I’m curious how much planning people do for a trip? Do you plan every detail down to what campsite each day and how much you travel or do you just pick a general area and kind of wing it depending on how the day goes?

You can't plan on getting a particular campsite, you can only hope. If it's already taken, the occupying party might be leaving that morning, or might be base camping for a week.

We usually pick a group of lakes we want to go through, and then wing it. I trip with two younger kids, so although we like to paddle, and are able to knock out 15 miles or so in a day, we like to leave some wiggle room in our itinerary. For instance, if we're going to be out for 7 days, we'll only travel as far as a hard-core traveling group might go in 4 or 5 days.

We enjoy the freedom of being able to stay on a site we like for an extra night if we so choose, especially if the fishing is good. It's also possible the wind could kick up, and if you're on a big lake like Sag or Seagull, conditions might not be safe for paddling.

My wife also expects us to call as soon as we're off the water so she knows our kids are still alive. I've learned not to have her expect a call by a certain day or time or she'll worry to death. We came out a day late one time because of a bad storm and I'm surprised she didn't call the National Guard. Now, if we plan on being off the water on a Saturday, I'll tell her she'll hear from us by Sunday afternoon, leaving us some leeway.

Invest your planning in making sure you have all the right gear and a good route for what's important to you, (fishing, waterfalls, scenery, solitude), then go out with an open mind, enjoy, and expect to have to adapt to conditions and campsite availability while you're out.

Have a great trip.

My answer is very much like johndku; similar experience, reasons, and method. I was a day late exiting from my first solo due to over-ambitious planning of a long loop, inexperience, illness, and bad weather. I struggled to get out the one day late and my wife was worried to death - not a good thing. To compound that, I had a 1200-mile trip home and work the day after.

So yes, I now have a detailed plan. It let's me know if the long loop or point-to-point route I planned is doable in my time frame without doing a death march. I now have a good knowledge of my average travel speed (as opposed to my first solo) and the variables that can affect that. I usually plan to travel about 5 hours per day, give or take an hour. I also plan a weather/layover day every 3rd/4th day, so I have that "wiggle room" johndku mentioned.

I do have a loose plan for daily travel to some particular campsite because that's the logical stopping point on a day. No sense planning it to a lake with no sites. If that ends up being a lake with only one site, I'll take note of the next option - how far forward or back it is. I usually take note of options to extend or shorten if necessary or desirable.

If you don't at least know the route is 50 miles or 100 miles, how do know it's doable in 5 days?

Within that overall plan, my travel is pretty flexible. I probably don't actually end up traveling that distance or staying at that site more than half the time, but it gives me a good general idea of how far through the loop I am at any given time.

I have tended toward more planning, and more flexible planning, since that first solo and as I have extended trips from 4 days to 8 days to 12 days or more. I also have an extensive checklist for gear and food.

Pick an entry date. Pick a route. Go from there. I'll mark points of interest. Most will day dream about their trip and fine tune gear for months before going.

AmarilloJim: "Pick an entry date. Pick a route. Go from there. I'll mark points of interest. Most will day dream about their trip and fine tune gear for months before going."

Yep, we're some of both previous posters comments. We know our general area and points of interest. We love the planning part so we'll read some trip reports from the area and look at some campsite reviews but we're pretty flexible on how far we go each day and where we stay.

I like to know a lot about the area so we're prepared, but we're not locked into any one site or even lake each day we're moving. That's part of o the fun!

I am in the group that likes to plan ahead, but when the boat hits the water I follow opportunity.
Reviewing routes with the map features including looking at reviews of portages and campsites, reading trip reports, and other information picked up from fellow paddlers I identify particular campsites I would prefer with alternates and any other points of interest. This activity stirs memories and creates imaginary opportunities and that is enjoyable, especially when there is snow on the ground. Once on the water weather, traffic, availability of campsites and so on dictates the trip; all that preparation was its own activity. I am on the trip now and try to live in the moment following a general route and opportunity.
Part of planning is reviewing gear and what adaptations might occur. Oh, the fun never ends.

I usually have a rough idea of route; point A to B and back, or a circle, and about which lake I'd like to be on on which day, but I adjust the plan as I go based on crowds, weather, whimsy, whatever.

I did once walk into the Tofte ranger station one morning and say "I'd like a permit for today please. What's available?"

Jaywalker: "I did once walk into the Tofte ranger station one morning and say "I'd like a permit for today please. What's available?" "

That's the dream, really. Someday...

Jaywalker: "I usually have a rough idea of route; point A to B and back, or a circle, and about which lake I'd like to be on on which day, but I adjust the plan as I go based on crowds, weather, whimsy, whatever.


I did once walk into the Tofte ranger station one morning and say "I'd like a permit for today please. What's available?" "

We’d be coming up from Duluth. Done many unplanned trips. Buy our food at zups in ely. Stop at the ranger station to see what was available and go from there. That explains my many trips to angleworm and the now defunct portage river entry.
Im sure if I was driving up from Ohio I’d put more thought into it. My brother kept all his gear in his van, including the food from previous trips. Nothing quite like three week old bagels.

Because our commute to Canoe Country is in the 1250-mile range, we plan a general route for a 10-day trip, shooting for something in the 100-125 mile range. Last August our Quetico entry lake was Kashahpiwi, and we were headed to Montgomery in hopes of finding the off-lake pictographs, then turning southwest through Shelly, Keats, McDougal, Camel, and Delahey. When we picked up our permit at Prairie Portage, we learned that the poet chain was closed because of fires, and that we were entering Quetico under a fire ban. What to do? Pick an alternate route that isn't too much of a detour and carry on.

It was still a wonderful trip , and I don't think we've ever stayed exactly "on plan" in our 40 years of paddling BWCA/Q. So, we don't completely wing it, but we don't plan each day down to the campsite and paddle distance. Pick a general route, a trip focus, check for trip reports in the general area you're headed, and be flexible enough to match the challenges thrown at you. We just got our 2019 Quetico reservation notice, and have applied for our RABC, and are thinking of route options, staying flexible, of course.

TZ

I plan, overplan, and then plan some more. Why? Not because its necessary, that's for sure. I love the planning process because I love to learn. I read everything I can find about our proposed route, write down portage lengths, paddle distances, and estimated times, and even rank the order of campsites on any given lake to our groups needs so I know which ones I want to check out first when we get there. I plan a menu, and what gets eaten what day, and even plan how to pack the food pack to take advantage of the menu.

However, this is the important part (at least to me)- I also don't care if we don't stick to the plan, because weather, fishing success, and our ability to change our mind all matter too. We have moved earlier than planned, stayed longer than planned, planned out day trips that never happened, taken day trips we never thought about, stayed on lakes we didn't even plan to stay on, eaten food when we weren't supposed to, and none of it bothers me one bit that I took all that time to plan and then didn't follow it.

So, plan away, or don't. In the end it might (or might not) matter anyway.

I plan the traveling days loosely and not too detailed. I enjoy spontaneity and impulsiveness in the concept of 'adventures'. I've broken camp impulsively in the late afternoon and reached next destination an hour after nightfall. (Moon was near full.) It was fun and out of the ordinary without being in a high-risk category. (Soloist)

I’m pretty much a base camper most of the time. So it’s pretty much straightforward., I just try to make sure I time my arrival times at a lake where I am planning on camping early enough to find a open site, or make it to another lake if I am forced to. Nothing worse then getting to a lake late in the evening with no open campsites...

at this point (5 trips down, planning #6), we just pick a general area...and have fun plotting loops.

The first trip - 30 mins of planning with an outfitter.

2nd trip - Hours of planning the night before.

3rd trip - Days of planning

4th trip - nearly a week of planning

5th trip Hours of planning

This one - maybe a couple hours...we basically decided to do the same general loop as trip #1

We plan and plan. Pick EP and general destination, points of intrest,fishing areas.
The morning of we just go with whatever the weather is doing and never worry about our "plans".
. The planning part is part of the enjoyment.

We have a general sketch of a route but it has often changed as the trip went on. Sometimes a new idea becomes a great success. We once gave up on our destination on our second to last day due to a strong headwind. That meant getting up extra early the next morning. Not only did we get treated to glass conditions but we also saw a beaver family out and about. I take that as karma for our good decision the previous afternoon.

At times when I've been going through chemo, we've adopted the following attitude for most plans (not just camping): We don't make plans. We recognize possibilities.

Not a bad thought for wilderness camping.

About the only trip planning I do is that I enter on this date, and exit around this date.

When I'm bored at work I like to plot possible routes using Garmin Basecamp. Usually broken down into by day segments, with campsites marked on the map & "well reviewed" sites get a special mark so they stand out on the GPS.

It's a solid 10 hour drive one way. While I'd love to just show up & pull whatever permit's open and buy groceries in town, I can't justify throwing our fate to the wind in a manner like that. Maybe at some point in the future but until that point I've got so much to explore.

The last 3 years, we planned our route at the last minute and just took whatever permit was left. Then we look for a quick loop or a loop with options if we want to travel further or less. This is especially important if you are traveling with newbies or kids. This year we planned ahead on our permit due to wanting to try a specific PMA.

I never plan which campsite...just check out what is available when we get there. I am not fussy on the campsite front since we typically move on the next day. If I were going to basecamp, I would definitely research campsites more so we had a few good possibilities.

I definitely put my effort into planning food and equipment...sometimes obsessively. I like everything very organized and the food clearly labeled so meal time is easy.

My wife expects a general itinerary for my trips. She knows that things happen to throw that off, but she wants the route and about where we'll be when.

I will research the campsites on the lakes we will be passing through. Have a general idea of which one(s) I would like to have. I also research the portages. Many times it is about what i expect - some ups and downs and a few mud holes or a boardwalk. But, every now and then i get a surprise: like this portage has moved to the other side of the stream because of beaver work; or there is now a beaver pond in the middle of this one.

I too will read the trip reports, scout out places of interest, etc. If it is a repeat trip through the area, I will try to find a new spot to visit. Maybe a different rhythm to the days; stop on different lakes.

The food planning is the thing that takes me the most time. I do have a "go to" menu, but like to try a new item or two each trip. This next trip will involve 1 or 2 newbies that are gluten intolerant. So I have started looking into how I can make my "go to" menu as gluten free as possible.

Anticipation and planning are part of the fun of the trip.

LindenTree: "About the only trip planning I do is that I enter on this date, and exit around this date."

+1 and take a bunch of maps!

Entry point and general/possible route. But since me and my usual tripping partner are both retirees and like minimal to no people our shoulder season trips are pretty much “what do you want to do, where do you want to go?”