My wife and I recently went to Cedar Key B&B and as we went she flatly stated that, this will be a good "get AWAY from you time". I paused and shot her a curious look and repeated "get away FROM you"? We both burst out laughing. The line was used several more times during the weekend ;-)

That made me think of inside jokes born in canoe country..........

When I take people fishing or camping I like to see that they are prepared and will write long, extensive and detailed e-mails (of course I do) to insure that they are not caught unprepared. Naturally I want to see others be successful and enjoy themselves.

My best childhood buddy and his kid went with me to the Quetico for a 9 day trip. During the trip he was rather unprepared on several levels and would often wonder aloud why he had not brought item X,Y or Z. My response was always the same "It was in the E-mail".

Later it became the pat answer for the entire group to almost any question and would often draw roars of laughter if timed correctly.

Any inside jokes you care to share?

We have a group member who is know for bringing "back-up" supplies such as extra coffee, small whiskey flask, spare batteries, etc. When things come out of his pack later in the week it's called "the back-up to the back-up". The phrase gets repeated as a joke to almost anything that comes out of his pack!

bobbernumber3: "We have a group member who is know for bringing "back-up" supplies such as extra coffee, small whiskey flask, spare batteries, etc. When things come out of his pack later in the week it's called "the back-up to the back-up". The phrase gets repeated as a joke to almost anything that comes out of his pack!"

Had a guy put together a trip that had us sharing things like the gorp bag. My buddy Ron and I were eating some of said gorp. The other guy came back from using the Biffy. He dove his hand into the gorp bag. Ron asked if he'd washed his hands. His reply?... I used the other hand. Nine years later that phrase still gets used!

nctry: "

bobbernumber3: "We have a group member who is know for bringing "back-up" supplies such as extra coffee, small whiskey flask, spare batteries, etc. When things come out of his pack later in the week it's called "the back-up to the back-up". The phrase gets repeated as a joke to almost anything that comes out of his pack!"

Had a guy put together a trip that had us sharing things like the gorp bag. My buddy Ron and I were eating some of said gorp. The other guy came back from using the Biffy. He dove his hand into the gorp bag. Ron asked if he'd washed his hands. His reply?... I used the other hand. Nine years later that phrase still gets used!"

Tis true. My pastor of many years ago related a story of his time spent in Africa (25 years as a missionary). He had just arrived and was meeting the tribal elders and they had sat down for a communal meal of a single bowl of food where everybody dipped their hand. Suddenly they all stopped eating and my dear pastor could not understand why. Yup, he had used the wrong hand!

Here is another one.......my buddy and I launched the boat in complete darkness and motoring up the St Clair river he asked if I wanted a scone. A scone? What was that? I had never had one..........He said they were sort of like a biscuit.

Sure, lay one on me. It was as hard as a brick. I commented that they were "very much like eating a hockey puck". A bit later the sun came up and he asked if I wanted another "hockey puck". Sure, I said and he handed me one. This time I was able to set my eyes on them and it was covered in about 1/2" of green mold. WTH (What The Heck!)

He had just grabbed them off the top of his fridge and never looked at them. Of course the "Hockey Puck" joke has never left even after 20 some years "Hey, want a hockey Puck"

When NoisyWet and I went on our first BWCA trip we called our food bag “Carl”
Well it seemed like every portage Carl got heavier. We still joke about how we hated Carl

Many many years ago tripping with a friend I still trip with occasionally, he had to pull over to heed the call of nature. I waited patiently for what seemed an unusually long period of time. When he finally reappeared out of the woods, I asked what had taken so long. His reply remains a classic between us to this day; "Have you ever tried to find a leaf to wipe your a** in a pine forest"? No more need be said.

nctry: "

bobbernumber3: "We have a group member who is know for bringing "back-up" supplies such as extra coffee, small whiskey flask, spare batteries, etc. When things come out of his pack later in the week it's called "the back-up to the back-up". The phrase gets repeated as a joke to almost anything that comes out of his pack!"

Had a guy put together a trip that had us sharing things like the gorp bag. My buddy Ron and I were eating some of said gorp. The other guy came back from using the Biffy. He dove his hand into the gorp bag. Ron asked if he'd washed his hands. His reply?... I used the other hand. Nine years later that phrase still gets used!"

And this is exactly why our group has names on individual Gorp baggies. I too have witnessed this atrocity with the Gorp bag. I truly think people think they get sick because of the water, when really it’s their bathroom habits.

Not a joke, but we get good laughs, sitting around the fire, sipping Kentucky's finest:

"What one item do you keep on top in your pack, and why is it more important than other stuff: rain gear, sunscreen, repellent, TP, etc. ?

Variation: "What one thing would you carry up to the latrine at night: TP, headlamp, repellent, etc.? What if it's raining?"

The guy who doesn't drink is always the most hilarious, so it's not just the likker. It only takes a couple of rounds to get us arguing that a pair of long johns, or a deck of cards might be the one most important thing.

It might have started the day we took a lunch break on the beach on the north end of Nina Moose Lake. A party of four guys stopped to put on sunscreen when the clouds parted. The one rookie took about 10 minutes to find his lotion, finally dumping out his whole pack on the sand. Everything was loose: sleeping bag, clothes, fishing gear, everything. While chuckling about it later, we asked ourselves just what we should keep on top in our pack? Then it became a game, understood only by paddlers of course.

So, what one thing would you keep at the top of your pack/vest/, day pack, pockets, etc. ?

All I can say is.... Cheif Dangerfoot!

I also mentioned this in MT’s anthem thread, but my middle brother and I sing “Island Bear” to the tune of “Island Girl” to our youngest brother after he asked about bears on the island campsite. No bear, yet.

I used to start putting things for my trip together 5 to 6 weeks early. My wife said to me "what are you doing". I looked at her and said, Getting ready to get ready. That has now been a joke for years. Now when I purchase something for a trip regardless of the time of year she says, getting ready to ready .

Mickeal: "I used to start putting things for my trip together 5 to 6 weeks early. My wife said to me "what are you doing". I looked at her and said, Getting ready to get ready. That has now been a joke for years. Now when I purchase something for a trip regardless of the time of year she says, getting ready to ready ."

Ha! I am going to give you credit the first 3 times I use this line but then its mine ;-)

After a brief heavy rain, the clouds moved off in an even line across the sky as we paddled out for evening fishing. One of our crew commented that the line of clouds moving away was "the back of the front". Now any approaching storm is hopefully called the back of the front... as we hope it will move away.

I had a buddy who was bragging on the drive north that his canoe would leave us ‘in the dust’. Insert mental image here. We entered at Stanton bay (this was back in the day when we could park there). After we got out of the bay, he started stroking hard to get ahead of me. My bow paddler soon noticed a slick on the water coming from his canoe. He was right, we didn’t catch him, we weren’t really trying to. When we arrived at the agreed upon campsite on Dore’, we quizzed him about the slick. At first he denied it was him. When my brother came in another canoe and joined the conversation, he couldn’t deny it any longer. He had soaked his Hull with WD-40. ;)

To this day, we call him ‘Slick’!

mastertangler: "Here is another one.......my buddy and I launched the boat in complete darkness and motoring up the St Clair river he asked if I wanted a scone. A scone? What was that? I had never had one..........He said they were sort of like a biscuit.


Sure, lay one on me. It was as hard as a brick. I commented that they were "very much like eating a hockey puck". A bit later the sun came up and he asked if I wanted another "hockey puck". Sure, I said and he handed me one. This time I was able to set my eyes on them and it was covered in about 1/2" of green mold. WTH (What The Heck!)


He had just grabbed them off the top of his fridge and never looked at them. Of course the "Hockey Puck" joke has never left even after 20 some years "Hey, want a hockey Puck" "

LOL - you didn't notice it tasting funny?

Love this thread.

Fun thread! Two come to mind immediately:

On a BWCA trip all of our crew wore zip off cargo pants. Snacks for the day were in the cargo pockets on our legs. On one of the first days of the trip one of the guys stepped into the water at a portage and it was deeper than he expected. He yelled "watch out, I went in up to my granola bars!" We all cracked up, and for the rest of the trip, we were all in "up to our granola bars" at any measurement.

On an Isle Royale backpacking trip one of the crew asked the "navigator" where we were and he said "we're 2/3 of the way through the first half" of today's hike. The next day he made a similar reference. To this day, whenever this guy is in our group all distances are given as a fraction of a fraction (and sometimes of another fraction). We have a lot of fun with it.

Mickeal: "I used to start putting things for my trip together 5 to 6 weeks early. My wife said to me "what are you doing". I looked at her and said, Getting ready to get ready. That has now been a joke for years. Now when I purchase something for a trip regardless of the time of year she says, getting ready to ready ."

+1
I am also one who is getting ready to get ready! So much to plan, gear to get together. Travel to put in, portage, paddle, portage, paddle, portage..etc. Find a campsite & set up gear, settle in. Process firewood, filter water, hang a tarp, get a meal together, eat and clean up. In the middle of chores I usually say...I NEED TO HURRY UP AND RELAX!

MN_Lindsey: "

mastertangler: "Here is another one.......my buddy and I launched the boat in complete darkness and motoring up the St Clair river he asked if I wanted a scone. A scone? What was that? I had never had one..........He said they were sort of like a biscuit.



Sure, lay one on me. It was as hard as a brick. I commented that they were "very much like eating a hockey puck". A bit later the sun came up and he asked if I wanted another "hockey puck". Sure, I said and he handed me one. This time I was able to set my eyes on them and it was covered in about 1/2" of green mold. WTH (What The Heck!)



He had just grabbed them off the top of his fridge and never looked at them. Of course the "Hockey Puck" joke has never left even after 20 some years "Hey, want a hockey Puck" "

LOL - you didn't notice it tasting funny?


Love this thread."

Early in the morning, in complete darkness and having never ever had a scone I wasn't sure what they were supposed to taste like ;-)

I have since had scones when they were forced upon me at some B&B and hey, wow, they are pretty darn good! Now at a decent bakery I won't hesitate to get one.

My pal has had some bad experiences with baked stuff. In college his mom used to send him small loaves of banana bread. He said he always looked forward to the packages arriving. One evening he sat down in his dorm and opened a small loaf and proceeded to watch TV. He was eating the bread when he noticed something peculiar. Indeed it was alive with worms (the correct technical description I believe is maggots). Obviously it had been lost in the mail for quite some time (Ewwww)

It seems like every trip we leave with a new inside joke. The best would make no sense to anyone that wasn't there. It was born out of fatigue, frustration, and could only happen on a trip where everything went wrong. The last night of the trip was the final straw when someone kicked over the full pot of soup that was just about ready for dinner. That seemed to be the tipping point to where the trip went from frustrating to just plain absurd and we spent the rest of the night laughing hysterically at even the smallest thing. Many inside jokes were born that night.

When we are in the tent changing clothes we sing the words to Dixie;
'Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton, Old times there are not forgotten, Look away, look away, look away Dixie Land.' Its now been shortened to simply "Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land.

Swampturtle: "

Mickeal: "I used to start putting things for my trip together 5 to 6 weeks early. My wife said to me "what are you doing". I looked at her and said, Getting ready to get ready. That has now been a joke for years. Now when I purchase something for a trip regardless of the time of year she says, getting ready to ready ."

+1
I am also one who is getting ready to get ready! So much to plan, gear to get together. Travel to put in, portage, paddle, portage, paddle, portage..etc. Find a campsite & set up gear, settle in. Process firewood, filter water, hang a tarp, get a meal together, eat and clean up. In the middle of chores I usually say...I NEED TO HURRY UP AND RELAX! "

Makes me think of an Alabama song:

I'm in a hurry

Tman: "Fun thread! Two come to mind immediately:


On a BWCA trip all of our crew wore zip off cargo pants. Snacks for the day were in the cargo pockets on our legs. On one of the first days of the trip one of the guys stepped into the water at a portage and it was deeper than he expected. He yelled "watch out, I went in up to my granola bars!" We all cracked up, and for the rest of the trip, we were all in "up to our granola bars" at any measurement.


"

Reminds me of a trip to Zephyr. We had paddled through heavy wind, across sag, and made our way thru 1st, 2nd, and 3rd bay. All the campsites were taken, as no one wanted to cross sag, with waves that high, and campsites were back filling. We thought maybe one campsite in 1st bay was still open, so we paddled back to that one, but it was full. Right about then a wall of rain caught us off guard. No one had time to put on their rain gear. The wind instantly went from bad to worse, so we grabbed the nearest piece of land, which was a small island.

We climbed the small hill looking for anything that might provide a bit of shelter. The 4 of us ended up huddling next to this giant boulder, perhaps 8 ft in diameter. As we stood, 4 side by side, next to the rock face, which only provided a wind block, but nothing in the way of shelter from the rain, we gradually soaked thru.

It was pouring now. It was our first day in, we were getting soaked, had no idea where we were going to camp, and this rain had no sign of letting up. I wouldn't say it was cold out, but maybe 60. The 4 of us stood there in complete silence, soaking wet, shivering, and contemplating our miserable existence. No one is saying anything for several minutes. The rain is just pounding on us, and then my nephew blurts out:

"It's reached my balls"

Suddenly, from out of the great depression, we all burst out laughing. We were all at about the same point. His one liner was the best medicine for all of us. It actually quit raining about 10 minutes later, and was sunny the rest of the trip.

So now, every time we paddle by that Island, or get stuck in the rain, someone blurts out... It's reached my balls, and we get a good laugh.

After our rescue of May 2001, The Bobbers (#1, #2, and #3) have an inside joke whenever anyone complains about cool weather or being cold.

"You're not REALLY cold until you are unconscious."

joker: "
When we are in the tent changing clothes we sing the words to Dixie;
'Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton, Old times there are not forgotten, Look away, look away, look away Dixie Land.' Its now been shortened to simply "Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land. "

Thats funny.........things are not quite what they used to be are they?

Rumor has it that some may have suffered from "chesterdrawers disease" (where your chest has sunk down into yer drawers ;-)

analyzer: "

Tman: "Fun thread! Two come to mind immediately:



On a BWCA trip all of our crew wore zip off cargo pants. Snacks for the day were in the cargo pockets on our legs. On one of the first days of the trip one of the guys stepped into the water at a portage and it was deeper than he expected. He yelled "watch out, I went in up to my granola bars!" We all cracked up, and for the rest of the trip, we were all in "up to our granola bars" at any measurement.



"

Reminds me of a trip to Zephyr. We had paddled through heavy wind, across sag, and made our way thru 1st, 2nd, and 3rd bay. All the campsites were taken, as no one wanted to cross sag, with waves that high, and campsites were back filling. We thought maybe one campsite in 1st bay was still open, so we paddled back to that one, but it was full. Right about then a wall of rain caught us off guard. No one had time to put on their rain gear. The wind instantly went from bad to worse, so we grabbed the nearest piece of land, which was a small island.


We climbed the small hill looking for anything that might provide a bit of shelter. The 4 of us ended up huddling next to this giant boulder, perhaps 8 ft in diameter. As we stood, 4 side by side, next to the rock face, which only provided a wind block, but nothing in the way of shelter from the rain, we gradually soaked thru.


It was pouring now. It was our first day in, we were getting soaked, had no idea where we were going to camp, and this rain had no sign of letting up. I wouldn't say it was cold out, but maybe 60. The 4 of us stood there in complete silence, soaking wet, shivering, and contemplating our miserable existence. No one is saying anything for several minutes. The rain is just pounding on us, and then my nephew blurts out:


"It's reached my balls"


Suddenly, from out of the great depression, we all burst out laughing. We were all at about the same point. His one liner was the best medicine for all of us. It actually quit raining about 10 minutes later, and was sunny the rest of the trip.


So now, every time we paddle by that Island, or get stuck in the rain, someone blurts out... It's reached my balls, and we get a good laugh.


"

Ha! I know that most inside jokes are "you had to be there" but I can picture in my minds eye what you describe. Thanks for sharing, good story telling, very funny.

Readimg this thread brought back alot of hilarious memories, but i can’t think of any that are appropriate fpr this forum.

I always tell newbies to pack light. Most of the time they ignore me because they know best. A few years ago, it only took one portage for one of the new guys to coin the phrase, "Stupid heavy," about his pack. By the end of the trip, the shoulder straps were ripping at the top and he was trying to give away some of his gear. If he had found a trash can along the way, his bag would have lost half the weight at that point. His fingertips finally stopped tingling about two weeks after we got home. Now I always tell newbies not to pack, "Stupid Heavy."

Terry

"E -Failure!" was born on a winter trip over a quarter of a century ago.
It's short for equipment failure.
Back then it was the result of somebody's sled setup messing up. (poles, rope, connections, topheavy, ect.)
You would hear somebody shout out "E-Failure" somewhere along the trail and knew it might be a while before you see them again.

I think 5 of us still keep it in circulation.

Today?
Today that saying has progressed to usually mean....."I paid how much for this piece of gear to fail at the most inappropriate time?"
I never want to hear it. (somebody is gonna be crabby and or bummed)
I NEVER want to utter it. (it's gear pride thing) *smirk*
I heard it said close to almost ten times from my camping partner winter camping in March.
Nothing too major, but I was thinking to myself...."This guy works at REI."
And I'd bust a gut.

Fun stuff everyone!

An inside joke that started on the way to the BWCA. We had a friend who wasn't very outdoorsy who was a bit anxious about all "the nature" & started asking when we were going to "be there" about two hours out.

After answering seriously a couple of times, we told him, "Just over the next hill". Several minutes later, he asked where that hill was. Answer: "Right there. Just over the next hill."

He didn't think it was funny, but to this day, when someone asks how far we are from X, the correct answer is always "Over the next hill".

In college we took a couple of guys who had never been, on their first trip. They watched the obligatory video while we got our permits and at least one of the guys must have been paying close attention during the bear part.

We put in at Kawishiwi Lake and paddled to the dead end Baskatong Lake for a few days of solitude. Sure enough shortly after eating dinner a bear strolls into camp. There were 4 of us sitting by the fire facing the lake, 'the guy' the only one sitting on the other side of the fire facing the woods/camp. He was the one that saw the bear and struggled to scream "b-b-b-b-b-b-BEAR!". The bear proceeded to approach our food pack sitting just feet behind the 4 of us. We were eating steaks over the fire that night so we didn't have any pots and pans. As we turned to see the bear grabbing and taking off with our food pack into the woods, "the guy' yells "KLANG!", trying to mimic the sound of banging pots and pans.

Still to this day as we sit around the fire at night someone will randomly look into the woods and yell "KLANG!"...just to be safe.

Whatsit: "When NoisyWet and I went on our first BWCA trip we called our food bag “Carl”
Well it seemed like every portage Carl got heavier. We still joke about how we hated Carl"

We had a certain pack that was given the name "Herniator" now we refer to all packs as a "herniator"

john 800: "Readimg this thread brought back alot of hilarious memories, but i can’t think of any that are appropriate fpr this forum."

Uhhhh...+1!

When I was just a youngster my grandfather would take me on my first trips up north. He would have a minimum of 20lb test cotton Cordell line and a 12 inch steel leader on the stiffest rod available. He could skip a 3lb walleye across the water surface. Poor fish never had a chance. So as I'm telling my god father about my grandfathers fishing exploits. He starts laughing and proceeds to tell me that the old man was giving that fish some hooey and business. It's now part of our normal rotation when your working a fish. I'm giving this fish the hooey and business!!

My buddy Jeff and I practice "catch and release" biggest fish I've ever had on he scooped up in his net. ( which had a hole in it) i catch, he releases !

Love all the stories , this is more a prank than a joke , but any trip with a newbie we would say after sundown we race to the lake ,, another one is "freeze dried ice cream" 1 newbie would always be interested in ice cream !!!!!!!!!! "yes we get some lake water and at the contents to the lake water and SHZZZZ BOOM ice cream" LOL !

shock: other one is "freeze dried ice cream" 1 newbie would always be interested in ice cream !!!!!!!!!! "yes we get some lake water and at the contents to the lake water and SHZZZZ BOOM ice cream" LOL ! "

Thats funny..........everybody knows you have to shake it to get the cold effect........."Not cold yet? Keep shaking" LOL

This didn't happen in canoe country but it was rather astonishing nonetheless. I was night watchman of the Longmire Compound at Mt Rainier National Park for one winter (the stories I could tell) and occasionally I would entertain various employees in the Inn during the evening hours.

We played the snipe trick on an otherwise intelligent acquaintance of mine. We told him the bird was worth plenty of money and all you needed to do was hold an empty onion sack and tap it with a stick. When he returned complaining of no snipe we asked if he had made the special "sound" or "call" of the snipe.

Each time he came back we would add an even more over the top requirement which he would faithfully execute without question. I figured he would catch on as each additional demonstration was more outlandish than the previous. Everybody was roaring with laughter but eventually I became concerned that he was being made a fool and let him in on the gag before it got to the point of total and utter humiliation.

The things people will believe if you just tell them (You can keep your doctor and you will save $2500 etc.)

My tripping buddy is always in the bow seat. A few years ago he had a shirt made for our trips. It's blank on the front. On the back it simply says "shut up and paddle." Yes, I have a tendency to be a little talkative at times.....

nakor: "My tripping buddy is always in the bow seat. A few years ago he had a shirt made for our trips. It's blank on the front. On the back it simply says "shut up and paddle." Yes, I have a tendency to be a little talkative at times.....
"

Blank on the front? That is hilarious!!

You can have some fun with him.........as your paddling along all nice and quiet just say "what"? Then an hour or so later......."what did you say"........"huh'? etc. :-)

To throw a bear-bag rope into a tree, I put a rock into a little nylon bag, clip it to the end of my rope with a carabiner, and then sling it over the target branch.

On the second night of our trip last summer, I managed to get the carabiner caught on the stump of a twig on the top of the branch I was throwing at. My partner and I tried for a long time to get it loose by whipping the rope up and down and sending loops running up the rope toward the branch. I finally got the carabiner loose and gave the rope a yank, but instead of of dropping over the branch, the anchor bag flipped around the branch and tied the rope in a tight knot. We tried until dark to get it untangled, but never could. We finally just cut the rope and left the bag in the tree.

My partner joked that I was such a skillful woodsman that I could tie a rope around a tree 20 feet away from me. Not only that, but I could do it without even trying! Whenever we talk about our camping trips or BWCA experiences now, he always brags about my knot-tying skills.

mastertangler: "

MN_Lindsey: "

mastertangler: "Indeed it was alive with worms (the correct technical description I believe is maggots). Obviously it had been lost in the mail for quite some time (Ewwww)



"

oh.
my.
GOSH.