fine, I'll see how Ben uses ST's tricks putting his pack on in a few weeks when we share a shuttle and have a few days together on Murdock.

To me it sounds like a process fraught with never the right log, rock or hill to plop your pack on in order to get in. I might take a closer look at putting it on the bow. On the other hand that would put quite a bit of strain on my knees squatting and then getting upright. I suppose I'm just being stubborn as I have been putting my pack on my way for a very long time.

Back issues have been getting my attention though. Yea my pack is pretty dang heavy. I might triple the first 10 days especially since after the first few days the portages are fairly short.

The new system was actually quite pleasant last trip DB and I probably don't have more "stuff" as anyone else  .

My main pack is sealine pro pack. Cavernous and waterproof with padded straps and padded belt I have run one since I started canoe tripping. Although I might not take it to the barrens it performs quite well in tamer environments despite objections from cliff jacobson (whom I have great respect for) who advises against them based on durability issues. I am still using the same one for going on a decade and it's still watertight. Bear vault (breakfast stuff), bag, tent, tarp, and clothes duffel goes in as well as small duffel for odds and ends (light, first aid, writing stuff, personal effects etc.)

I have replaced the tubular sealine dry bags with watershed duffels (NRS carries them). No more digging trying to find stuff. The size I have chosen accepts each theme based duffel. One duffel has all the cooking stuff. One duffel has my raingear, bug shirt. Another duffel has strictly foodstuffs.

The watershed has an airtight ziplock style rubber sealing system which is watertight to 30 ft. Watertight is also airtight which adds another layer of bear protection especially since I ground my food. I lash one duffel on top of my pro pack and hand carry the remaining 2. Yes I do have 3 or 4 minutes of preparation time at a portage but what is the rush?

I will be curious to see how the duffels hold up. They look to be more delicate than a sealine dry bag. But so far I am pleased.

I'm glad Ben found my tip useful. I hope MT gets something from it as well?

I know you have bad knees. Even if you don't bend them at all, pulling a heavy load that's partially off the ground is far easier than one that's sitting flat.
I would be willing to bet that more injuries occur lifting a heavy pack and sitting it back down than actually carrying it.
I always try to use one of my tips whenever possible. I'm also not adversed to leaning against a suitable object and taking the pack off, letting the object of opportunity take the majority of the weight.

All the exercise/stretching in the world can't reverse the aging process. At best we can slow it down. Sooner or later just bulling the load and not using technique will catch up to you.

I'm sure you like most of us want to be paddling well into your Golden years. Anything you can do to minimize wear and tear on your body we/you would be well advised to consider, even if it becomes a case of teaching a old dog new tricks.

With bad knees, your always have to wonder will they give out at the worst possible time? Sooner or later good knees or not we all take a tumble. Carrying a 80 lb load makes the odds of you maybe hurting your lower back even greater.
A simple muscle pull is painful enough but over the counter pain meds might get you thru , slip a disc, your in real trouble especially solo.

IMHO you have a few options. You can lighten your load which you probably don't want to do ( I like my comforts too), or you can find a way to distribute the load a little more evenly.

Now to the real burning question

How does one take a sleek solo Kevlar canoe that weighs in the low 30's and turn it into a bloated 55# one 

That's like turning Christie Brinkley into Kirstie Alley
They both might get you there, but which would you rather lug around

No offense taken DB...........I'm currently broke and it's all your fault. Follow my twisted logic while I enter the current American thinking of "it's not my fault".

If you hadn't built this website then I wouldn't of gotten involved and I would of been content with what I already had. But upon hearing and seeing (via links) all the new shiny products I invariably succombed to the irresistable temptation to upgrade. I had no choice in the matter whatsoever .

Hopefully you won't encounter any portages more difficult than the one on Isle Royale.

I know how gear tends to accumulate. Every trip I say why am I taking this, I've yet to use it. I'll leave it and maybe take something I wish I had before but didn't.

You can guess the rest. I end up wishing I had what I left and the circle continues

It's like fishing gear. Trophy fish aside, you could probably bring Yellow and White Jig-heads, say 1/4-3/8 ounce and the same color in Twisty tails and catch all you'd need for meals and sport.

I know that's heresy to many, but I know I've caught the Grand Slam on them and bet others have too. Still it's fun to bring stuff and try it out. I'm sure the Fishing Industry can use the support