When you plan a trip… just how planned are you?

I usually have a goal of where or what lake I would like to stop on each day but sometimes stop early or go farther depending on different criteria. The only time I push for a destination is the last night, I don’t like having a full hard day on the way out & then driving 4+ hrs. Try to plan for an early afternoon exit.

Do you lay out your complete trip by the day, planning fishing & day tripping days? Or are you like me & go with whatever the day brings.

Do you bring a watch & eat at specified times? I have never taken a watch & stop to eat when one of us is hungry.

I generally pack food in general & then decide each time what we want to eat. We usually end up over packing food & carrying it out with us.

I guess I would like to know how others do it? I usually travel with only one other person, but in August I will be leading a trip with 8 people.

I have a 10 day trip in a couple weeks & was thinking of using a large zip-lock & package each days meals in its own bag. This way maybe I can cut some weight in the food pack.

I have never used an outfitter for food or supplies… only canoes on occasion… how do they package meals?

Looking for some feedback & ideas on what has worked for you & what hasn’t.

Troy

I sort of mix and match the food and event planning. I hate too be unorganized, BUT part of the reason I enjoy the trip, is to get way from being organized to the point of being anal about it
I plan my meals based on X amount of breakfasts/lunches/dinners.
I remove all ingredients from boxes and repackage in zip lock, with either a cutout from box of cooking instructions, or write them on zip lock.  The cutouts make great fire starter's, so take that in too consideration.
 I label what everything is, but my breakfasts are real simple, instant oatmeal/oatmeal breakfast bars and coffee. This is my travel day, hit water first light menu. I "nosh" on Trail mix as I paddle/portage too keep my energy level up and blood sugar level even. Plenty of water all day long, ( pee clear). Lunch is normally a couple of Venison sticks/ 2 little wax coated cheeses, and depending on hunger level, a whole wheat flat bread or similar. Whole grains pack the most punch, last longest.
 Dinners are in no particular order, I eat what sounds good when I look in box. I take bulk brown instant rice/ whole grain pasta/ cous-cous, and veggie bullion cubes to add to rice/cous-cous for a side dish.
 I don't plan on eating ANY fish, but depending on my luck, I'll either comeback with a few extra meals, or my pack is almost empty.
 I plan my layover days based on a couple of things.  IF I've busted butt to get to a nice lake with great campsites and fishing potential, more likely than not, I'll spend a "camp" day there.  I like too spend a camp day about every 2-3 days depending on how hard the route is, and not wanting too miss staying in a nice spot and explore the lake.
I leave 1 more day than I think I really need when I'm coming out, just so I'm not late for my outfitter pick-up. When I get close enough that I know I can get out, no matter what, I'll take one last camp day too relax, organize my gear and savor my last night in park.
 Depending on you "need" to organize you can do a little or a lot in the way of planning and meal organizing.
 I kind of like too " Roll with the punches" but in an organize way, IF that makes any sense

Oh, I'm a planner all right, I plan everything. 

I travel every day but one layover day, and I plan long days at each end of a trip (but like you, a short exit day at the end), and short days here and there to allow for fishing or whatever, and a change of pace.  I consider a "plan B" for in case I can't make the plan A.

I guess I'm one of those "Russians" that the old fogeys were unable to understand from the other thread - I have goals for my trips -  to see some new country each time, maybe to revisit some favorite spots, and to travel fast and light and hard, to challenge my limits - part of what I want out of a trip is the workout.  I don't like to sit around camp and relax all day, or fish all day for days in a row - I'd be bored stiff - I do have slow time built in, and fishing time, but mainly I like to paddle and explore, so I do.

To do the trips I like to set up, I need to know time and distances between here and there, and more or less be "on schedule", or I won't make the loop in time to get back to work when I need to.  So I have a campsite in mind for every night, and a plan B if I don't get there, because I've been hammered by headwinds for the last 3 days in a row (and some shortcuts figured out if I need them).  I break down a day's travel into increments - canoe 3 miles = 1 hr; portage to lake X, 80 rods = 30 min etc, and I add up those increments to make a 10 hour day (typical) or 12 hr day, or 6 hour day if I want a short day.  Its easy  to just wing it for a short day, no big deal if you start late or finish late, but for a 12 hour day I need to be more precise in my planning.

I like to go light weight, cause I'm getting to be an old fogey myself, and things hurt, or don't work as well as they used to.  So I've been buying new gear over the past few years to cut ounces - to do that you have to weigh everything you have, and select for the lightest, and maybe for what to leave behind.  That's all part of the planning I do.

I even plan for a change of entry date, if I can get to Atikokan early enough to make the change to a day earlier.  This year, I have an entry reservation for the 25th, but am going to try and get there in time to switch to the 24th and get an extra day on the water.  Planning for that, I have the extra day's food packed - if I can't make it in time, I just pull that one day's food out - it would take about half a minute to make that change.

Part of my planning, for traveling light, is to be real precise in what food I bring, so I don't bring anything extra, except for a ziplock sandwich bag's worth of extras.  Each day's food is packed into one bread bag (I can do that even if I pack for two people, though I'm going on a solo trip this year), and the bread bags are numbered and packed into my food bag so each new day's food is on top when I get to it - a lot more efficient than digging around in a pack, trying to decide if I want this, or that or the other for dinner today, especially if I'm hittin gcamp at 7 or 7:30 - I really hate to cook in the dark.  For just me, for this year's trip - 12 days food weighs just 15 lbs, 2.3 ounces - about 20 ounces a day.  Can't get that light without a lot of planning, and I've been perfecting my food packing for years to get it down that low - more planning.

The result of all that planning, is I have my trip set up the way i like it - 160 miles, 60 portages, and I know that I will carry 92 lbs across the portage from Nym to Batch, inlcuding a qt of water, on day 1 of 12, and I know I will be back in time for the 1300 mile drive home when I need to be.

Not a system that appeals to everybody, but it suits me.  I do the same planning if its just me, or me and my bro.  Have done the same for a group of 4 on a couple of trips.  I would not trip in a larger group, too much trouble trying to get more than four people to agree to anything, so you tend to sink to the lowest common denominator.  For a large group like you are taking, 8 people, I think everybody has to plan their own food.  I plan a slightly easier trip if my brother goes, and for a group of 4, a much easier trip - the more people involved, the harder it is to match likes and dislikes about food, pace, and even where to camp.  For a group of 8, I'd think that a base camp trip would work best.

So laugh at me if you want to, but I enjoy the planning as a part of the trip, and the challenge of keeping to a light load.  The more ambitious the trip, the more planning you have to do to make it.

I'd guess that for people who are more or less "local" to BWCA, planning isn't as important - they can get there several times a year and do some eays trips and some hard trips, focus some on fishing, or more on a relaxed pace - but for me, if I'm lucky enough to get up there once a year, well, I do a lot of planning - part of the anticipation.

Now on the other hand, I do a lot less planning for local paddling trips, overnighters or 3 day trips, and I'm not so weight conscious - don't need to be for river trips with no portages.  But I still don't cook much - I hate to do dishes when I'm out having fun.

Thanks for the replies so far... lots of good ideas & suggestions. I like the seperate bags for B-L-D & another for snacks. I will have to make an effort to eat at a scheduled time... it seems when I get out hunting or paddling I can go pretty much all day without eating.

My trip with my son in June will be a pretty easy loop, just 65 miles in 10 days, so we can layover a day here & there. I am not too worried about planning each days goals.... I will have them in mind, but will go with the flow.

This meal thing is something I need to figure out. When I mentioned the 8 person trip in August, it will be me, my wife & 2 kids (14 & 16yrs), with my brother, his wife & there 2 kids (6 & 10yrs  ) My family has been on one other trip with me, but my brothers family is new to this.

I am planning entering Moose River North & camping on Boulder or Tiger bay & then day trip from there & come back out. So pretty easy... wondering if we could make it to Boulder in a day... I have my doubts.

Troy

Jimbo:

Lawn ornaments? Remind me not to travel with you. I have not cut the pockets out of my pants to save weight -- but it's crossed my mind.

Tim