does anyone else do this?

"hello....human coming thru" (something like that)

i figure its a good idea to let the big guys know something is coming their way...so they dont get surprised.

i feel kinda silly doing it....but i still always do. i even got an answer once. "canoe coming your way" :)

anyone else?

Is this before or after the EC :)

I will admit that I have occasionally gotten nervous in that situation. However, I have never shouted, but rather will sing softly. Many times I get a song running through my head while paddling or portaging - suggested by the pace I am traveling. For instance, often my "fast pace" is accompanied by Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild". On those nervous occations I will let the song audibly escape from my mind.

I've never shouted. I always thought my wheezing would be audible to a bears sensitive ears for about 2 kilometers. My singing is so bad I don't even sing in the shower. I could practice giving history lectures. That would keep the critters away.

Nope... frankly, it's never even crossed my mind on a portage.

On the other hand, if I were doing a solo and knew I was on a lake all by myself, I might be inclined to do that. I guess I'll have to do a solo sometime to see how I'd react in that situation.

Surprising a bear or moose is something I have considered, especially in the context of a solo trip. Groups tend to make enough noise without trying but a solo paddler can be pretty quite if the trail smooth and wide.

On average I think a human in the woods is pretty unlikely to sneak up on anything undetected, except maybe another human. But you hear stories occasionally so it must be possible.

On solo portages I will sometimes deliberately make some noise. Most often I simply talk to myself out loud. I just vocalize whatever it is I'm thinking. On occasion I will sing but mostly I just talk.

I remember cutting my solo teeth with backpacking. Back then I did a lot of looking over my shoulder. I got used to being alone, and and started to relax. I always go quietly, but I agree that making noise is a good heads-up to whatever may be out there. Funny though, how a lot of backpackers joke about 'bear-bells' being the 'dinner bell'. All white meat - no fur. LOL.

youve probably seen this....funny.
warning sign.

on a remote or "maybe bear" portage i'll rattle my paddle on the thwarts as i make the landing.it's the moose i worry about,i seen their hoof prints in the mud and know they are using "our" portages as game trails.

I generally make a bit of noise just unloading and getting ready to portage, but I've never intentionally made noise. Guess I'll think about that.

I sing country songs....really....that stuff scares the crap out of bears....kidding...I don't know any country songs.

I do sing though.

quote kanoes: "youve probably seen this....funny.
warning sign. "

Good one, K. I've seen that one before and laugh every time I read it.

quote Merganser: "On average I think a human in the woods is pretty unlikely to sneak up on anything undetected, except maybe another human. "

That brings to mind my October trips during moose hunting season. I sometimes get very nervous portaging the canoe. My fear is getting shot by a hunter ... or being perceived as a cow moose by a bull moose. I do wear a blaze orange vest and hat, but those are largely covered by the canoe.

Most of the foliage is down so you can see a long way in the woods. A hunter may not be aware exactly where a portage trail runs and there is still a lot of obstruction with the trees, shrubs, etc. So from a long way off a hunter (or bull moose) could see a long, high hoizontal line moving through the woods (the canoe being portaged) and assume "moose".

Anyway that makes me nervous enough to make some human noise.

I never even thought of looking like a moose. Suppose my BWCA.COM sticker doesn't help. :)

That settles it, blaze orange is the color of my next solo canoe! Kevlar seems to be an appropriate material for hunting season travel as well.

everytime i read this i get a good chuckle.
thanks jan for that.
i don't make noise, just guess i am comfortable with the quiet.
i think if i met someone on a portage yelling, i might go the other way. i do sing softly sometimes.

I'm totally with 'oldgentleman' on this one!

I couldn't sneak up on a dead person, if I tried!

I like the quiet. that's why I go.

I'd love to see a bear. I could always throw my canoe at it if it comes after me. :)

Bannock;

moose hunting season is the reason I have a red canoe!

butthead

Butthead, What area is that?

I was in a burn area last June - Rush Lake.

Alpine to Seagull Oct. 2007.

butthead

I was there the first week of August 2005 and saw the beginning of the Alpine Lake Fire. Saw a CL-215 aircraft swoop down for water to fight the fire.

We also spent our final night near Three Mile Island at a previously burnt site

I have called out a time or two when alone. I think this is a habit still in place from when when I have hiked in Alaska/British Columbia where a bear encounter is more likely.

When calling out on portages, I always chuckle at myself as I have hiked a lot around the Duluth area where bears are plentiful and encountering one has never crossed my mind and I do not call out.

I will agree that a moose encounter is probably more likely. I have encountered moose many times on trails, but not a bear...Yet.

I was on a tandem trip going from brule up through the cones and as I set down our large heavy aluminum canoe at the end of the portage into middle cone, I startled a moose about 15 feet to the left of the portage. Seeing how much force it had when it took off I was glad it was running away from me. I am going on my first solo in October and will definitely let out a little noise before and along portages.

make sure you give a bull lots of room, they will be rutting in october.

It would be best if you didn't put your paddle over your head and wave at them....

Once, while leading a group during a backpacking trip, I came to within 20 yards of a bear before I saw him. He was sitting in a patch of huckleberry oak (a high elevation, prostrate oak) eating insect galls and he had his back to me. I was even able to speak to my kids, in hushed tones, without alerting him. It was the sound of my camera case being unzipped that finally alerted him. Being faced with six people and a dog may have been what dissuaded the bear from showing any anger, although he did circle around, in order to get a better look at us.
There was a strong wind, from the bear to us, that probably obscured the sounds we were making as we hiked along. Also, the bear's own noises he was making as he was eating were substantial and that may have helped cover our approach.
In a strong wind, blowing the wrong direction, a person might have to sing rather loudly to avoid surprising a bear. In my case, I can't sing at all but I'd be OK with hearing you guys singing.

one of my primary objectives on a solo IS to see animals so i try to be as stealth as possible when paddling and on portages. i experience more heebie jeebies thinking about things silently walking up behind me in camp but still don't intentionally make any noise. guess i'm just more of a "man" than some of yall;)

but seriously-2 times i don't want to see critters; 1) bears in my campsite, 2) bull meese in october unless from a generous distance

tG

Yes I occasionally call out before I land but mainly it's for my dog. I briefly let him off leash when he exits the canoe because it's easier for me to unload so I want to alert all the wildlife, porcupines, skunks, wolves, bear of our presence so I don't have any dog/wildlife altercations. Once I put him on leash to do a portage my squeeky boots pretty much announce our presence as we walk through the woods. Mainly I just say, "Hey there bear! Land hoe!" Oh, and I'm female. Weigh 120 lbs. I rarely ever get the solo heebie jeebies but I guess that's because I travel solo a bunch and have a 150 lb dog. Actually I'm more worried about humans than I am bears.

Like tg I normally travel quietly, although I can definitely relate to being uncomfortable surprising an animal. Last fall I did a backpacking trip where I slept during the day and hiked by the light of the full moon at night. It was dead calm and totally silent, so when a deer started a few yards away you can bet it took a while for the heart rate to come back down!

While in Alaska I picked up the habit of humming while I hike ... and I'm pretty bad at it. Must work. I've never seen a bear or a moose on a portage.

I have no experience on a solo trip. However, yesterday I was out on a local lake in the biggest down pour I've ever experienced in a caone. We got 9/10's of an inch in about 20 minutes. At one point I was sitting out in the middle of the lake getting pummeled and I just started laughing hysterically thinking to myself what the hell am I doing out here.

MrB were there any brewski's involved?

JB

Just one.

I realize this is an old thread, but here's a photo I snapped as I was finishing the portage from Shell Lake to Lower Pauness Lake in late September (2011).





I was shooting pictures along the portage trail with the canoe over my head. The moose watched me intently. Only when I set the canoe down (as silently as possible), did it startle and start to run.

If I were in Grizzly country, I'd worry about making a lot of noise. In the BWCA, I mostly remember to watch the trail ahead of me. I would definitely not want to encounter a cow (with calf nearby) in spring, or a bull late in the season (like the one I saw one morning).