Core core core, stretch at dinner ...cool I do have some good habits!

I also isolate when I lift- lift then twist never both at same time.

Your core has a ton to do with one's balance; as does depth perception and vision...noodle on that during tonight's stretch  :-?

I've seen lots of people lift/put on heavy packs with varying degrees of success.

Many people stick one arm thru a pack strap and try to pull it on like a jacket, twisting as they lift, then flounder to get the other arm in.

If you have a lot of upper body strength, you might get away with it, but most people will eventually hurt themselves struggling with a heavy pack.

I've seen people stand behind pack and attempt to roll pack up and over their head and slide both hands thru shoulder straps. Works okay on areal light pack, a heavy food pack, not so much

When I'm with others, I like the pick up their pack by side straps as they get into shoulder straps. Much safer and easier than going it alone.

Solo, I like to use the bow of my canoe to sit pack on and then turn, squat slightly and slide into straps. A big rock/log will work too.

Canoes are where it's really about technique, not brute force. Bending your knees, keeping your back as straight as possible and as you reach across the yoke, you twist your trunk and snap your hips at the same time.

I don't claim to be an expert, I don't get enough time on the water, but people who do and know the right way to pick up a canoe or pack, make it look like child's play.

I saw a little 100# College girl at a canoe rental outfitter for Algonquin Park, pick up and portage a tandem Royalex canoe while her much larger, stronger male counterparts struggled to get it overhead.

It's all about leverage and balance. Power comes thru your hips/legs just like in baseball/football.

This explains it very well. I'd say it's as much about being flexible and proper technique than anything else.

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Bowing the pack, never thought of that. The sharing of info always contributes to knowledge.

Me I face the old pack, towards the part that rides my small back. Grasp the sides or handles and hoist to my knee. Then slip my right hand/arm into right shoulder strap. Bend ever so slightly to let the pack come to rest upon my back. Then slip the old left arm in , make some adjustments. Off I go. Its an old backpacking technique.

When shouldering a boat: a little momentum generating bouncing off the thighs can help. The old bridge technique can help too, as can the deck rest...the former is how I built the strength to shoulder the Chestnut solo back in the day; I only had maybe 30-35# on that barge.

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I bet the majority of people do the same thing, whatever they learned ( right or wrong) and until you get a nagging injury or worse don't give it a second thought.

I know I did until I tweaked my back and found that "man- up" doesn't always translate to " wising-up"

Over the long haul, technique will always beat brute strength. Sadly most active people wish they had learned that before they developed those nagging injuries or serious ones that keep them from doing what they love.

The proper canoe lifting link is a good example. If your just muscling your canoe up, your asking for lower back problems. All the stretching/ exercises in the world can't make up for bad technique. You may get away with it for awhile but when it catches up to you it won't be pretty

Add in the weight of a heavy pack and sooner or later you'll pay the price. I'd be willing to bet that if you took a few minutes to compare the difference between the proper technique and just grabbing and going, a reasonable person would have to conclude they were working waaay harder  and un-safer than need be

Why not the tailgate of your truck? From ground, you squat, keep back straight, grab side grab handles/pack strap loops and use your legs to lift to tailgate, then slip in.

In woods, you have bow of canoe, rocks/logs. Anything you can use to lessen the strain of bringing a heavy pack from it's lowest position.

Facing the pack straps, lifting with them and setting the pack on one knee, then inserting your arm of choice is far easier than bulling it up from the ground with most of the strain on your arms/upper-body, lower back if your not lifting with your legs.
I can and will take it up that way, if there's no alternative but I avoid it if I can. Your beating yourself up when you don't really need too.

80 lbs is way more than I would want for my pack. Are you 2x portaging with pack 1x and canoe separate, or are you 1x portaging?  I'd consider heavy food pack, and a gear pack with the canoe, changing that when the food pack lightens up.

If your buddy is bigger and stronger than you and can't muscle your pack the way you do tells me that you do have a technique that works for you, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's a technique that's good for your body

The Voyagers carried loads that most of us couldn't even get off the ground. They also had short life expectancies and I would bet spine/hip problems that probably left them in chronic pain after their tripping days

You said the Isle Royale trip really put the hurt on your body? Imagine what 2 weeks or longer will do in the WCPP?
I have to think it will be much more strenuous and if your body revolts on you, where will that leave you

On a solo trip the heavier the load, the greater chance of injury, whether from the weight or a inadvertent slip/fall.
I understand detesting someone/ something helping you, but like the old Bible proverb says, Pride really does go before a Fall. Or as my Dad use to tell me, " Learn to work smarter, not harder "