Click to View the Full Thread

Author	Message Text
4keys	04/10/2018 10:48PM   carmike: "Maybe not exactly what the OP is asking, but I once saw a guy carrying his wife across a portage. I asked him if he needed help (assuming she was injured), but he said no, she just didn't like to get her feet wet. True story. " My husband would leave me stranded rather than consider carrying me across wet areas. Wear appropriate footwear, or wash off in the lake.
buzz17	04/11/2018 10:40AM   I would really enjoy an over-sized queen inflatable mattress. I have packed in large cast iron pans....great for cooking! I always pack in a 2 burner coleman propane stove after doing it a few years ago. The time savings alone will always outweigh the 12 lbs. The "you brought THAT!!??" moment came on Gabbro one year when we had to pack out an ipod boombox that someone left behind. We used the stack of porn mags left at the latrine for fire starter. It got down in the low 20's with snow that year.
MikeinMpls	04/11/2018 11:34AM   I once brought in a small fan.... maybe 4X4 inches, maybe a bit bigger. It ran on four D cell batteries, so it was heavy! Brought it with me on a trip north out of Baker Lake during a VERY hot spell. Didn't work as well as I had hoped. First time was the last time for the fan. Mike
Flatlandpaddler	04/11/2018 08:52AM   offroadjeeper: "I always wanted to bring an underwater camera/monitor system. Still can't bring myself to haul it in. " I will be bring mine this year. Aqua-vu Micro II. 3.5 lcd 15oz fits in your pocket 7 hr run time
AmarilloJim	04/11/2018 11:22AM   On a base camp trip one year I brought a golf club to keep my swing in groove. Had a tourney the next week.
MikeinMpls	04/11/2018 11:39AM   Flatlandpaddler: "offroadjeeper: "I always wanted to bring an underwater camera/monitor system. Still can't bring myself to haul it in. " I will be bring mine this year. Aqua-vu Micro II. 3.5 lcd 15oz fits in your pocket 7 hr run time " That looks cool. But I looked up this unit and found that it contains a "built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery for 8 hours of run time and a battery charger." How do you recharge this unit, or do you use it only eight hours for the entire run of a trip? Mike
Gadfly	04/11/2018 11:47AM   For summer trips heaviest unneeded thing I bring is beer. A few winters ago when we went there was decent ice and barely any snow so we brought skates, sticks and a couple pucks.
PikeChase	04/11/2018 12:22PM   Would love to have a full queen inflatable mattress and more fresh food (Steaks, veggies, etc.). Beer in a cooler would also be great. Things we have brought along and later regretted: are a 5 pound bag of potatoes after we forgot to just grab a few out and the hole bag came with for the whole trip. We never even ate potatoes that trip. Full size lawn chairs weighing over 9 lbs. each. We didn't weight them ahead of time and didn't think the weight would be that much. There was a trip where we forgot about meal planning and wound up grabbing a bunch of food at the last second. That trip we wound up with 3 packs of tortilla shells, 4 things of summer sausage and a 5 lb bag of GORP. Lesson learned. I went on a trip last time with my parents. My dad was convinced he could bring a roller duffel bag. He told me he'd just roll it across portages which was surprising because he's been up there before. I thought I had convinced him otherwise until he showed up with it. Him and my mom are pop drinkers so they both showed up with 6 packs of 24 oz. drinks. We wound up packing out a good amount of that pop and on the way out my parents were wiped so my wife wound up carrying the roller duffel with pop in it across the longest portage. She was already irritated with the roller duffel carrying it across but was heated when she found out there was leftover pop in that bag as well. Next time I'll inspect their gear a little better.
Flatlandpaddler	04/11/2018 03:10PM   MikeinMpls: "Flatlandpaddler: "offroadjeeper: "I always wanted to bring an underwater camera/monitor system. Still can't bring myself to haul it in. " I will be bring mine this year. Aqua-vu Micro II. 3.5 lcd 15oz fits in your pocket 7 hr run time " That looks cool. But I looked up this unit and found that it contains a "built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery for 8 hours of run time and a battery charger." How do you recharge this unit, or do you use it only eight hours for the entire run of a trip? Mike" I use it mostly for short periods of time when open water fishing to mainly check bottom structure Or to see if anything is "hanging around" . Its best for that in open water do to its limited range . Its made for ice fishing when your stationary and vertical jigging. Took it on a 5 day trip this fall and had battery left at end of trip I have a vexilar boundary waters as a locator for longer use on trips. I do have one of the older 7" BW screen with the 12v10aph battery and its a you brought THAT! Rig lol
flynn	04/11/2018 05:37PM   I will be bringing a small refractor telescope in September if everything goes well. For the (scope, diagonal, eyepieces, case), (mount, and tripod), it will be ~20lbs. The grouped items might go in a single extra pack, I'm not sure yet. Based on my June trip I will decide if this is not something I want to do. The September route will be fairly leisurely paced, and the sun will set much earlier than in June, so we will have a lot of time for stargazing without having to stay up past midnight. A lot of friends think I'm crazy but if I don't mind moving slow and being careful with the Pelican cases or whatever I use, then it's not that big of a deal, I think. If I decide not to bring the scope, I will definitely be bringing some of my Nikon and Fujinon binoculars with a tripod and lightweight mount. Bino astronomy is the best.
johndku	04/06/2018 06:08AM   I'm slipping a bow drill into my pack this year. Can't wait to see my 12 year old son's face when I tell him to start a fire.
Arcola	04/06/2018 06:50AM   Slipped a can of Pineapple chunks in heavy syrup into my gear on a Wilderness Inquiry trip before it was the program it is today. Two people per #4.My partners eyes were filled with loathing he'd been carrying the extra weight when I unveiled it and the P38,,,til he got the first bite. The can was nearly weightless the rest of the trip. :)
BWPaddler	04/05/2018 10:57PM   admirable all... I've not done anything similarly intentional, but you are giving me some good ideas.
JimmyJustice	04/06/2018 07:53AM   What I always hope someone in my party will bring but they never do: Full size lawn chair Horse Shoes 14" cast iron skillet Ice (and a cooler)
hexnymph	04/06/2018 08:03AM   We had watermelon on Yum Yum lake once. It was divine. I would like to bring enough oil to deep fry everything some trip. Hex
carmike	04/06/2018 08:19AM   hexnymph: "We had watermelon on Yum Yum lake once. It was divine. Hex" That's pretty cool.
nooneuno	04/06/2018 09:08AM   For some unknown reason, first-timers who go with us usually always bring a few large rocks in their packs.
Frenchy19	04/06/2018 10:08AM   nooneuno: "For some unknown reason, first-timers who go with us usually always bring a few large rocks in their packs. " Yep!
Flashback	04/06/2018 02:06PM   1989 I think it was.......... I attended the National Outdoor Leadership School /Outdoor Educator Course. It was a 21 day course, and was all done "in the field" We were backpacking in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. Before we traveled to our put in point, our pack and it's contents were checked; to assure we didn't carry any "unauthorized" gear. Anything made of cotton (aka death cloth) was unauthorized. Being the kind of guy that I am, and having somewhat of an "authority problem", I waited until the last minute & sneaked one piece of extra clothing into my pack. It had already been weighed at 78 lbs. I carried that piece of clothing for 21 days; and it never saw the light of day. On the last day, before hiking to the take out point; I pulled out that extra piece of clothing, and wore them............ It was a pair of levis........... Everybody in the class thought it was a hoot; the instructors not so much. BOB
analyzer	04/06/2018 05:32PM   My sister once brought smoked salmon to the boundary waters. That's darn near like bringing water. She brought some other eye opening stuff that trip: Full green peppers (not stuffed unfortunately), a head of lettuce, full lemons. I have to say I have brought some stuff like that for the first meal, like corn on the cob, baked potatoes. I guess a screen tent is our biggest luxury now. My friend once brought a 16-gallon keg. That was stupid. I don't drink, but him and his brothers did. I don't think they took the time to think about what a 375 mile road journey, and a 13 mile paddle across white caps, was going to do to that beer. It was all foam, by the time we got to the campsite. But there's nothing quite like a 75 degree glass of warm foam, when you're hot and thirsty.
jcavenagh	04/06/2018 02:57PM   missmolly: "I backpacked a pie once too on the Appalachian Trail. When I pulled it from my pack in the shelter, it suddenly got very quiet. Sigh. I shared. Those bastards! " Wait a sec...I think I read about that on some blog or another!! ;)
jcavenagh	04/06/2018 02:58PM   On my very first trip we brought fully prepared stuffed green peppers. We sealed them with a seal-a-meal and my B-I-L autoclaved them at his lab.
Soledad	04/06/2018 03:49PM   someone in our group once brought nunchucks. Didn't get invited back. Another younger member brought a hairy sasquatch outfit, and I decided to go through packs before the trip from now on.
Flatlandpaddler	04/06/2018 08:09PM   A few years back on a 3 generation trip. I brought along a little treat for my 70yo father on his first trip back since 1966. After a long portage my son of 17 parched from his pack mule duties, grabbed the wrong water bottle. It was the Nalgene with the quart of Kettle One and with a spit take he proclaimed " ITS F..KIN VODKA" dads eyes lit up and he said" "you brought me some 4 thirsty's" Arriving in camp and getting the ribeye's on the fire, my father laying in a hammock enjoyed his 4 thirsty of a martini with the BLUE CHEESE STUFFED OLIVES I also pack in . He proclaimed it was the best drink of his life!
ABisbee	04/06/2018 08:41PM   Six pack of beer in a dry bag with ice and a five pound bag of potatoes. These went up a three mile hike up snowy mountain in the Adirondack Mountains. Everyone wondered why I had to stop so many times, but everyone was excited when I shared! Kind of worth it, kind of not.
ozarkpaddler	04/06/2018 09:58PM   On a BWCAW trip a couple decades ago my friend and his wife joined my wife and I. Last day coming UP the Stairway portage from Rose to Duncan, we helped them out. I helped him with his 18' Grumman and my wife made an extra trip with one of their Duluth packs. When we took our post trip showers at Hungry Jack, my wife came out of the shower house STEAMING. "You know what Chris had in that damn pack I carried?" INDUSTRIAL SIZED shampoo, conditioner, and nail polish remover!" I laughed, but my wife didn't think it was as funny as I did (LOL)! Of course, I didn't carry that pack, either (LOL)!
Jeriatric	04/06/2018 10:17PM   A two-burner, white gas stove would be kind of neat.
nctry	04/06/2018 07:21PM   On our memorial weekend annual trips I used to hand people packs and let them take whatever they wanted. My ex bil and his wife had a sleeping bag that barely fit one bag and a boom box in the other. I supplied them with tent, but I don't even recall them having much for extra clothes. I wish someone would bring a pie!
tarnkt	04/06/2018 08:18PM   A group of nine of us went when we were 19 for 9 days. We were loaded to the gills and triple/quadruple portaged all of our gear from snowbank to disappointment. On day 6 two of the more entrepreneurial members of our group pulled out two 6 packs of 24 oz bottles of Mountain Dew. Instead of offering them up for the group as a treat they decided to auction them off (supply and demand....) we all bid on them, going rate was between 5-10 dollars per bottle. Joke was on them since we didn’t have cash on us and when we got out the group agreed that since we all portaged them in they were free.
keth0601	04/05/2018 08:13PM   Kind of a fun topic. What are some things that you would love to have camping in the wilderness but wouldn't be caught dead hauling in because it's just too heavy or awkward/difficult to pack? I'm in a group where we go out on a lot of shorter trips (mostly backpacking weekends or 3/4 day trips) and for fun I've picked up a habit of bringing along random, often heavy food items that I like to pull out at random times and share with the group. This all came about last year when I was training for a mountain climb and needed to add some extra weight to my pack and started throwing in random things. To date I've done a whole fresh pineapple (excellent roasted over the fire), 6 packs of bottled beer various whole pies (apple, peach, blueberry), melon, cake, and various elaborate drinks. I managed to pack in a whole apple pie about 2 days and 25 miles in and then pull it out of the pack one evening and it was still in perfectly good condition (I was admittedly rather proud of that...).
missmolly	04/05/2018 08:45PM   I backpacked a pie once too on the Appalachian Trail. When I pulled it from my pack in the shelter, it suddenly got very quiet. Sigh. I shared. Those bastards!
wetcanoedog	04/05/2018 09:47PM   a full size aluminum lawn chair.
shock	04/08/2018 09:45AM   1 trip to the SAK , i had 2 friends from texas with and they like there beer and wanted to bring in 3 party balls, i guess they visualized paved paths between lakes , i finally talked them into just bring 1 party ball , and after the trip , they said they wouldn't have brought that if they knew . i tried to tell them ,
nctry	04/08/2018 10:26AM   Brought in this pig to roast.
Northwoodsman	04/08/2018 10:36AM   nctry: "Brought in this pig to roast." And a Homing Pigeon to send for more ice.
analyzer	04/08/2018 11:49AM   Flatlandpaddler: "A few years back on a 3 generation trip. I brought along a little treat for my 70yo father on his first trip back since 1966. After a long portage my son of 17 parched from his pack mule duties, grabbed the wrong water bottle. It was the Nalgene with the quart of Kettle One and with a spit take he proclaimed " ITS F..KIN VODKA" dads eyes lit up and he said" "you brought me some 4 thirsty's" Arriving in camp and getting the ribeye's on the fire, my father laying in a hammock enjoyed his 4 thirsty of a martini with the BLUE CHEESE STUFFED OLIVES I also pack in . He proclaimed it was the best drink of his life!" Cool story.
shock	04/08/2018 09:45AM   1 trip to the SAK , i had 2 friends from texas with and they like there beer and wanted to bring in 3 party balls, i guess they visualized paved paths between lakes , i finally talked them into just bring 1 party ball , and after the trip , they said they wouldn't have brought that if they knew . i tried to tell them ,
Savage Voyageur	04/08/2018 01:10PM   My nephew brought a large cooler with 2 gallons of milk. The portage from Clearwater to Mountain was a bear with a full cooler. I could have killed him.
Abbey	04/08/2018 09:04PM   When we lived in Arizona, we did a lot of backpacking, and I did several solo trips. One was up the Rincons to Manning camp, which is within Saguaro National Park. Depending on the route, it is 4k to 5k feet of vertical over 10 to 12 miles of trail, each way. Total goat march. I went fast a light. Bivy, pad, light sleeping bag even though temps were low 30s at that elevation/season. Regulations for the national park are to camp only at bear boxes, so despite being far into the wilderness, you camp near others. First night, I have the place to myself. Second night this pair shows up and picks a nearby site. I talk to them, and turns out one of them works at the specialty gear store. I thought they might have some cool new gear, but this is their first trip. Okay, maybe they need some pointers, so talk to them some more. They are boiling water in a thrift store saucepan that they has cooked canned food in because they only carried the milk jug of water half way up before stashing it. Then they pull out a six pack of beer. In glass bottles. I take a sip of my whiskey from a small nalgene and watch the lightbulbs go off. I typically needed five to six liters of water per day backpacking in that low humidity. Their gallon half way down wasn’t enough for the two of them. I filtered water for them before I left the next morning so they didn’t need to drink that boiled water with all the ash from the fire in it. Also called one of their girlfriends for them when I got down the mountain (as they requested) because they decided to stay an extra night. Comical, but we all had to start somewhere.
Blatz	04/08/2018 04:37PM   A guy I used to trip with in the BW would always bring swim fins, snorkel and goggles. He claimed to see tons of big fish during his underwater excursions.
carmike	04/08/2018 05:09PM   Maybe not exactly what the OP is asking, but I once saw a guy carrying his wife across a portage. I asked him if he needed help (assuming she was injured), but he said no, she just didn't like to get her feet wet. True story.
Basspro69	04/08/2018 05:40PM   Sofa !
tuscarorasurvivor	04/08/2018 06:09PM   Flatlandpaddler: "A few years back on a 3 generation trip. I brought along a little treat for my 70yo father on his first trip back since 1966. After a long portage my son of 17 parched from his pack mule duties, grabbed the wrong water bottle. It was the Nalgene with the quart of Kettle One and with a spit take he proclaimed " ITS F..KIN VODKA" dads eyes lit up and he said" "you brought me some 4 thirsty's" Arriving in camp and getting the ribeye's on the fire, my father laying in a hammock enjoyed his 4 thirsty of a martini with the BLUE CHEESE STUFFED OLIVES I also pack in . He proclaimed it was the best drink of his life!" I love it! Two years ago I took a tri-gen trip with my then 80 yo dad and then 17 and 19 yo sons. His last trip to “BWCA” was as a very young man with his young bride before it was established as a wilderness area. I made sure to bring a bottle of Windsor Reserve bourbon for Pop. No mistakes though. We’re all taking a trip this year as well. Probably need 2 bottles this time as the young men will want to partake as well! We bring along a very large tent dad can stand up in and a cot to sleep on. Not something I’d usually bring along to BWCA. Good thing the boys are strong!
offroadjeeper	04/09/2018 02:50PM   I always wanted to bring an underwater camera/monitor system. Still can't bring myself to haul it in.
scat	04/09/2018 08:05PM   I bring a lawn chair. Priceless.
Selfsuffi	04/10/2018 10:01AM   nooneuno: "For some unknown reason, first-timers who go with us usually always bring a few large rocks in their packs. " Not NICE!!! Yet it is hysterical.....my brother is in trouble when we go in June.
Stumpy	04/10/2018 10:33AM   Rake, table, lawn chairs, old 1980s big camcorder, and more...
Northwoodsman	04/10/2018 12:56PM   A rake is always a consideration. I have a 8" wide aluminum/plastic rake that weighs only a few ounces. If I cut the handle down I could get it even lighter. I hate all of the bark, wood chunks, rocks, and twigs under the tent and around the fire grate.
nctry	04/10/2018 10:50AM   Northwoodsman: "nctry: "Brought in this pig to roast." And a Homing Pigeon to send for more ice." Would have mentioned that, but didn't want anyone laughing at me.
nctry	04/13/2018 07:12AM   4keys: "carmike: "Maybe not exactly what the OP is asking, but I once saw a guy carrying his wife across a portage. I asked him if he needed help (assuming she was injured), but he said no, she just didn't like to get her feet wet. True story. " My husband would leave me stranded rather than consider carrying me across wet areas. Wear appropriate footwear, or wash off in the lake. " I'm thinking he'd carry you to the moon and back... But portaging, doesn't want to deprive you of the experience. :)
johndku	04/13/2018 11:25AM   bct: "Nothing like real half n half in your coffee for 8 days... I believe a golf club has made it to the summit of Everest." Heck, a golf club and golf ball made it to the moon!
scat	04/13/2018 12:58PM   On my son's first couple trips I brought golf balls, a putter, a wiffle ball and bat and a frisbee. The little guys spent about eighty per cent of their time on shore hitting stones into the lake with the bat. I'm not sure, but it might have been if the stone hit the island it was a homer. The greens were a tad hard to read and didn't get much play.
bct	04/13/2018 11:17AM   Nothing like real half n half in your coffee for 8 days... I believe a golf club has made it to the summit of Everest.