-Grandpa has soundly converted me to tennis shoes as the traveling shoe of choice. They’re light, dry out easily, inexpensive, and do pretty well on the portages. I walked right through a lot of mud with them and did just fine. I kept a second pair of flat shoes at camp so I could change into them after traveling.

-For my supply pack, I was able to fit an entire Sterilite bin without the lid into my #4 CCS Canoeist pack. This allowed me to organize my things in the pack a lot better. Highly recommended.

-A saw is essential if you need to clean up your camp site. The cedar that had fallen behind the fire pit would have eventually become a serious fire hazard once it dried. With my Svensaw, I was able to cut it up and move it safely to the other end of camp out of reach of the fire pit. Even if you elect not to bring a hatchet, a Svensaw is good for cleaning up camp.

-I experienced problems with my original Katadyn Basecamp water filter last year after three years of use. For around $65 I purchased the upgrade and it worked very well with a one-year anti-clog guarantee. I’m going to hold them to that promise. We’ll see how next year goes.

-When cutting and splitting firewood, I often used Cliff Jacobson’s method: Rest the hatchet blade down on the log to be split and hammer it with a heavier piece of firewood. This is much safer and if the wood is dry should split nicely.

-If you are basecamping, Grandpa would highly recommend the $7 Intex twin air mattress. A Coleman battery pump cost about $30. This is totally worth the extra weight.