Isle Royale was not especially tough (although a few in our group would differ). No up to your butt bogs and generally cleared portages. I'm having a hard time understanding why I got so beat up. Rigorous and faithful working out all winter should of put me past that or so I had thought.

All I can come up with is I didn't stretch. My daily workouts include 5 minutes of warm up and 5 minutes or so of stretching. My canoe trip included zero warm up and zero stretching.

My back was the most troubling issue. Perhaps having to lay on a camping mattress during an exceedingly cold and rainy spell contributed to my issues. Got tight, then cold and "bing".

Anyways, I'm over 50 (52 in a couple of days...........my great gal picked up a few suick's and floro musky leaders for the b-day.....what a woman ) and not as limber as I once was. If you are over 50 it might be a consideration for you as well.

Always warm up before stretching. Run in place at a low level or easy jumping jacks just to get the blood flowing otherwise the stretching could cause an injury. Thought I would pass this on for some contemplation.

I have a few years on you guys (62) and know from working out for years as well as having a friend who is a Exercise/Fitness professional, that the latest research says that you get the best results by warming up slowly but do you stretching at the end of exercise or for us paddlers, after camp is set and the chores done.

Don't get me wrong, stretching after your warm-up won't hurt you any, its just that latest research has shown that it doesn't protect you from injury as the experts used to think.
A cool-down and good stretching session after a workout is the Gold standard now.

A couple of things I've learned over the years that might help people both at home and on the water.

Most people after a nights sleep, wake up, and either jump right up or after a few minutes of contemplation are up and moving. The same people if they work out would never consider jumping right into their exercise of choice without warming up. So why after 8 hrs or so of lying in a horizontal position with your blood pooling in various areas of your body dependiong on sleep position, would you just jump right up before at least loosening up/stretching a little?

Ever watch a cat? When the awake, they stretch, roll around a little bit before they start moving. We should do the same.
Every morning at home or in camp, I roll on to my back, take a deep breath, and while slowly exhaling reach my hands over my head while pointing my toes try to elongate my body as far as it will go.

Then I take a deep breath in and slowly exhale while using my hands to grab the back of my knees and very slowly bring my knees into my chest. Hold for a few easy breaths, feeling your hamstrings/vertebrate slowly release in your lower back. Exhaling, slowly extend back to your starting position. Do that a few time and you won't believe the difference when you roll out of bed/ air mattress.

On paddling trips, your upper body/arms are warmed from paddling, but your legs/lower back are tight from sitting.
When I hit the portage, I take my paddle and hold it behind my head and do a few trunk twists similar to what knowledgeable golfers do. In the same position I take a big breath in and slowly bend sideways, not bouncing, just let gravity be your guide. First one way the the other, a few times is all you need. Last but not least, I set my paddle down and taking a deep breath in, I use my hands sliding down my pants front to slowly bend forward, knees straight but not locked out and try and let my hands slide down as far to my ankles/toes/ground as I can get without forcing the stretch.

The key to doing this safely is to keep your stomach sucked in as far as possible and hold it in going down and back up.
Don't hold your breath, just breath in/exhale slowly and deeply as possible without straining.

Often what we perceive as lower back tightness, is really tightness is our hamstrings ( upper back of legs). These 2 stretches will help loosen them and in turn loosen the tightness in our lower backs from prolonged sitting or sleeping in one position all night.

Last thing that will help keep you injury free is when 2x portaging like the majority of paddler do, is take the lighter load across first I know that may seem counter-intuitive to many, but the lighter first load will allow you to warm up your body properly, give you more flexibility if you encounter obstacle on the trail and actually make the heavier second load safer and easier to handle.

Or you could just find some nubile young portage girls that can carry 245# canoes and sign on as the cook and campfire builder
Until that happens, I don't think you'll regret trying the suggestions I mentioned.

Your more than welcome P-boy.

I know what it feels like to be hurt.
When I worked in commercial construction and before I became a exercise person, I hurt my back from trying to lift something I had no business even attempting.

I have two disks in my lower back that are questionable.
I didn't need surgery, I found a good Chiropractor that helped me rehab.

About that time I got into exercising and found that strengthening my core and warming up before/ cooling down/stretching afterward would keep me relatively injury free.
The times I've hurt myself was because I ignored my own advice and found out that the price you pay for not taking the time to do the right thing is far greater than the time you think your saving by not getting your body ready for whatever stress your planning on putting it thru.

Having a chronic injury or surgery isn't my idea of fun. The old adage about an ounce of prevention being worth more than a pound of cure is a truth that's better learned from others mis-fortunes than personal experience

From geezer-land. ST says good things, as do several others. Stay active -- better than a last minute effort to get in shape. As I look back on my life and its activities (and I once was a marathon runner), I wish I had started yoga when I was 19 or 20. I recommend it to all.

Good point about trying to keep up with the "Joneses" at the gym. I've seen lots of folks come, then leave because they could not lift what some lift, or bend the way my yoga instructor bends -- no way. Lifestyle is not a competitive event.

And I don't work out in hopes it will let me live longer. I work out because it lets me live better.