Sounds like a real newbie question-I'm just not used to doing it all myself solo and want to keep my canoe off the shore and off the rocks. Seems to me it's pretty difficult if I have to brace the canoe somehow in the wind and waves while trying to fish a 40 lb pack onto my back, or worse yet the back and an extra food bag. I find it hard enough on a local calm beach and just a little fishing tackle and light anchor in a day pack.

I would hate to have to throw my gear to shore, then pick up the canoe and carry it up. Any suggestions how you folks manage? Or is it just brute strength with the pack, bag, and canoe all at once? Ugh.

Drive it like a rental.

Get the boat close to water nose/bow pointed to water in a flat or level-ish spot load it, then pick up the back and slide it in. Float it around to a sideways to the shore position and hop in. Same in getting out pull up some way side ways get out pick up the nose and ease the boat up on shore/rocks in a level-ish spot unload.
OR
Go wet foot and jump in and out in the water unload in the water (putting your stuff on dry land)

First thing - one has to be stable (no sitting in a rocking canoe). Easiest way to achieve it - hop out of the boat and find proper footing. Second thing - the canoe has to be safe. If there's any chance it's being blown away by wind and waves - use a painter line to tie it to something on the shore. Now packs can be delivered to a dry harbor they deserve. No throwing.

We wear knee high muck boots that allow us to get out of the canoes still a few feet from shore.

As others have said, come in parallel with the shore. Get out before actually hitting rocks, painter in hand. Pull the canoe up on to the shore, then remove the gear.

I just try to get close, get out, lift the bow, walk it in (don't drag), set it down, unload. Reverse procedure to load. Sometimes it's harder than others obviously - do the best you can.

ockycamper: "We wear knee high muck boots that allow us to get out of the canoes still a few feet from shore.
"

Yup that is the answer.
I’m solo almost exclusively and wear boots when loading and occasionally when unloading. That is unless its summer and the water ain’t icy.

Tom

I am a wet footer. I pull up parallel to the shore and step out into the water. I travel quite light (25 lb. or less for my main pack including food and a very small daypack that is about 5-10 lbs.). If really windy, I tie a painter to shore, but only in extreme conditions. If it is a rocky shore, I just stand with the canoe floating and bumping into my legs, and bungee in my paddle. Then I grab the packs and pivot in place to set them on the shore while maintaining contact with the canoe. Then I take the canoe completely out of the water and set it on land. I prep my packs (clip daypack and PFD onto the main pack). Then I single portage. I walk the canoe into the water, and set the packs in without losing touch of the canoe.

If I have a double portage situation, I will set the packs close to the water, then put the canoe in and pivot my body to grab the packs.

If the shore is just sand or grass, I will pull the bow up onto the ground to unload.

Ioway: "Drive it like a rental.

Get the boat close to water nose/bow pointed to water in a flat or level-ish spot load it, then pick up the back and slide it in. Float it around to a sideways to the shore position and hop in. Same in getting out pull up some way side ways get out pick up the nose and ease the boat up on shore/rocks in a level-ish spot unload.
"

Man....don't do this. No one actually treats their canoe like this, right?

After then first few dings and scratches.

I don't worry about it.

I don't abuse my canoes but I use them.

Wet footing helps, boots help.

But some landings are to deep for boots.

Being driven to shore by wind ect one will ding ones canoe.

I don't worry about it.

If you worry about your canoe to much buy a used beat up one and enjoy the trip more.

Wet Foot Wet Foot Wet Foot or knee high Mucks in cold weather

I agree with the parallel to the shore take, and I get my feet wet. You will run into landings where your boat is going to get dinged; that is inevitable.

And treating your canoe like a rental? Well, I treat my rentals like the cars I own-I am careful with them.

Most of us rent canoes. . .often kevlar. They can't be driven up on the rocks. Even the canoes I have owned, both royalex and kevlar, I would never drive up on the rocks to get out.

In watching groups the past 15 years, most of the "dings" on canoes happen with groups that don't want to get out in the water, but rather step directly on to dry land when getting out. That is also the same group of people that seem to fall in at landings while trying to accoplish that.

As others have posted, just pull up parallel to the shore and step out into the water. Then guide the canoe up and unload.

Not sure on the "treat it like a rental" either. I treat rental cars or canoes the same as if they were my own. "fun" to me is not denting up my canoe

Wet foot. Too many deep holes so boots never made sense. In cold water I wear waders. And absolutely use the painter and tie off the boat, even if it is quiet. A gust of wind or wave bouncing off the shore can push an empty boat. I had to go swimming once.

Everyone already answered before me but I'll throw it out as well. Parellel to shore, unload-load in water, and be prepared to tie off if need be.

The way I look at it, my canoe is a tool to be used, not abused. I wouldn't leave a nice set of wrenches out in the rain. I don't run my canoe up onto the rocks. Will it get dings in it? Sure, of course it will. But not deliberately.

Like most of y'all, I pull up parallel and get out in the water. You're gonna get wet, no big deal. You are also going to dry off just fine. If it's cold water season, wear waders.

This thread has had me remembering a bunch of terribly hard portage landings I found last year. I definitely agree that pulling up sideways and stepping into the water while holding or trying to hold the painter line (or tucking it under my belt like the reins of a horse) is the best way to go, and it usually works in the BWCA but not always. Seems like last year on two trips I kept finding landings where rocks would not allow a parallel approach (or seemingly any approach), or the water was well over knee or even waist deep, and the current was moving. I’ve also had multiple days where on when loading/unloading on a windward rocky shore, there just seems like nothing will work and my canoe just kept banging against the rocks.


Here is what the bottom of my boat looks like right now. Sadly all this was the result of one trip (20 days in Wabakimi). And amazingly I refinished my boat a week before before going! Mostly the scratch’s along the long access were rocks I hit paddling, but the side to side scratches were usually at portages where wind or current simply didn’t allow me to hold my boat safely away from rocks while loading or unloading. Once, when a surprise storm came out of no where, I had to grab my boat and muscle it onto rocks fully loaded to take cover.





These scratches don’t trouble me though because they are almost entirely cosmetic on my boat. Virtually none of it penetrates to the fabric. Some time this summer I’ll sand it down and re-apply a couple coats of Epifanes urethane and 98% of the scratches will disappear.

Here’s a couple tough landings I remember that did not allow pulling up sideways.




Here is what my canoe looked like just before my last trip, and it’s how it will look again. Perhaps not all boats are as easy to refinish as mine.

Pull up near shore, make sure your painter line is tied to the canoe and throw the other end as far as you can onto shore. Step out into the water, grab a pack and put it up on shore, away from the water, out of the way. Grab your painter line and tie it off to something. Grab the rest of your gear, again place it up on shore out of the way. Untie your line from shore, gather it up, retrieve your canoe from the water.

To load: place you canoe in the water (floating) and tie your painter line to something on shore. Load your gear. Untie and gather your painter line. Climb in and paddle on.

I paddle mostly during early spring right after ice-out and in mid to late fall, and I like to wear Chota Hippies with their Caney Fork boot which allows me to exit the canoe in water up to knee deep or higher in very cold conditions with good traction for portaging. I leave them on while paddling. During summer months I use footwear that has good ankle support and foot protection and wet foot it. I don't mind having wet feet and footwear while paddling in the summer.

I'm careful to look for landing spots that provide good footing, and enough water depth to keep the canoe from being dragged across rocks while fully loaded, while not being so deep that it becomes precarious exiting the canoe. Being able to unload in water up to mid-thigh provides a lot of margin for landing spots.

I bring the canoe parallel to shore if possible, exit the canoe and place my gear on shore. The last pack to be unloaded is the one that I carry with the canoe, which goes right on to my back. Then, the canoe is lifted onto my shoulders while still in the water. Longer canoe trips I double portage; second trip is with the remainder of my gear.

At the other end of the portage, I look for a spot to set my canoe down that has no protruding rocks, preferably grass, moss or branches rather than on any rock. Once all of my gear is staged in order near where I will put the canoe in, then I put the canoe in the water where I plan on entering the canoe and load from there.

As others have mentioned, it's often the wind, waves and current that pushes your canoe onto rocks that can grind away at the finish. I'm constantly in close contact with my canoe and will interrupt loading to keep that from happening.

Other methods work, but this is what works best for me, and I feel it's worth it the extra attention.

Holy cow I did not expect so many responses. Thank you all so much for the detailed techniques.

I hadn't really thought about throwing a line to shore first, then grabbing a pack to put on shore. I guess I'll have to just suck it up with a few scratches on the sides if I can't get away from the rocks.

Other than that, good to know I've been using the right idea of coming in parallel and getting out between the shore and my canoe. I'll just have to practice more. On sandy or grassy shore, I can see the advantage of lifting the bow and just setting in up on shore without dragging on the bottom, so I'll try that also here at home where I go out frequently.

Currently I own an OT Pack, and as durable as it is, no need to scratch it up more than I need to. Hope to get a new Northstar or Swift in a couple years and that's an investment I want to enjoy and yet take care of as much as practicle.

Jaywalker: "This thread has had me remembering a bunch of terribly hard portage landings I found last year. I definitely agree that pulling up sideways and stepping into the water while holding or trying to hold the painter line (or tucking it under my belt like the reins of a horse) is the best way to go, and it usually works in the BWCA but not always. align="left" > "

Hey Jaywalker - thanks for all the pictures and description - that's exactly the conditions I'm concerned about, and those pictures help me visualize and think about what to do in such a case.

I don’t overthink it, it’s a canoe, I don’t put myself in a position to where I could get injured just trying not to scratch my canoe, own prism, btw.

Not something I typically do at portages but for lunch breaks, sitting out a wind, short time on land I’ll pull my canoe up on pfds making sure the only thing my canoe is touching is water and foam.







Waiting out the wind on mountain lake

Wet foot as obsessively as possible but don't sweat the occasional scratch.

jwartman59: "... pull my canoe up on pfds making sure the only thing my canoe is touching is water and foam. "

Oh, hey, good idea!

Although I am very late to this thread, I fully endorse wet footing, not only to save wear and tear on the canoe, but also to prevent injury. It is my anecdotal opinion that more BWCA injuries occur from people trying to keep their feet dry than all other causes combined. (This is not a scientifically validated statement.) you don't need to be in injury casualty on a solo trip.

Of course, wet footing does not guarantee against injury but I think it helps. I wear Chota hippies so I can get into nearly three feet of water (I'm tall.)

Mike

jwartman59: "Not something I typically do at portages but for lunch breaks, sitting out a wind, short time on land I’ll pull my canoe up on pfds making sure the only thing my canoe is touching is water and foam.









Waiting out the wind on mountain lake"

I value my life more then my canoe to possibly damage my PFD's by setting my canoe on them.

carbon1: "I value my life more then my canoe to possibly damage my PFD's by setting my canoe on them. "

Good point - my PDF is an older style with hard foam, not the nicer inflatable style so I should be ok if I'm careful and is an exception, not regular use. Maybe I'll just carry one of my foam sit pads and use that instead.

GeneH: "Sounds like a real newbie question-I'm just not used to doing it all myself solo and want to keep my canoe off the shore and off the rocks. Seems to me it's pretty difficult if I have to brace the canoe somehow in the wind and waves while trying to fish a 40 lb pack onto my back, or worse yet the back and an extra food bag. I find it hard enough on a local calm beach and just a little fishing tackle and light anchor in a day pack.

I would hate to have to throw my gear to shore, then pick up the canoe and carry it up. Any suggestions how you folks manage? Or is it just brute strength with the pack, bag, and canoe all at once? Ugh."

Nice post thanks!

Remember that great line from the Gordon Lightfoot song about the skipper who « run her up on a boulder? » my advice here is, don’t be that guy!

So, is your canoe Kevlar? If the canoe is Kevlar, never, EVER, load it on shore or drag it over rocks. Only load when the canoe is afloat. Period. I can’t give advice on Carbon or Royalex canoes. I only have Kevlar.

This means you will have to step in the water most of the time while loading and unloading. That’s the solo procedure.

You are solo. Your risks are much higher in a puncture. So that is rule 1: don’t run her up on a boulder.

Rule 2 is, your canoe is transportation but your health and safety as a soloist are more important than the canne. Don’t imperil yourself to avoid scratching the canoe. The canoe can cope with wood. Just not rocks.

Often when troubled by wind and waves, or when the landings are deep and rocky and slippery, or in winter (no dry suit) with any or all of those conditions present, it is not safe to get in the water. Folks here give good advice on using various tools and methods to keep the canoe from floating away while you load or unload. Don’t let the canoe float away.

Have I ever heaved a bag? Yes of course I have. It happens. But only when I have feet firmly planted terra firma and I need more space around the landing to safely pull the canoe out of the water.

Solo landings and launching in wind, waves and even muck can be tricky. I’m in rehab right now after two surgeries on a broken pinky finger (from a trip last summer) to prove it. Hey, coulda been worse. Coulda been no solo trip at all!

1. You come first. Land and put in safely every time. Don’t take your safety for granted. Never sacrifice yourself for the canoe. This was valuable advice given to me by a guide the day I took delivery on my beloved Prism.

2. Treat your canoe as transportation and prepare for scratches, dings and dents. Learn to do field repairs on leaks or punctures. The more slowly and carefully and deliberately you approach your takeouts and put-ins, the gentler you can be on your equipment. And will be.

3. Everything in the canoe should be bombproof waterproof. No exceptions. It will all get wet. And so will you. That’s the whole fun of it!

LaVirginienne: "
Remember that great line from the Gordon Lightfoot song about the skipper who « run her up on a boulder? » my advice here is, don’t be that guy!

You are solo. Your risks are much higher in a puncture...don’t run her up on a boulder... your canoe is transportation but your health and safety as a soloist are more important.
... The more slowly and carefully and deliberately you approach your takeouts and put-ins, the gentler you can be on your equipment. And will be...Everything in the canoe should be bombproof waterproof...It will all get wet.

And so will you. That’s the whole fun of it! "

Thanks for all the info! My Pack is Royalex so it'll handle the abuse, but I like to take care of my equipment to avoid unnecessary wear or cosmetic damage. Key is "unnecessary."

I'll just plan my approach carefully and take my time. You make a good point about bombproof gear and getting wet. Compactor bags go in my backpack for...backpacking, so I'll double up on those to keep the dry good dry.

One thing I'll have to remember is watch for rocks just under the surface that I can get hung up or upset my canoe.

I am a dedicated wet-footer and do not hesitate to get my feet wet. The landings I struggle with are the boulders rocky shores that drop off immediately to deeper water. So, if I am parallel to shore and stepping out, it’s into like 2 ft of water or more. That kinda requires that I step out onto a rock, or find a better spot. Launching is more of the same, staging all my gear close by, lifting the canoe into the water past the rocks, and loading it while perched on an underwater rock or something like that. Gently sloping beaches or smooth rock docks are much easier to handle!

I never understood how people actually get in and out at landings without touching their canoe to a rock, wet footing or not. I just did a 60 mile trip where half the landings would've involved getting out in waist deep water, meaning you can't even get your foot on solid ground before getting out of the canoe. I imagine this would cause me to dump the canoe with my short-ish legs and all. You also have no control of the boat while you're trying to get out, so if there are light waves pushing you into shore, you're going to touch a rock. While I was a bit less careful with my shiny new canoe on that trip, and have plenty of scratches to show for it, I'd rather make sure I can get out of my canoe safely, and that means getting up to shore so I can actually reach a rock to step on, that isn't in thigh deep water.

I also don't know how you prevent your boat from touching rocks at the landing when portaging. Even if you manage to lift it up on the arrival side, when you go to set it down on the departure side, you either need to leave part of it out of the water so it doesn't float away (i.e. up on some rocks, given most rocky landings), or you need to put it in the water and tie it up. While it is tied up, it will most likely swing around and hit a rock, and not just on the underside but on the sidewall as well. I'd say if you want to avoid cosmetically cringey scratches on the sidewall, you're better off pulling the boat up onto some rocks. Just be gentle about it; don't pull the boat while it's on a rock, just set it down gently on the rock, far enough out of the water that it won't slide and scratch itself. This is also important for keeping your canoe out of the way for people who may arrive at the portage while you are going back for your second load of gear (assuming you don't single carry).

Don't sweat the scratches... just come in slow at landings, do what you can to get out with GOOD footing, do what you can to drop the canoe from your shoulders with GOOD footing, and keep your canoe out of the way for other paddlers. Don't put pressure on any part of the hull that is currently stuck on top of a rock (so you don't crack it). If you get in and realize you're now stuck on something, get out and reposition the boat (something I don't do as often as I should).

Granted, I haven't been on a solo trip, but I will say it's hard enough keeping a canoe off the rocks as a tandem (maybe even harder sometimes because of the long canoe preventing you from getting footing in shallow water while also keeping the canoe off rocks). I prioritize safe landings, portage etiquette, and travel time over keeping my canoe pristine. Scratches are inevitable, so I do what I can to reduce them but I only go mildly out of my way to prevent them. (Thank you for coming to my TED talk.)

With many solo under her hull, my Merlin design cedar strip has all sorts of blemishes, including a couple repairs made in the field and off-season enhancements. Although I respect it's potential frailty and exceptional good looks, my boat is a tool to use. Dings and dongs are expected. I wet foot where and when possible, but don't hesitate to lift and set where practical. Using a painter is great sense as sometimes a lightened canoe can move great distances quickly, and usually on an access that has dramatic and immediate deep water adjacent to the take out. With full appreciation of your question, when I started solo canoeing everything was new and required thought. Today, not so much, as I have come to appreciate my boat's potential and my own capabilities. Time and numerous portages will allow you to develop your own style and skill set, which may be quite different than mine, yet accomplish the same task.

All good! Yes hitting those unseen rocks! When the water is moving swiftly they can really be dangerous.

technically_rugged: "I never understood how people actually get in and out at landings without touching their canoe to a rock, wet footing or not. I just did a 60 mile trip where half the landings would've involved getting out in waist deep water, meaning you can't even get your foot on solid ground before getting out of the canoe. I imagine this would cause me to dump the canoe ...You also have no control of the boat while you're trying to get out, so if there are light waves pushing you into shore, you're going to touch a rock. ... I prioritize safe landings, portage etiquette, and travel time over keeping my canoe pristine. ... I do what I can to reduce them ... (Thank you for coming to my TED talk.)"

You hit all the points ... and in my case, I tend to sit down into my Pack with both feet in the water between it and the shore. (The Pack tend to flip rather than roll.) There will be lots of bumping into the rocks, I just don't want to run it up on anything and leave gouges, or twist an ankle trying too hard to keep the canoe from getting scratched.

If I ever manage to get a new kevlar/carbon canoe I'll get counseling ahead of time so I can emotionally deal with the new scratches.

Every portage is different. In my opinion, you have to get your feet wet when you canoe. :)

I don't have much to add, except every portage is different. It is fun to figure it out.

I ALWAYS secure my canoe. It is easy to do a fast, quick-release knot over a branch. I guess that is from my old GS days.

I try to avoid having anything in the canoe when I hoist it out of the water. I have liners in my packs, so I when I am alone, I sometimes hit the water before I hit the land.

Anyway, that is part of the fun and strategizing. Enjoy.