I was just reflecting over my trips that I’ve taken. How I used to have a 60 to 80-pound pack and an 80+ pound canoe, and now I have a 30+ lbs pack and a 40-pound canoe.

Used to, I could barely go two or three portages now as far as I want.

I used to think I go ultralight so that I could bring the gear I wanted without paying for it in pain and fatigue, but I realize I go ultralight because I love exploring new lakes and going farther in. Base camping is fun with my family, but if I ever get the chance, I’m always the one who wants to see a new lake. Also, now that I just finished my 20th paddling trip, some of my routes are finally overlapping previous ones, and it’s pretty cool to recognize campsites and routes and not having to look at my map as much.

What draws you to go UL?

I think I gradually got there. I don’t know where I got that mentality from (my parents aren’t like this :) ) but I am always looking for a “better” way to do something. “There has to an easier way?”

First trip I went on was fully outfitted. There was 4 of us and I think we had 6 heavy packs and we used Aluminum canoes. We were 4 fit, strong young men (oh the days) but we struggled on the portages. There was so much we didn’t use: Food, cooking gear, drink mixes, especially fishing gear. By the end of the trip we had consolidated packs, stuffed ourselves with the food (probably gained weight) and by the end we were still packing heavy but we were able to single portage with a feeling of doing the same amount of work… except just one time across instead of 2…so actually half the work and time. “This is the way”

2nd trip, only rented canoe but went for a Kevlar. We all had 15 degree synthetic bags. Food was lighter but we primarily used MREs (so still really heavy) Had a friend in the Nat. Guard and he got them cheap. Still pretty heavy (but lighter) but youthful strength allowed single portaging relatively easily.

Then on trips started trialing the food. Tried commercial freeze dried…didn’t master the cooking and sometimes caused stomach aches, too high in sodium. I would say I will never stop trialing food ideas for both taste and weight. But gradually went to grocery store dried food as well as some fresh food. But essentially much lighter and better than our younger days.

As we got more into it…we really liked putting miles on and covering territory. A little too much (not really) wander lust…”what’s around the corner?”. We weren’t on major BWCAW highways now. We were doing deep Q, BWCAW, PMA’s, the portages were rougher and longer. “There has to be an easier way?”

That’s when we started looking at gear…a 4 man Gander Mountain Tent for 2 people? Crazy heavy at 15#…Why do I need a 15 degree bag? How about a high quality Down 30-35 degree bag that actually works to the temp it says it does. Heavy aluminum pots got replace by titanium. CCS utensil roll replaced with lightweight tools in a lightweight bag. Etc…

So for me…I’d say the biggest factor was just making the trip easier. Over time it has been an effort to be able to keep the same pace up as I age into my later 50’s and still be safe. There is also a sense of accomplishment when you are more efficient…it’s hard to describe. But as I lead Scouts on trips the last few years…they start off all over the place, the portages are hard, once they get 3-4 days in you see the panic in theirs eyes…it took everything they had to get this far…how will they ever get out…but then those last few days. They are efficient on the portages, paddling straight, full of pride, usually one will say “We are so good at this, I can’t believe it.” “This is easy now”…I still chase that feeling too.

Then I just plain like gear :) It’s fun to get new gear and see how it might add enjoyment.


T

We were backpackers before we were wilderness canoe trippers, so the lightweight attitude just got carried over to the new activity. As we've aged (both now 75) we've made several gear replacement decisions that let us continue to single-walk portages. The the past couple years, our start-of-trip total gear weight has been less than 125 pounds for a 10-day trip, and we're still comfortable carrying 60-65 pounds across portages at trip start. Of course, we laugh about eating the heavier meals early in the trip!

TZ

I started out with UL doing Bikepacking. It's a necessity in that world. Using the same equipment for canoe tripping made sense

For me, it was just getting older and dealing with various nagging injuries. Carrying lighter things and less things makes trips still possible and more enjoyable.

I'm a thinner-framed individual, not a lot of muscle mass. I get back lower pain pretty bad if I carry too much for too long. I went UL to reduce the possibility of injury while portaging or hauling around gear. I've seen people hoist up their overloaded packs at landings then literally fall over into the weeds. Weeds can be, and often are, rocks. Lighter pack offers more control.

Because of age, and because since retirement all of our trips (at least 2 per year) are 15-21 days. That amount of food along with our age and some back issues required us to go lighter and lighter with everything else if we still want to cover some ground.

For me it's all about the MILES.
Just got back from a trip this weekend. Lightest I've ever packed. No fishing rods or tackle, no stove, UL everything. Entered Snowbank at 830am on Friday. Exited Moose at 1030am on Sunday, 43.8 miles later.

Did you cold soak?

Z4K: "For me it's all about the MILES.
Just got back from a trip this weekend. Lightest I've ever packed. No fishing rods or tackle, no stove, UL everything. Entered Snowbank at 830am on Friday. Exited Moose at 1030am on Sunday, 43.8 miles later."

Z4K: "For me it's all about the MILES.
Just got back from a trip this weekend. Lightest I've ever packed. No fishing rods or tackle, no stove, UL everything. Entered Snowbank at 830am on Friday. Exited Moose at 1030am on Sunday, 43.8 miles later."

Good for you!

We're going to need more deets. What did your pack weigh at the outset? At the end? Boat?

Answering OP's question...I am another long-time UL backpacker going back to the late 90's. Seemed natural to do the same on portage-paddle trips.

While I would like to go UL because of age, knee issues, and the desire to go further, the reality is I can only reduce some things. Knee issues means I need a chair, and not the very lowest to the ground ones. While I dehydrate my own meals and cold soak them, I do heat them up before eating them so I need a stove. And I bring my dog, and she would not be happy if I cut back on her food!

Two big reasons I started going lightweight:

On my 1st solo trip I had a 52 lb. canoe and 2.5 packs. I had a very close call with a slip and fall that strained my knee and scared me pretty good. There had to be a better way.

Then I also caught the Border Route Challenge bug and I knew that would require single portaging so I got serious about planning.

Now I continue to go lightweight and single portage on solo trips for safety, for being able to go further and see new territory, and for the sheer joy of how simple it is to pack and unpack at each new campsite. I have everything I need for a week in a 26 lb. pack (including food) and this year really enjoyed the new-to-me 22lb. canoe…could pick it up with one hand.

The light gear saved me this June when I took a bad trip and fall in my campsite early in the trip. I badly sprained my rib and it was painful to do everything including sleep. But I was able to continue for 3 more nights. If I’d had heavy gear, I doubt I would have been able to exit under my own power.

4keys: "While I would like to go UL because of age, knee issues, and the desire to go further, the reality is I can only reduce some things. Knee issues means I need a chair, and not the very lowest to the ground ones. While I dehydrate my own meals and cold soak them, I do heat them up before eating them so I need a stove. And I bring my dog, and she would not be happy if I cut back on her food!"

I learned two trips ago that I really have to have a chair for my back to relax and recover.

I think UL means a bit different to everyone. A smaller person will likely be pounds lighter than a larger person. UL for some of us is as minimalist as possible, others light enough to single-portage and go as far as they want and not have my gear slow or stop me from what I want to do. I bring a chair and fishing gear as my “luxuries”, though the fishing gear gets reduced every year (when I haven’t used a lure in 3+ years, I likely don’t need it). I’m still ULish when I am base camping with my family but I bring extra luxuries for the family.

I want to second what SHC said! I LOVE how UL made me pack and portage efficiently. I can pack up a my site in about 15 minutes and I know where everything goes and is. Grabbing my gear and hoisting the canoe to start a portage and in reverse for ending a portage takes 1-2 minutes tops. (Step out of the canoe, grab my paddling partners pack and give it to them and paddles, grab my pack, hoist the canoe, done.) Ill never go back to my old way.

I am one of those who is becoming UL, not there quite yet. My impetus is I want to cover more miles more easily.

That said, I also don't (currently) want to be UL to the point of backpacking. If I wanted to backpack, that's what I would do. I like my chair, real coffee, bigger bag, etc. One of my favorite pieces of the canoe tripping puzzle is the ability to carry more stuff than if I had to put it on my back for a week.

But yeah, more miles. After a couple of base camp trips, I knew that my soul needed more.

Like others here, I started as a backpacker. I would say my backpacking set up would qualify as lightweight, but not ultralight by today's standards.

Around the same time my lower back started making backpacking a more dicey proposition, I decided it was time to try something new for backcountry adventure. Since I already loved the Canadian boreal forest and fishing in Canada, canoe tripping seemed like the natural next step.

Initially, I basically used my backpacking set-up and was primarily focused on gaining skills and confidence in the canoe, since my prior canoe paddling experience was in the mid 80's as a boy scout. Once I gained comfort and confidence with the canoe, I have been working on lightening the load and developing more organized and efficient packing strategies specific to canoe tripping.

There are three primary motivation for lightening the load - 1) protect my body, 2) increase my efficiency setting up and breaking down camp, and 3) get greater enjoyment out of my travels. I don't care about going "fast" - I actually try to be conscious of slowing down and enjoying the wilderness around me - but a lighter load offers the opportunity to cover more ground per trip.

Efficiency is my primary motivation for ultralight tripping. Minimizing the equipment I require and choosing efficient equipment and procedures simplifies both travel and camping which in turn allows me to focus more on enjoying my time. The attention to details also increases my chances for success, especially in adverse conditions.

I have tripped ultralight but mostly trip lightweight now. With a pack weight of about 35 lbs. I often include comfort items to support other members on the trip.

Lightweight tripping allows me options that I would not otherwise have. I have never had to double carry a portage. I have retraced a portage to help others or for enjoyment but it has never been required. I am able to travel further and faster and camp with less effort and more enjoyment ( win! win! ).

sns: "We're going to need more deets. What did your pack weigh at the outset? At the end? Boat?"

Regrettably I didn't weigh anything! I have been so good about it lately too, for my last two solos I paired my pack down to 45# and 40# respectively. I was much lighter this time but we did our final gear selection at the EP and I didn't have a scale. I'd guess that I was probably around 35# and my partner was around 32#. She added about 10# of food in my new 3.5# REI Traverse and ended up around 45# or 46#. About half of that was fresh garden produce that we gorged ourselves on the first day. She also handled our 3 paddles at the portages and I carried my Wenonah Adirondack. With the gel coat, bench seats, ash trim, kevlar felt skid plates, portage pads and 2 GSI Sitbackers it comes in a little over 50#. I thought really hard about bringing my Odyssey instead because it's faster and ends up a little lighter when fully outfitted but the Adirondack is just so much more forgiving and comfortable. Plus we can actually reach each other when it's snack time. Paddling across SAK we heeled it over and paddled hard just to flirt with 4.5 mph. I think I'm going to finally rip the kevlar felt off of it this winter, it was pulling to the left a bit and it must be the fugly skid plates. Maybe get .2 MPH too.

Biggest gear improvement for me (most of the weight I saved on this trip was by leaving 100% of the cooking and fishing gear behind) was the new Superior Gear 11' 30 degree hammock I bought this winter. I DID weigh that vs my old setup with a separate synthetic underquilt and the difference came in at 16.5oz. I made some major changes to my suspension for another 15oz. It also saves a bit of time when I set it up and take it down so I think it was worth the near $500 price tag.

Z4K: "It also saves a bit of time when I set it up and take it down "

Thanks for the additional info!

I like saving time just as much as I like saving weight.

Good stuff.

Saving time is also important to me. In addition to the weight and bulk of equipment I consider the function and ease of use.