Solus wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 8:01pm:



Ah, you see but MY guy was La BOMBA... a giant Latino dude who could carry YOUR "La Bonga" on his right shoulder and a 26 foot heavy wooden voyageur canoe on his left shoulder.  As I understand the tale, La Bomba also once harnessed a pollyhumper and "surfed" it & did the tango while crossing big Sturgeon Lake.

Once there, La Bomba met up with Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox and  smoked a few cigars with them while they swapped yarns.  Babe was partial to Cubans, I'm told.

At least that's how I understand it was....

Jimbo  

db wrote on Feb 27^th, 2011 at 6:15am:

Early morning I would like to follow some broad shouldered hulk who sweeps all of the dew off of the portage trails.

Seriously, what I was hoping was that we could put together the ideal paddle/ portage thoroughbred given the latest in modern equipment. Yes, I had the "La Bonga" article in mind when I thought of this and there will always be unusual exceptions to every preferred prototype. Back in the day the perfect voyageur was what 5'6" and maybe 180-200 lbs? Rarely though did they travel off trail so carrying prodigious loads was not unbelievable. What amazes me though is the diet they subsisted on during their travels. It seemed woefully inadequate for the amount of work they performed, unlike stories of the 19th century lumberjacks who were extremely well fed by comparison.

Relax Mountain paddler, you'll do fine.

I started out as a backpacker in the high country too. I find the canoe camping easier (at least so far) .

Most of the portages in the Q are fairly well trod although you may mistake a moose trail for one occasionally. If in doubt walk it for a little ways to see if it peters out before unloading.

I know you have GPS but I prefer not to head straight at a portage but bear off to one side and then follow the shore until I see the put in. Often, but not always, a portage will be the low spot on the horizon.

Sometimes portages are much less obvious. For example if there is a smooth rock facing that angles up substantially there will be no visible sign of the portage from your vantage point in the canoe. Look up toward the tree line as you paddle the bank in these instances. Often there will be an old blaze or even an old chain saw cut where trail work was done as a clue.

One thing to keep in mind however, are some of the trails may be a bit rougher than your typical hiking trail. Rock gardens are fairly common but usually short lived. Boggy spots are a bit more common than on a typical hiking trail as well. Fortunately these problem areas are usually on flat ground which helps.

You will likely have a fine time. Beautiful area with good fishing. Take your time on the portages and double or even triple portage (especially in the beginning when you are fresh and the packs are heaviest). Take your time and soak it all in. If you and your party develop a hurry-hurry attitude you will likely be cheating yourself. Slow down and take a breath and look and listen. The miles will add up and you will still cover plenty of ground, trust me.  

There are lots of very experienced folk here at QJ. I have not trod the portage in question but if you keep checking back someone else has and will very likely lend a helping hand. Good folk in these parts when it comes to helping out.

In my world double portaging is very much the norm. There is no duplication of effort as you are not carrying the same items across twice . Triple portaging is not out of the question for some folk either especially if your goal is base camping and you want lots of "goodies". The portages on average are fairly short compared to hiking in the mountains hour after hour. If you insist on carrying heavy loads so you don't have to double so be it.

My suggestion would be to plan on doubling especially your first time in. Then evaluate your gear selection for future trips and having had a better feel for the lay of the land you can better understand what needs to happen to single safely and effectively. The flip side is if you plan on singling and have very heavy loads the fun factor may decrease and you might set yourself up for a fall and get hurt. And for what? So you could save 15 minutes? Besides, the walk back unencumbered through the woods after being mostly on the water is very nice. You get to feel and see and hear the wind in the trees (and the skeets buzzing in your face ). This is also a good time to take pics.

M_P -

My background ... a committed backpacker until I reached 60.  Now, I'm transitioning into more canoe travel.  (For these old bones, it is nice to spend most of my day without a pack on my back and enjoying the scenery going by.)

Generally speaking, you're going to find the conditions of portage trails to be poor compared to most hiking trails in the Rockies.  Won't be facing anything like the vertical climb to reach Sky Pond in RMNP, but I've sometimes come upon a point in the trail where my initial impression is "yeah, RIGHT!" based on a step or two I'll need to make to get over a vertical rise/fall.  More often than not the elevation change is very minor, the issue is more that the rock face is granite and if its wet, you'll have little traction. 

So, as previously mentioned, the issue really isn't the load you can carry but what you can carry safely.  While I can carry 120 lbs, I feel I can safely carry about 70 (I'll usually limit to about 60 on hikes in the Rockies).  So with that number in mind, I break up my load in such a way as not to exceed that number.  For me, that translates into double portages ... food tends to be a relatively hefty mass since all of my trips are over 10 days.  For individuals this hiking experience, you'll find that walking with a canoe overhead will feel unwieldy ... but you will get use to it.  It does make negotiating deadfall "interesting" at times.

Good new for the trip is that you don't have to suck wind because of the altitude.  The bad news is that you'll sometimes find yourself wind bound.  Also, you might want to think about what you'll do when you can't get a tent stake in the ground (it happens ... some campsites are on rock slabs which might have only an inch or two of actual dirt covering it, if that).

As far as finding portages, a couple of other things that might tip you to a location ... bent grass along the edge of the forest, an uncharacteristic gap in the trees at ground level, exposed roots that show a bit of scuff, rocks with unnatural markings, unusual colors on slightly submerged rocks (gel coat residue).  But, my experience is that if you are patient and do a little searching, the portage will "show up."

dd