Mike has been patiently nudging me to get this done for months now. First I thought I'd wait until winter set in. Then I had an Arizona trip to get ready for. Now it's almost spring and I still haven't done anything. I did type it up one evening but wasn't at all happy with how it came out, way too long and wordy and wandering. Part of the problem is that while Mike seems to be a gear perfectionist and gets enjoyment from getting a solid system put together and organized I'm usually content to just make do with whatever I'm used to and don't change until forced to by necessity. I can be a bit indifferent to many parts of my gear so it makes it hard to give a real review.
Then the other day I remembered towards the end of the trip, while tent bound for multiple days, out of boredom I started making "trip notes" about how gear and food had worked out. It was interesting to look back over them and they're copied below, sometimes with extra notes or clarification.
For anyone who missed it this is the trip in question: http://www.canoetripping.net/forums...on-lake-to-goose-lake-nunavut-border-and-back
1: Bring rain pants. Would make it nicer to walk around camp on rainy days. Especially when main pants are wet and just wearing thermal bottoms. I only brought one pair of pants, which for the most part worked out fine. If they were still wet when it was time for bed I'd change into my thermal bottoms.
2: No more single wall shelters. Condensation not really that big of a deal but very annoying at times, especially when stuck inside by the rain. I was using a CCS Lean 1 for my only shelter. For the most part it worked out fine and came in very handy on occasion. Not so handy on others. I still use the shelter but probably won't do so again on another long trip like this. There's more discussion of the Lean in the trip report, mostly towards the beginning.
3: Could probably get by well with a hammock in the areas I traveled. Trees are larger and better rooted than farther south on the shield. Woods are more open as well. Quite a few sites that wouldn't work with the tent because of slope but would be fine for hammock.
4: No more wood paddles! Blade started to split/crack after two weeks of light use. Was ascending a rapid and heard it crack but thought it impossible as it shouldn't have been that stressed. My lightweight carbon paddles have taken much worse. I was so disgusted with that paddle I could have spit nails. What a piece of crap! Nostalgia talked me into buying a wood paddle for shallow moving water instead of a carbon whitewater paddle. I went with a Bending Branches Expedition Plus. I believe that's the sturdiest paddle they build at 24 ounces. The thing felt like a club compared to my 10oz. carbon paddle. I hadn't been running much whitewater and it had hardly been used it all. Then, ascending a rapid, it wedged between two rocks and must have twisted and cracked the face of the blade. I thought I heard crunching wood fibers but thought I was hearing things since there's no way it should have been damaged by that. It wasn't until a couple days later I noticed the split running up the blade. Thankfully the blade was fiberglassed on both faces and that seemed to keep it from getting worse. The paddle was on light duty for the rest of the trip and I cursed every time I had to carry the worthless thing over a portage. Many times I've had worse things happen to my 10-12oz carbon paddles and expected to pull back half a blade but they've always come through unscathed. The only place I'd give the wood blade credit was when using it as a pole. My carbon blades contact rocks all the time and I use them to push off rocks but with the wood blade you can do so much more forcefully without excessive tip damage.
5: Camp shoes should be Goretex or otherwise semi-waterproof. Need something to keep feet dry when walking in the rain/wet undergrowth around camp.
6: 8" skillet is the perfect size. Whole cook set is about perfect. 1.4L pot that's deeper than it is wide and 16oz. stainless mug. Might be nice to have bail hanger on pot. Last year I used a 10" skillet. It was too big. Bulkier to pack and took longer to heat.
7: Alcohol stove (Trangia) worked well with the twig stove (Littlbug Jr). Started with 16oz. of fuel and finished with 3oz. left. I didn't use any fuel until day 29 of the trip when I got lazy and tired of the constant wet weather and started cooking some meals inside the tent.
8: Top quilt as opposed to sleeping bag worked nicely. Glad I bought a "wide" version for sleeping on the ground. I already had a standard width (from Hammock Gear) for sleeping in the hammock but this proved too narrow for good coverage on the ground. Their "wide" version was better but it was still easy to get drafty spots. On nights when it got into the 30's or lower, especially when the wind was blowing, an actual sleeping bag, or maybe just a bivy bag, would have been nice to cut down on drafts.
9: Some field guides would be nice, especially for wind/rain days. Books ad a lot of weight. During good weather I'm busy and don't read a lot but when wind and rain became common towards the end I quickly read and re-read the books I'd brought. I know my birds enough that a bird field guide isn't really necessary but one for plants would have been welcome. Oh, and one for mushrooms. Lots and lots of mushrooms up there.
10: Thermometer would be interesting to check air and water temps
11: Don't rely on 1:250,000 maps. Too many small islands omitted. Not always enough shoreline detail. Wide contour bands make it harder to orientate and find prospective camps and portage routes. To cut down on the number of maps I needed to buy/pack I used 1:250,000 scale for some of the larger lakes like Wollaston and Kasmere. They got me by but weren't ideal.
12: What do do about shoes? Water and air up here way too danged cold to be wet-footing it. Need something that keeps feet dry but can handle having water go over the tops. Waterproof to ankle high would cover 90% of the portages and getting in and out of the canoe. It's the other 10% that end up calf/knee/thigh/waist deep that will be tougher. With highs sometimes in the 40's and 50's my feet would be numb nearly all day. They'd warm up on portages but also get a fresh soaking and soon go numb again when paddling. Even after changing into dry shoes and socks at camp my big toes would sometimes still be numb when I went to bed.
13: Mount compass on underside of front thwart so I can read direction when portaging. Many of the portages didn't have a trail. Or else there were multiple caribou trails that would lead me off course. I knew which heading I needed to keep and being able to see a compass with the canoe on my head would have come in handy multiple times.
14: 'Buff' is a real winner. This is a thin sleeve or gaitor that goes over your neck. It provides a little warmth when it's cool and blocks the sun without overheating when it's hot and sunny. It can also be pulled up over the back of your head to block more sun (or provide warmth) or can be used like a balaclava. Wetting it with water on hot days felt great as did the extra warmth and wind blocking on cold days and when sleeping. I think I only took it off once or twice during the whole trip.
15: Spray decks are great. Definitely do full robust covers when Sadie isn't along.
16: The heavy fleece is great. Would be ok without it using the other two long sleeved shirts and jacket but it's so nice to slip it on after making camp. I like that it has pockets. I sleep in it many nights and it would be chilly without. I'd planned to leave this in the car but packed it at the put-in because of the chilly weather. A few days after making this entry in my notebook the daily high was 41 degrees with cloudy skies and 30mph winds and rain. I would have been quite a bit chiller without that fleece.
17: The two foam sit pads are very handy for multiple purposes. Keep bringing. These were just small pieces of cut up foam sleeping pad, about butt sized. Warm and dry to sit on and also a dry place to stand when changing clothes. Or a warm and dry place to put feet when sitting. Or just a dry place to put things when the ground is wet.
18: Bow and stern ropes should be different colors to help quickly ID which is which when lining/tracking and holding both ropes in same hand.
19: Bow and stern lines should be longer. I think these are 27'. A few more feet would have been nice on occasion.
20: Combination of vented ball cap and waterproof wide-brimmed hat was a winner
21: Was good to bring hatchet. Not used often but handy on the odd occasion I needed to split larger wood. Used most often to limb and de-bark the spruce poles I'd make for my shelter.
22: Look for better spatula. Wider for better bannock flipping but still with straight sides for scraping pot. Something a little sturdier would be nice. Serrations on the side of the one I have are worthless. I never cut anything with it. All they do is make it hard to scrap pancake batter from the sides of the pot and hurt my tongue and lips when I like it clean. I've been using the MSR Alpline spatula. Packs up nice and small and has gotten my by for 75 days of canoe tripping but I might get something a little more functional.
Food notes:
I packed what I hoped was enough food for 45 days. The trip lasted 42.
Sadie nearly ran out of food. I started giving her some of mine to supplement for the last week or so. She ended with about 1 1/2 quarts left. Probably would have made it without me giving her some of mine.
Sadie and I didn't work as hard as our Bloodvein trip but she still seemed to eat a lot and certainly didn't put on any weight. I felt like I was eating a lot but , at least for the first 30 days, the barrel never seemed to empty. Sadie's food was higher calorie, protein, and fat than her normal food I brought on the Bloodvein.
No more eggs and potatoes. Don't care for it that much. Longer and messier to cook. And doesn't seem to fill me up no matter how much I eat. Would rather eat oatmeal. Keep bringing some eggs for making pancakes.
Not necessary to bring so much powdered milk (I'd take about 3/4 quart). Just a little for pancakes would be fine. Only used once in oatmeal.
Just a little shy on oatmeal. Only had 1 full serving left. Portion size was usually two of the biggest handfuls I could do.
Little short on sugar. Was actually perfect for the amount of oatmeal I'd brought. Would have liked to do pancakes more than once but couldn't spare the sugar to make syrup. Usually used 1 1/2 to 2 spoonfuls.
Raisins were good
Lemon drops were good
M&Ms were good
Almonds were good. Probably would have been too many but with the wet/cold weather the last 2 weeks a lot of meals were replaced with almonds. The 2 pounds of chocolate powder coated almonds was just right. I took too many of the chocolate coated ones on the Bloodvein trip. They're a nice snack in small quantities but on that trip should have had more plain and less chocolate.
A little long on dried fruit. Had two 1qt. baggies left
Took 30 days to use the first 2oz of salt but almost ran out in the end. Think I got a little too liberal after that and also made more eggs/potatoes and pasta that required more salt.
Way too many beans. Service size was about 1/2 what it was on the Bloodvein. Used one normal handful per meal, sometimes less depending on how the bowels were doing. About 3 1/2 to 4 one quart baggies left.
Was a little long on "grains" but not much. Only a couple servings of farro and quinoa left and about 1 quart of pasta.
No more pasta. Don't care for it in the meals I cook. Farro is ok but takes longer to rehydrate. Quinoa by far the best. Rehydrates well and tastes good. Pasta requires more salt, has less taste of its own.
No need to being dried tomatoes anymore
Veggies about perfect. 1 quart left. Serving size was usually two of the biggest handfuls I could do.
Grains serving size was usually 2 large handfuls.
Little long on hot chocolate. Little under 2 quarts left. Was a chilly trip and I drank it most nights. Rarely in the morning. Serving size was 2 heaping spoonfuls.
About 1 1/2 quarts of bannock left. Felt like I ate a lot of it. Sometimes ate in conjunction with dinner but not often. Usually alone with peanut butter
Long on peanut butter. Brought three 40oz jars and hardly got into the 3rd.
Nearly ran out of oil. Started to ration. Was probably an ok amount but I started using more and more to cook bannock.
With the exception of overshooting beans and undershooting oatmeal a little amounts were very good. Could have comfortable gone the full 45 days and still had a little to spare.
Without Sadie's food I think I could do 45 days out of the 60L barrel. With Sadie's food the 60L barrel is good for about 30 days.
Alan
Then the other day I remembered towards the end of the trip, while tent bound for multiple days, out of boredom I started making "trip notes" about how gear and food had worked out. It was interesting to look back over them and they're copied below, sometimes with extra notes or clarification.
For anyone who missed it this is the trip in question: http://www.canoetripping.net/forums...on-lake-to-goose-lake-nunavut-border-and-back
1: Bring rain pants. Would make it nicer to walk around camp on rainy days. Especially when main pants are wet and just wearing thermal bottoms. I only brought one pair of pants, which for the most part worked out fine. If they were still wet when it was time for bed I'd change into my thermal bottoms.
2: No more single wall shelters. Condensation not really that big of a deal but very annoying at times, especially when stuck inside by the rain. I was using a CCS Lean 1 for my only shelter. For the most part it worked out fine and came in very handy on occasion. Not so handy on others. I still use the shelter but probably won't do so again on another long trip like this. There's more discussion of the Lean in the trip report, mostly towards the beginning.
3: Could probably get by well with a hammock in the areas I traveled. Trees are larger and better rooted than farther south on the shield. Woods are more open as well. Quite a few sites that wouldn't work with the tent because of slope but would be fine for hammock.
4: No more wood paddles! Blade started to split/crack after two weeks of light use. Was ascending a rapid and heard it crack but thought it impossible as it shouldn't have been that stressed. My lightweight carbon paddles have taken much worse. I was so disgusted with that paddle I could have spit nails. What a piece of crap! Nostalgia talked me into buying a wood paddle for shallow moving water instead of a carbon whitewater paddle. I went with a Bending Branches Expedition Plus. I believe that's the sturdiest paddle they build at 24 ounces. The thing felt like a club compared to my 10oz. carbon paddle. I hadn't been running much whitewater and it had hardly been used it all. Then, ascending a rapid, it wedged between two rocks and must have twisted and cracked the face of the blade. I thought I heard crunching wood fibers but thought I was hearing things since there's no way it should have been damaged by that. It wasn't until a couple days later I noticed the split running up the blade. Thankfully the blade was fiberglassed on both faces and that seemed to keep it from getting worse. The paddle was on light duty for the rest of the trip and I cursed every time I had to carry the worthless thing over a portage. Many times I've had worse things happen to my 10-12oz carbon paddles and expected to pull back half a blade but they've always come through unscathed. The only place I'd give the wood blade credit was when using it as a pole. My carbon blades contact rocks all the time and I use them to push off rocks but with the wood blade you can do so much more forcefully without excessive tip damage.
5: Camp shoes should be Goretex or otherwise semi-waterproof. Need something to keep feet dry when walking in the rain/wet undergrowth around camp.
6: 8" skillet is the perfect size. Whole cook set is about perfect. 1.4L pot that's deeper than it is wide and 16oz. stainless mug. Might be nice to have bail hanger on pot. Last year I used a 10" skillet. It was too big. Bulkier to pack and took longer to heat.
7: Alcohol stove (Trangia) worked well with the twig stove (Littlbug Jr). Started with 16oz. of fuel and finished with 3oz. left. I didn't use any fuel until day 29 of the trip when I got lazy and tired of the constant wet weather and started cooking some meals inside the tent.
8: Top quilt as opposed to sleeping bag worked nicely. Glad I bought a "wide" version for sleeping on the ground. I already had a standard width (from Hammock Gear) for sleeping in the hammock but this proved too narrow for good coverage on the ground. Their "wide" version was better but it was still easy to get drafty spots. On nights when it got into the 30's or lower, especially when the wind was blowing, an actual sleeping bag, or maybe just a bivy bag, would have been nice to cut down on drafts.
9: Some field guides would be nice, especially for wind/rain days. Books ad a lot of weight. During good weather I'm busy and don't read a lot but when wind and rain became common towards the end I quickly read and re-read the books I'd brought. I know my birds enough that a bird field guide isn't really necessary but one for plants would have been welcome. Oh, and one for mushrooms. Lots and lots of mushrooms up there.
10: Thermometer would be interesting to check air and water temps
11: Don't rely on 1:250,000 maps. Too many small islands omitted. Not always enough shoreline detail. Wide contour bands make it harder to orientate and find prospective camps and portage routes. To cut down on the number of maps I needed to buy/pack I used 1:250,000 scale for some of the larger lakes like Wollaston and Kasmere. They got me by but weren't ideal.
12: What do do about shoes? Water and air up here way too danged cold to be wet-footing it. Need something that keeps feet dry but can handle having water go over the tops. Waterproof to ankle high would cover 90% of the portages and getting in and out of the canoe. It's the other 10% that end up calf/knee/thigh/waist deep that will be tougher. With highs sometimes in the 40's and 50's my feet would be numb nearly all day. They'd warm up on portages but also get a fresh soaking and soon go numb again when paddling. Even after changing into dry shoes and socks at camp my big toes would sometimes still be numb when I went to bed.
13: Mount compass on underside of front thwart so I can read direction when portaging. Many of the portages didn't have a trail. Or else there were multiple caribou trails that would lead me off course. I knew which heading I needed to keep and being able to see a compass with the canoe on my head would have come in handy multiple times.
14: 'Buff' is a real winner. This is a thin sleeve or gaitor that goes over your neck. It provides a little warmth when it's cool and blocks the sun without overheating when it's hot and sunny. It can also be pulled up over the back of your head to block more sun (or provide warmth) or can be used like a balaclava. Wetting it with water on hot days felt great as did the extra warmth and wind blocking on cold days and when sleeping. I think I only took it off once or twice during the whole trip.
15: Spray decks are great. Definitely do full robust covers when Sadie isn't along.
16: The heavy fleece is great. Would be ok without it using the other two long sleeved shirts and jacket but it's so nice to slip it on after making camp. I like that it has pockets. I sleep in it many nights and it would be chilly without. I'd planned to leave this in the car but packed it at the put-in because of the chilly weather. A few days after making this entry in my notebook the daily high was 41 degrees with cloudy skies and 30mph winds and rain. I would have been quite a bit chiller without that fleece.
17: The two foam sit pads are very handy for multiple purposes. Keep bringing. These were just small pieces of cut up foam sleeping pad, about butt sized. Warm and dry to sit on and also a dry place to stand when changing clothes. Or a warm and dry place to put feet when sitting. Or just a dry place to put things when the ground is wet.
18: Bow and stern ropes should be different colors to help quickly ID which is which when lining/tracking and holding both ropes in same hand.
19: Bow and stern lines should be longer. I think these are 27'. A few more feet would have been nice on occasion.
20: Combination of vented ball cap and waterproof wide-brimmed hat was a winner
21: Was good to bring hatchet. Not used often but handy on the odd occasion I needed to split larger wood. Used most often to limb and de-bark the spruce poles I'd make for my shelter.
22: Look for better spatula. Wider for better bannock flipping but still with straight sides for scraping pot. Something a little sturdier would be nice. Serrations on the side of the one I have are worthless. I never cut anything with it. All they do is make it hard to scrap pancake batter from the sides of the pot and hurt my tongue and lips when I like it clean. I've been using the MSR Alpline spatula. Packs up nice and small and has gotten my by for 75 days of canoe tripping but I might get something a little more functional.
Food notes:
I packed what I hoped was enough food for 45 days. The trip lasted 42.
Sadie nearly ran out of food. I started giving her some of mine to supplement for the last week or so. She ended with about 1 1/2 quarts left. Probably would have made it without me giving her some of mine.
Sadie and I didn't work as hard as our Bloodvein trip but she still seemed to eat a lot and certainly didn't put on any weight. I felt like I was eating a lot but , at least for the first 30 days, the barrel never seemed to empty. Sadie's food was higher calorie, protein, and fat than her normal food I brought on the Bloodvein.
No more eggs and potatoes. Don't care for it that much. Longer and messier to cook. And doesn't seem to fill me up no matter how much I eat. Would rather eat oatmeal. Keep bringing some eggs for making pancakes.
Not necessary to bring so much powdered milk (I'd take about 3/4 quart). Just a little for pancakes would be fine. Only used once in oatmeal.
Just a little shy on oatmeal. Only had 1 full serving left. Portion size was usually two of the biggest handfuls I could do.
Little short on sugar. Was actually perfect for the amount of oatmeal I'd brought. Would have liked to do pancakes more than once but couldn't spare the sugar to make syrup. Usually used 1 1/2 to 2 spoonfuls.
Raisins were good
Lemon drops were good
M&Ms were good
Almonds were good. Probably would have been too many but with the wet/cold weather the last 2 weeks a lot of meals were replaced with almonds. The 2 pounds of chocolate powder coated almonds was just right. I took too many of the chocolate coated ones on the Bloodvein trip. They're a nice snack in small quantities but on that trip should have had more plain and less chocolate.
A little long on dried fruit. Had two 1qt. baggies left
Took 30 days to use the first 2oz of salt but almost ran out in the end. Think I got a little too liberal after that and also made more eggs/potatoes and pasta that required more salt.
Way too many beans. Service size was about 1/2 what it was on the Bloodvein. Used one normal handful per meal, sometimes less depending on how the bowels were doing. About 3 1/2 to 4 one quart baggies left.
Was a little long on "grains" but not much. Only a couple servings of farro and quinoa left and about 1 quart of pasta.
No more pasta. Don't care for it in the meals I cook. Farro is ok but takes longer to rehydrate. Quinoa by far the best. Rehydrates well and tastes good. Pasta requires more salt, has less taste of its own.
No need to being dried tomatoes anymore
Veggies about perfect. 1 quart left. Serving size was usually two of the biggest handfuls I could do.
Grains serving size was usually 2 large handfuls.
Little long on hot chocolate. Little under 2 quarts left. Was a chilly trip and I drank it most nights. Rarely in the morning. Serving size was 2 heaping spoonfuls.
About 1 1/2 quarts of bannock left. Felt like I ate a lot of it. Sometimes ate in conjunction with dinner but not often. Usually alone with peanut butter
Long on peanut butter. Brought three 40oz jars and hardly got into the 3rd.
Nearly ran out of oil. Started to ration. Was probably an ok amount but I started using more and more to cook bannock.
With the exception of overshooting beans and undershooting oatmeal a little amounts were very good. Could have comfortable gone the full 45 days and still had a little to spare.
Without Sadie's food I think I could do 45 days out of the 60L barrel. With Sadie's food the 60L barrel is good for about 30 days.
Alan
