I've been soloing lately and I double portage. I like to be efficient when on a travel day so with the canoe in the water I get out and lay the yak paddle, pfd, and map off to the side of the landing.  I then haul out the big gear pack and try to position it near the misc stuff so I can easily hoist it on later.  I LOVE when I find a higher up spot like a rock or downed tree to rest it on.

Then I'll wade back in and put on the yoke then strap on the guide pack before hoisting up the canoe. I'll usually take my small camera in a pocket so that I can shoot on the walk back to get the gear pack and misc.

The only time I won't do it this way is if I'm in the Quetico interior and know there's a rugged portage.  Then I'll scout it out with the gear pack and misc first.

Bringing the canoe first is a time saver as there's less lifting and moving of things.

*It's impertant to have enough water on hand when doing long portages so I'll make sure to drink before I start the first carry then usually finish the liter when I set the canoe down.  I also have a bottle waiting for me when I get back to carry the gear pack. Back in 2000 I got caught short of water on the Side lake to Sarah killers in high heat and will never make that mistake again.

I am generally soloing and paddling a kayak.  In order to get all the gear into the kayak I have it in several smaller packs: tent, tarp, ropes in one; food in one or two cylinder shaped water proof packs; cook kit in a bucket; small pack with stove and water filter, gas, etc.; personal portage pack with all my sleeping gear, clothes, etc.; a camp chair which gets bungeed to the top of kayak deck; and two smaller sacks that are tied into the boat permanently, one has my rain gear, the other has saw, hatchet, birchbark for fire making.  I have a big foam pad which I sit on in the yak and sleep on at camp that fits into the bottom of my kayak and stays inside while portaging; also an extra portage pack, PFD and paddle.
I used to portage in two trips, now I am up to three trips: more stuff and an older body.  At the landing I pull in, get out, and if I can...gently pull the yak up on shore where it is easier to unload.  If I can't pull it up I pull everything out while it sits next to shore.  Stack everything in a pile off the path and then fill an extra, large portage pack with all those smaller bags.  Organize everything else so it is easy to carry and head down the trail with the first load.
If the portage is very short I may just pull out a handful of packs and portage that way.  It usually adds an extra trip to the portage.  If the portage is under 50 rods I usually take the load to the other end; if it is over 50 rods I will carry a load until I am getting tired, then put it down and return for another load, leap-frogging to the end with drops every 30-40 rods till I get it all there.
If the next portage is coming right up, across a small pond, I will throw the big packs into the yak and sit on top of them rather than re-pack.  This is a tippy way to do it so I do not do it often.
If it is raining hard I will just take one load out of the yak and then roll it over on dry shore with the rest still in it so the remainder and the cockpit stay dry while I am gone.  I often will set up my tarp at the end of the portage on very wet days, haul everything over and take refuge and a break under the tarp until the weather improves some.
No matter how you do it, I think the trick to keeping portage time to a minimum is to KEEP MOVING.  I know I can waste a lot of time sitting in my yak at the beginning of the portage thinking "Ugh!" and at the end thinking "Whew!"...kind of hoping I can mentally teleport over the trail and moving my gear.  I see lots of parties of 2 or more doing the same thing, discussing the situation instead of getting going on the trail.
RE: Old Salt's method....so THAT'S how you do it.  (You guys think he's joking...he isn't.)

Not a single portage (from last April)

Quote:


I think that's true IF your portaging as you described and not straining then recovering because you've bitten off more than you can chew.
Another thing to consider is that tripping in a group gives you a "margin' of error that a solo paddler can't afford.
IMHO no matter how you do it, being safe and avoiding injury should trump all other considerations.

intrepid_camper wrote on Apr 17^th, 2013 at 4:21pm:

Hello IC: What do you use for a portage yoke?
      and: What have you tried that didn't work?