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