduroy with my feet on every step.  A couple of rods later, the bog deepens and standing water is covering the corduroy.  Frogs are simply everywhere in this bog-hundreds of them scooting out of my way as I slosh through.  However, the water over the corduroy means I can’t see where to put my feet so very soon I find myself sunk to mid-thigh and unable to move.  I roll the canoe off my shoulders and begin trying to extract my legs without losing my boots in the process.

Jimbo and Northwoods have also posted info on the high route.

Lesson #6: Use QJ's search function when route planning to ensure portages are no more difficult than they need to be.  :)

db wrote on Sep 29^th, 2013 at 6:45am:

but I want to hear more about the bow paddler putting on a pack in the canoe. I'd be dead set against that w/o seeing it in action first.

the whole series of events i described begins about 100 yards from shore for the bow paddler. securing his paddle, putting away his fishing rod/tackle, getting the packs unlashed. by the time he is ready to put his pack on, we are nearly to shore and the pack goes on just before stepping out into the water.

if we are both trolling a particular stretch of water, the rear guy hands his rod off to the front guy to reel it in so the canoe doesnt lose course or speed.

I'm enjoying this thread.  Its interesting to hear various do's and don'ts, different styles and approaches to portaging.

One thing I've noticed as I've become more experienced (everything's relative...) is how much more quickly my paddling partner and I develop some sort of a routine (same guy takes same item(s) each portage).  The one exception is the canoe.  We switch off taking the canoe each portage.

I've become indifferent to portages.  By far my favorite part is the empty-handed stroll through the woods on the return leg of a double portage. 

Anyway here's my 2 cents (some of which has already been said):

1. developing some sort of a routine is good thing.  More efficient and less likely to leave stuff.
2. Loose items are a bad thing.  Extra energy and/or more trips.
3. No reason to rush. Too many bad things can happen when you're in a hurry (forgotten item, injury, etc).
4. Before I depart on a canoe trip, I pick a luxury item or two (for me its a comfy camp chair), but otherwise I try to give serious thought to the items that are brought along.  Is it really worth the weight?  No doubt this makes portages more enjoyable.

Joe_Schmeaux wrote on Sep 30^th, 2013 at 9:50pm:

Jimbo and Northwoods have also posted info on the high route. Lesson #6: Use QJ's search function when route planning to ensure portages are no more difficult than they need to be.  :)

;D ;D Oh sure throw it in my face!

I know, I know, but I much prefer to read other's impressions of places AFTER I've been there. Go figure.

The sad thing is I seriously skimmed all those since this was the first time I spent more than five minutes researching a route! I was looking for serious "no-go's" but I do kinda like a little mystery. I was saving east of Baird for an extension next year. As it turned out, Cutty, Nan, Eag, Cub didn't thrill me like I'd hoped so I decided to extend the planned route on this trip.

As far as this thread goes, at that one point I wished I tied my spare paddle in the canoe. I could have gone back to the campsite for the rod, picked up my stuff at the other put-in and used the high road. As it was, it just seemed easier to portage it all and just go back for the rod. There was only that one little (nasty in my book) problem area. The rest was peachy and there were no branches saying no, don't go there on either end like other non-portages sometimes have.

FWIW - My trip was the last half of August but with unusually high water so I didn't leave any warnings at either end. Stuff like timing matters a lot I find.

KY paddler wrote "will eternally think fondly of men from Kentucky."

This is the most loaded quote I have read here. Surprised that all the usual tart tongues are not having a hey day with this. It reminded of a day 20 years ago when I was training a young guy to trim trees around power lines and after a winter of wearing gloves everyday we had to work with spruce trees on the first hot spring day. We got back in the truck for lunch break and he looked at his hands and said "wow, my hands have turned to pussies!" Then he looked at me and said " I really shouldn't have said that, I'm never going to hear the end of this". He was right about that.
Jon