I would love to get everyone’s thoughts on this. I’m preparing for our second trip to BWCA. Our first trip was June of ‘23. We are going in on June 9, EP 47. It will be a group of 4. Me (50), two of my sons, (17 & 19), and one of their friends (17). They are all in great shape, so that’s not an issue. Our first trip, we took WAY too much stuff. We went in, base camped and didn’t move until we left. In our post trip discussions, everyone’s thoughts were to try and lighten up, so that we would have the option of doing a small loop, maybe move every other day. Last time we had so much crap, no one felt like packing it all up again.

My question is two part 1) what items would you leave at home, or ideas for packing smaller. And 2) what items should we bring no matter what? Things that make their bulk/weight worth it, even if its just to make the trip more enjoyable.

I guess I want to take what we need, and have the things that make a trip pleasurable, but not take a load of unnecessary stuff.
Obviously, we will take basic survival stuff.
We have upgraded our tents and sleeping systems, to lighter and less bulky equipment. Paired down the fishing equipment. The food we are taking is all dehydrated backpacking meals from camp chow and store bought stuff from MH, with the exception of some snacks, oil and batter for fish. I’m not taking a coffee pot, just doing instant. Only one pan to fry fish. Catching and eating fish is a big part of what we love about going.
I am also asking this because I am considering a solo trip in the fall.
Thanks in advance.

If you can't cross a portage in 2 trips per person you have too much stuff.
Pack your stuff at home and make sure it all packs up before the trip.

Start with the packs and the pack size. Everyone gets a personal pack that holds their sleeping bag, clothes, and other personal gear. Then, there are shared packs that holds the cookware, tents, tarps, shared gear. Then there might be a food pack.

Start scaling back your gear by deciding on the gear transportation holder. A person who owns a 5000 sq.ft. house is going to have a lot more stuff then someone in a 500 sq. ft. house.

Sounds like you're off to a good start with the adjustments to your food and kitchen set up. Watch the snacks, that weight can add up fast. I don't take any plates or bowls and just eat out of the pouch for dehydrated meals or out of the pan for fish.

The previous suggestion to start with an appropriately sized pack and only take what will fit is spot on.

Clothes are also a common source of overpacking. Everyone has there own system, but this has worked well for me over the years, whether backpacking, canoeing, or on a fly-in trip with tight weight restrictions:

What I'm wearing during the day:
-comfortable pants made of quick drying fabric (zip off legs if you feel inclined to need shorts during the trip)
-quick drying t-shirt (I prefer merino wool)
-quick drying long sleeve shirt to protect against sun and bugs
-hat
-bandana or buff to keep the sun off my neck (I'm a pale redhead)
-wool socks
-water shoes (wet foot)
-PFD

Clothes in my pack:
-High quality rain gear tops and bottoms. My rain gear will double as a windbreaker/jacket if needed
-2 extra pairs of wool socks and synthetic underwear - I pair of each is dedicated just for overnight/sleeping
-one extra pair of light weight pants and one extra merino wool t-shirt. For a short summer trip with warms temps, I would probably skip the spare pair of pants.
-a light weight fleece and a beanie in the event of a cold night - I will add in a couple additional pieces of warm clothing (merino wool or synthetic long underwear, light weight backpacking style down puffy jacket, and gloves) if the season indicates
-camp shoes. I like light weight trail runners because they would also work for portaging if something happened to my water shoes. Many folks go with crocs or some version of a sandal.
-bug shirt if it was an early season trip.

Cotton clothing generally weighs quite a bit more than analogous synthetic items and doesn't function nearly as well. As much as I love my flannel shirts, I don't ever haul cotton into the backcountry.

I'm no expert on traveling light but since you asked... I was doing canoe trips for more than 3 decades before I ever took a chair, a stove, a tarp, or a water filter. I never took a spare paddle, spare fishing rod, or many spare lures. I still don't own any raingear other than a poncho. No bug shelter or bug repellant beyond a small bottle of spray. Wore a hat but no sunscreen, no sunglasses, no wipes, no bear repellant, no bear vaults. No alcohol.

I am not giving advice here, but I had a lot of good trips. I take much of that stuff now cause I want to and I am more cautious, and I now own the stuff but if I were trying to lighten the load I know I can do without it, or at least I used to be able to.

To be honest, I usually took stuff most of you don't too. Like a cast iron pan, binoculars, a hammock (just for lounging), a book to read and a journal, and a pipe and tobacco. To each his/her own.

There are a couple processes that you can go through to lighten the load. One is to sort all your gear into 4 piles. Survival/safety, necessities/base comfort, luxury, and not needed. The idea here is that there are some items we bring to make sure we stay safe, some we bring to do the things we want to do and keep us from being miserable, others that are pure luxury and we could live without, and some items that we have no real need of, which can change from trip to trip. Things we will not be bringing on this particular trip go into the not needed pile.

Once you have things sorted out, and you can even sub-divide them by activities if that makes it easier, you can then start with redundancies. What do you bring 2 of? Could another piece of gear that you are already bringing or is lighter be used instead? If you can replace or eliminate the need for something, move it over to the not needed pile.

Then you ask what you can do without. In the safety/survival pile, you look at the odds of needing it vs how dangerous it would be if you needed it and didn't have it. Do you really need a 10lb first aid kit or can you reduce it down a bit? For the necessities/base comfort pile, you look at if you really need to do certain activities that require those items, and/or if you need that much. Fishing is a good example. Could you reduce your tackle box size? Luxury items is similar to necessities for this step, but with a higher degree of scrutiny. Alcohol, chair, gadgets that save time. Do you really need them all?

Once you get it down to only the only the stuff that you need to do the things you want to do with the level of comfort you expect, then you look for lighter weight alternatives/replacements. Maybe your tent is massive, your rain gear is heavy, a titanium pan could be used instead of a cast iron, or something that you could find/buy/make to replace some of your biggest and/or heaviest items.

Lastly, you ask yourself if you are happy with the volume you have left in the 3 piles you still want to bring. Pack the survival and necessary items in your pack first and test the weight, if it is still too heavy, go back through the process again and remove/replace more gear. Then start adding gear from your luxury pile one piece at a time and check the weight again. A fun example is to test the weight with and without all the luxury items and ask yourself if it's worth it. It is perfectly ok to not bring all your luxury items. I plan those items based on the type of trip. You get away with a lot more on a base trip vs a long distance route.

Eliminate/consolidate redundancies, remove the unneeded, replace what you can, then resist the urge to exceed your target weight for luxury items.

Thanks to all of you for the great feedback, I really appreciate it. I will definitely be using some of this! Very helpful.

One of the questions I have is about redundancy. I’ve always thought this was smart, especially for survival/necessities. I had planned on taking two ways to cook, a jet boil plus a pocket rocket type stove as a backup. Both very lightweight and don’t take up much room, packed in different packs in different canoes. Ditto for water filtration. Same with fire starters, a couple kitchen lighters, plus waterproof matches, plus a ferrous rod.

None of these above examples are heavy or bulky but do you think this is unnecessary for a 6 day trip? My thought on this is that the failure of one of these could cause a trip to be cut short if we don’t have a backup. Thoughts?

What’s really keeping you from moving? You mentioned no one wanted to pack it all up and move, not necessarily that it was too much. How many packs do you have? Having 3 relatively young strong people it shouldn’t be a big deal. I’m like you and do want some comfort, so we bring chairs, probably more fishing tackle than we should, and decent food (not all freeze dried) like fresh steaks, eggs etc., extra paddle. It’s just my son and I (65 and 34), and my son usually takes the canoe and food pack. I take a Duluth pack, paddles, and poles. One of us comes back for the other pack, so we’re not doing a full double portage. How well do you pack? Are you nesting things? Most cooking equipment can be nested to some extent. As far as packing up it shouldn’t take to long, but we try to keep everything consistent in how we pack and what goes where so we’re not trying to fit things in a pack or trying to equalize pack weight. It’s done the same each time. Also, some packing can be done the night before such as fishing equipment if you’re leaving in the morning. On moving days we keep breakfasts simple and just need to heat water for coffee, oatmeal, etc. Clothes and sleeping bags/air pads all get packed before we get out of the tent. We’ve done many trips so we have it down almost to a standard process. I don’t think it should take much longer than a half hour in the morning to pack and load the canoe. Maybe part of your issue is it just looks like a lot since it usually takes us a little longer to setup camp (choosing a tent pad, setting up tarp, getting water in the filter) and you think packing will be the same. Choose a trip where you do a loop and force yourself to move a couple times and I bet you’ll figure out what works.

Thanks for your feedback AluminumBarge. Yeah, it’s not really that we couldn’t move if we brought everything we did before, just that it would be more enjoyable if we didn’t have as much bulk.

I should also say that the group this year is a much different group than the one from two years ago. The last group was 4 adults and 4 kids, all 14-15. Two of the boys from that trip are going this time, they are now 17 and basically men, plus myself and my oldest son who is a college athlete and in great shape. So yes, we could move around Volkswagen over the portages if we wanted to.

The trip before was fine, we had a great time, we made it in and back with no problems. But the three of us going back wanted to do things differently. We do plan to do a loop, moving every other day, so hopefully we will figure it out like you said.

Currently we have two superior packs and two army duffel bags. I may go with Minnestian’s suggestion and have everyone bring a small pack for themselves. This would probably eliminate the army duffels. Then we would have just the superior packs and each person’s personal pack and fishing poles (which we bungee into the canoes). Each canoe will have a thwart bag with very light stuff like maps, headnets, bug spray, etc. I have been trying to keep the superior packs at 50lbs or under.
It sounds like we have similar ideas of comfort vs bulk. I also think you are right about the way to pack, I may be able to organize and nest things better.
All of this is great, thanks.

I don’t think anyone mentioned this but if they did I apologize. After each trip…so maybe try to visualize your last one…review all of your gear.

Anything you didn’t use…don’t bring. Except maybe emergency gear, but even that do a thorough review of need.
How much clothing did you bring and use? Most people bring way too much. Can you rain coat double as a warm coat as an example?

Anything you didn’t use a lot review: Is it worth the weight and space it takes?

Check for redundancy. You don’t need 2 of everything. Your comfort level may vary, but part of the fun is adapting if some thing breaks…which in over 50 trips has almost never happened.

Luxury items: Was the weight and carry worth it? Chairs/cots/hammocks/extra large pads etc… only you can answer this. It’s different for everyone.

Food: Most people early on bring way too much food. Dial that in.

T

There are plenty of packing lists out there; practically all outfitters have them on their websites. Use one and modify as needed.

Also, I agree with Tim on the clothes; less is more!

When I started I over packed in two areas. Clothes and food. Took way more clothes than I needed, and too much food because I was scared of the idea of something going wrong and getting stranded out there without anything to eat. The latter was particularly dumb because I carried an InReach, and also because humans can survive quite a while without food. Will it be pleasant? No, but you won't die if you have to go a couple days without eating. Only carry as much food as you plan to eat. Don't carry "a little extra for insurance" like I did.

Regarding redundancy:
Unless there is a fire ban, no need for 2 stoves. You can always build a fire.
Each person can carry a small fire starting kit in their PFD pocket. (They should also have a compass, mylar emergency blanket, whistle, and pocket knife)
If you have a water filter system that can be backflushed, you don't need a redundant one. If it can't be backflushed, just pack an extra filter.
Clothing - each person should have just a single set of day time travel clothes and a single set of in camp dry clothes. Dry clothes are never worn out fishing. No need for more than that if the clothes are quick dry or retain warmth when wet (in other words, no cotton).

Skip the army duffels and upgrade to the very affordable Earthpaks. Earthpak Summit Dry Bags

We never take an axe or large saw. Sometimes we will take a small saw, but typically we just build our cooking fires with wood that can be broken by hand.

The youngsters don't need chairs. Optional for you if you feel you need it.

I have never taken a screen tent and have never wished I did. A rain tarp, however, is worthwhile as either protection from rain or sun. But I only travel with a CCS tarp due to the lighter weight.

I disagree with the statement that everyone should pack one personal pack for themselves. That's an easy way for someone to just keep adding this item or that item because they feel like they have the space. If your gear is modern and not bulky, you should be able to easily fit 2 people's personal items into a single pack. Each person packs a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and one stuff sack with their dry clothes and toiletries. Stuff the camp shoes into the nooks and crannies of the pack. You will probably still have room to distribute some of the group gear into that pack as well. Packing all the cooking gear and food together gets too heavy in my experience, though I have put just food in a 50 L pack and been okay.

Weigh your gear! The only way I got out of the habit of the "just in case" habit was to weigh my gear and realize how quickly little things add up.

Examples of pack set ups for different trips I've done. On all these trips, we were able to single portage except at the start of the 2 week one:
Solo (up to 8 days) - a single 50-55L pack with all my food and gear
2 people (2 weeks) - small pack basket my husband carries with the canoe, a 115L Sealline dry bag pack and a 50 L Earthpak Summit (with just food)
4 people (2 novices who overpacked, 5 days) - small pack basket, two 115L Sealline packs, 50 L Earthpak

There are several different related themes here - lightening the load, reducing bulk, organizing, packing, and portaging. The idea of soloing will intensify these since you do everything and carry everything. You have already made some changes toward lightening the load and reducing bulk.

Are you double portaging, single portaging, or doing a one-and-a-half portage? The answer may be different for this trip and your solo. The number of loads and the way you pack will be different.

It helps to know how much things weigh and what's the heaviest - probably the canoes. With weight/bulk there are a couple of paths - get lighter gear and don't take things. You can reduce the bulk of sleeping bags and clothing with compression stuff sacks.

I have mostly done solos for a gradually increasing number of days - the longest was 18 days which adds up to a lot of food. I have done all of the those things over the years going through much the same thing processes others have mentioned. Simplifying reduces the number of things you need, the weight, bulk, and time needed.

I eat out of the bag like Sunburn - only a spoon to clean - and have reduced my food to not much more than I'll eat on a trip. This means I don't need a lot of "kitchen stuff". I have a JetBoil Stove (w/spare burner), fuel canister, spoon, hand sanitizer, coffee mug, lighter, Swiss Army knife, and cozy. I have a small gravity water filtration system for camp, and a Sawyer Water Filter Bottle for travel. Food is cold cereal for breakfast, instant coffee, nuts for snacks, a ProBar meal for lunch, and a dehydrated dinner. I know how much fuel I'll need to boil water for coffee and dinners. The food is in Ursacks and/or bear canisters.

Clothing is 2 of pair underwear/T-shirts, a pair of nylon pants and shirt, 3 pairs wool socks - travel, camp, sleep - 2 pair footwear - travel & camp, additional layers of insulating clothing appropriate for the coldest weather that might occur, and a rain suit, as well as hats, gloves, and a buff. One pair of socks, a base layer, and a beanie for sleep are packed with the sleeping bag in a compression stuff sack. The clothes are also in a compression stuff sack.

Things are organized in small stuff sacks - First Aid, gear repair, personals, kitchen. I usually try to stay organized - things get put back in the stuff sack when not being used and in a pack at night.

I don't take a headlamp, a saw, hatchet, no fishing tackle anymore, or chair, although I do take a "butt pad" which also serves as a knee pad.

A solo tent, lightweight sleeping bag and pad. Map, compass, In Reach mini, battery pack, kindle. A small WP camera and a small notebook/pen.

I double portage and carry a small pack with the canoe and a larger pack the other load.

There's a special interest forum for "Solo Tripping" that you can join. We've talked about many of these things. I know one time somebody wanted more detail about the things/weight and I typed and emailed a summary which I probably still have somewhere. Email me if you want to send it to you.

It sounds like you are doing everything right. Bringing a lighter tent, sleeping bag and less fishing equipment is a very good start. Ditto for dehydrated food. One suggestion is to practice packing your things to achieve a good balance so one pack is not overly heavy by spreading stuff out. Also try to avoid as many loose items as possible such as extra paddles, fishing rods, chairs and the like. I find carrying loose items across a portage trail a PIA. Tie them in. You do not need much in the way of lighting since it stays light out till almost 10 pm. Bring fewer wood cutting tools such as saws, axes and the like. Fire wood should be abundant if not at your campsite then nearby. One thing I would not skimp on is a bug tent. They are invaluable in making your trip more enjoyable. Realistically assess how far you want to get in and how long you want to devote to travel each day. Further, with more people going to the BW you need to begin looking for campsites earlier which will limit your travel, Overall, you are on the right track and with 3 young fit guys you can do a lot. Report on your trip when you get back. Good luck.

I have said this before to similar posts but still believe it is relevant.
Weigh EVERYTHING you are planning on taking and make a list. Then ask is this a need or a want. Lots of comments on the difference already in this thread.
Start eliminating and you will be amazed at how much all the unnecessary stuff adds up to.

Thanks everyone! I believe there are many things here that I will be able to implement and will make a difference, especially if I do end up doing a solo trip. I appreciate it.

Divide your gear into 2 piles: gotta have and wanna have. Load up your pack and hike up and down a set of stairs a bunch of times. Start removing "wannas" till you can do the steps without passing out.
Things I started leaving behind -- belt knife, lantern, tackle box, ( a few lures and misc. gear in a small plastic box is enough) gas stove (canisters are bulky and fairly heavy) ax or hatchet, footprint for my tent, camera, binoculars (both were never handy when I wanted them or in the way when i didn't want them) .

Your last trip was perfect. The best way to learn is to bring too much. That motivates you to lighten up.

Things to consider
1) Kevlar canoes. Largest weight cut you will likely make if you are not using a Kevlar canoe
2) A 'good' comfortable pack. Buy or borrow if needed. I have all CCS packs (Pioneer or smaller) that I bought used from people on this site. Used backpacking packs work also. 40lbs in a good pack is much easier to carry than 40 lbs in a bad pack. I use to have a couple Cabelas dry packs. I let a friend use one. I carried his 50 lb pack on one portage, apologized to him and never used them again. Ditch the army duffels.
3) Sleep system. As light was you can afford. I have a hammock setup now that weighs 6 lbs
4) Clothing. As mentioned above, I bring 2 sets (pants, shirt, sock, underwear) and bring several layers. Shirt pants, add my fleece if cool, add my rain jacket if windy. Wool socks do not stink even after 5 days.
4) Food. Pack as much as you can in single serving snack bags (e.g. one snack bag of snack mix per person per day). Make sure everyone eats their ration every day. I have had trips where we only carry out extra oil and a few cliff bars. We bring tortillas to eat most things on (No plate needed and no dishes).

How we pack for single portaging (even with 13 yearolds)
1) Each person has 1 pack with all their personal gear (under 40 lbs). If two people share a tent, split to tent up between the two peoples packs. Hear again, buy or borrow good packs. Even a 13 year old can carry all their own personal gear in a good pack. Personal gear includes: clothing, sleep system, plate, fork, water bottle, toilet paper, ...
2) 5 gallon buckets with gamma lids
a. One for the kitchen (stove, fuel, cook kit, cooking utensils, paper towels, ...
b. Food buckets with gamma lids

I am 59, I start with a 30 lb pack, then add my CCS 12x12 tarp if I take it, and I carry either my 33 lb solo, or a 42-49 lb tandem canoe. Poles and paddles get strapped in to canoes. The second person (and third if three in a boat) carry their pack and buckets. The buckets may be heavy, but the nice thing is, you can stop to take a break and just set the buckets down. The food buckets get lighter over the trip. It's much easier to carry and 40 lb pack and 2 15 lb buckets than it is to carry a 70 lb pack. Try it. Nothing loose in the canoe. Only packs and buckets.

We single portage for the most part. If you portage and a 1/2, drop the boat or buckets halfway, then come back 1/2 way for the second load. Double portage, packs on one trip, boat or buckets on the second.

Oteymc: "Thanks to all of you for the great feedback, I really appreciate it. I will definitely be using some of this! Very helpful.


One of the questions I have is about redundancy. I’ve always thought this was smart, especially for survival/necessities. I had planned on taking two ways to cook, a jet boil plus a pocket rocket type stove as a backup. Both very lightweight and don’t take up much room, packed in different packs in different canoes. Ditto for water filtration. Same with fire starters, a couple kitchen lighters, plus waterproof matches, plus a ferrous rod.


None of these above examples are heavy or bulky but do you think this is unnecessary for a 6 day trip? My thought on this is that the failure of one of these could cause a trip to be cut short if we don’t have a backup. Thoughts?"

Some redundancy is okay, for example, we carry small survival kits that fit in cargo pocket of pants - and have some things in them that we also have elsewhere (fire-starting, for example). I don't take a second stove, bec. having a fire is a backup. The exception to this was on a very long trip with no re-supply. We brought along two stoves, and ended up needing them. One water filtration is adequate, and we bring a spare filter. If you're concerned, you can boil, or bring a bottle of iodine tabs.

I take a spare canister stove burner because . . . you can't have a fire if a fire ban is instituted. Rangers can come in after entry and inform you and mark your permit, and you must comply. That would be inconvenient several days travel in and with a lot more days left in a trip. Your extra Pocket Rocket only weighs a couple of ounces and is not going to make a measurable difference in weight or bulk.

boonie: "I take a spare canister stove burner because . . . you can't have a fire if a fire ban is instituted. Rangers can come in after entry and inform you and mark your permit, and you must comply. That would be inconvenient several days travel in and with a lot more days left in a trip. Your extra Pocket Rocket only weighs a couple of ounces and is not going to make a measurable difference in weight or bulk. "

BRS stove is perfect for this. 1oz, $18, very compact.

We have a group of 4-6 yearly. We have one pack of "community" gear. Cooking, saws, water filtration, etc. We have one pack of food. We do a lot of rice based dinners, dirty rice, red beans and rice, etc. The "personal" packs have two peoples gear in them, clothes, tent, sleeping bags, chairs, air mattress, etc. We only take one pack per person. We do zero double portages.

I also have a google sheet with everything that goes and then plus or minus equipment on the drive home.