As a solo tripper, do you carry back-ups for any pieces of equipment?
Water filters, flashlights, paddles? Anything else.

On shorter trips, not so much. But most of my trips are ten days or more it seems. The extra paddle is a must in my book. And things aren't always a direct back up... But a sort of back up plan. If your filter or steri pen gives you trouble you can depend on tablets or boiling your water. Of course if the stove goes bad it's the fire. Always have extra food... If i'm in say, WCPP, I'll bring an extra fishing pole and reel. The key is to know when to say enough is enough... and I'm not there yet. :)

Paddle
Maps
Eyeglasses
Rod, reel, favorite lures
Knife
Sunglasses
Baseball cap
Bug dope
Nalgene bottle
Batteries
Bic Lighter
Primus stove
Iodine tabs
Bandaids

Not so much backups but things that can multifunction. Like bandanas. They can be tp and they can be a hat..whatever the need.

I don't carry a backup water filter. I have two purifying tablets in my first aid kit and would not hesitate to drink lake water that is exposed to the sun and circulating.

I do carry a backup paddle though I know I can paddle with a stick because I have done it before. The paddle is no problem to carry.

I also carry a backup map.

One extra day of food. Its not well known that food even for two weeks is not a necessity. I can't bring myself to do that however.

I don't bring in back up bug dope. Just enough to get by. One trip in northern Ontario for ten days...I forgot it entirely. That taught me that I can live on a trip in June. But would rather not have to endure BF!

No back up stove. A repair kit.

I do carry two knives. One fixed blade ( a Mora) and one Leatherman.

The temptation is often to overpack..I tend to do that on food. No one needs that much backup food as I have in the barrel now!

quote yellowcanoe: "Not so much backups but things that can multifunction. Like bandanas. They can be tp and they can be a hat..whatever the need

I hope you use a different bandana for TP, than you do a hat :)


I bring an extra paddle, and a back up set of glasses and thats about it.

Paddle plus spare
Maps
leatherman on hip and Knife in pocket and knife in pack.
Batteries
Bic Lighter's (ussually three)
base camp water filter and Steripen and tablets backup
headlamp & small princeton tech flashlight on caribeaner.
I think that's about it.
SunCatcher

paddle
bics
small flashlight
leatherman knife
treatment tablets

some repete backups in the ditch kit too.

quote mooseplums: "

quote yellowcanoe: "Not so much backups but things that can multifunction. Like bandanas. They can be tp and they can be a hat..whatever the need

I hope you use a different bandana for TP, than you do a hat :)



I bring an extra paddle, and a back up set of glasses and thats about it."

I have never had to use TP for butt wiping when canoe camping in your area. But on the islands off the coast where I live, there is no soil. Either you do it on a rock and heave the rock or you take it home in kitty litter. And there is no place to bury toilet paper. The bandana and saltwater is very cleansing.

And no bandanas do not get mixed up.

i see a back up as something you must have if the original item is lost or busted.just off the top of my head a few of mine would be a paddle,stove,some sort of fire lighter,watch-i like to know the time,glasses coffee cup,flashlight,rod and reel,finger nail clipper--another odd item i know but a ripped nail drives me nuts so i take a spare.some things you will notice are not on the list like a hat,well i take a bucket and baseball type so they are not really back up or spares but just shifted as needed,like sun V.S.rain.no soxs because i have several pairs along anyway.no knife because i could fall back on the fishing knife of the SAK went missing.i do take that extra coffee cup because drinking out of a pot would be awkward.no spare towel,i could use a tee shirt and no soap as a good bucket of hot water over the head will do in a pinch.things like battery's are not back ups as they are planned to be used up and replaced as are things like candles and TP.i do take a back up pepper spray as it would be a major hassle to blow out the bottle on day four and then run into another one on day 10 and come up empty handed and loose the food bag.

Paddle
Matches
Knife
Map
Socks/underwear/tshirt (Sealed)
Eye Contacts

i stash matches, in plastic baggies, all over the place in my gear. sometimes i bring a spare paddle.

Spare Paddle, Bic lighter, Headlamp (+ batteries,) Rod & Reel, and a little extra food. I take three knives, not as spares but for functionality. Victronix Handyman for the tools, Traditional Mora for general use, and a Cutco filet knife.

quote jwartman59: "i stash matches, in plastic baggies, all over the place in my gear. sometimes i bring a spare paddle."

I do the same with matches, except in small nalgene bottles. I think this spring/summer I will also bring a fire starter.
I bring a spare paddle.
Gerber multitool and a small gerber knife, so redundancy more than backup.
My stove is alcohol, so nothing to malfunction.
I make sure repair kit is well stocked--needle and thread, duct tape, awl with heavy waxed thread, some bits of heavy nylon, adhesive backed nylon patches, extra nylon cord (I've had to repair yokes, broken spacers for canoe seats, etc.).
I always have my compass around my neck and my maps secured, so I've never felt the need to double up there.

shsylvester, nice old towns. do you take them solo?

quote jwartman59: "shsylvester, nice old towns. do you take them solo?"

The photo in my profile is of my Will Ruch 15'. I purchased that one for soloing and for use as a smaller tandem (the pic shows it with a yoke. I removed the yoke and put in a kneeling thwart. It's pretty narrow for a tandem at 31 inches and has a bit of tumblehome). Our boys are old enough now that we can no longer do all four of us in the 18' OT, so in future family trips my wife and I will paddle the Ruch. The OT is a great canoe, holds a lot of weight and bobs like a cork on rough water, but even thought it's also rather narrow at 34 inches I don't know that I would try to solo it.

quote jwartman59: "shsylvester, nice old towns. do you take them solo?"

Just checked out your profile, JW. Tell me about the cruiser. I looked hard for a 16' Chestnut Cruiser before finding the Ruch, but there just aren't any out there. Does the Champlain Cruiser have similar lines?

I see that we're of the same age (I'm March of '59) and area (I'm in the north metro).

found it on ebay for 140$. no one else bid as it was a you come and get it in thunder bay. it was my first project of anything along this magnitude, it was really beat up and rotten, i did a good enough job, however i'd like an excuse to do it over, thats why i was using it on the kettle river last summer.

this boat is tiny compared to the old towns, 33" width and really round bottom, a world different than the old towns. it is a really exciting ride, and very fast.

quote jwartman59: "found it on ebay for 140$. no one else bid as it was a you come and get it in thunder bay. it was my first project of anything along this magnitude, it was really beat up and rotten, i did a good enough job, however i'd like an excuse to do it over, thats why i was using it on the kettle river last summer.


this boat is tiny compared to the old towns, 33" width and really round bottom, a world different than the old towns. it is a really exciting ride, and very fast."

Sounds like an exciting canoe. Do you have a pic of it?

in fact i do, more in my photo files.

quote jwartman59: "in fact i do, more in my photo files. "

Wow. That thing was a mess. You did a great job on it. How much did it take above the $140 to get it to its present condition?

quote jwartman59: "i stash matches, in plastic baggies, all over the place in my gear. sometimes i bring a spare paddle."

I do the same with pill bottles... Make sure you have the strike anywhere.

probably $350 worth of materials. and a lifetime exposure to epoxy resins and other nasty chemicals that i hope to never inhale again. really the biggest expense was the 18' pieces of ash used for the gunwales (x4). try calling any lumber yard here in minnesota and request a 18' strip of any clear hardwood. for a reasonable price you might find douglas fir, it sucks compared to ash, and when pressured to the lines of these old canoes, it will break rather than bend. also doing the canvas filling is a skill that takes several attempts to master. mine turned out fine, but it seems that there is a chemical reaction between the filler and the outer paint.

anyways i have used this canoe on about a dozen BWCA trips. solo it rocks, touring with gear, my longest trip has been just seven days, and that trip included the border route from lac la croix to basswood, in october, with very large following waves. on this trip i was with my daughter's boy friend from san diego,CA. a great kid, he had never canoed before in his life, he is a surfer, he could backpack anywhere, water was always his main concern. on this trip we were surfing, often. lots of times i was thinking we were pushing what i consider safe canoing. most of the waves were deflected by the gunwales. a few came over. but this old canoe seemed to know what to do in waves. it was in it's design. i can't think of many canoes, most of them actually, that would have been able to handle these conditions.

My backups are as follows:

Compass
Maps
Knife
Fishing rod and reel
Lighter
Matches
Paddle
Glasses
Stove
Water filter and tablets
Batteries
Camera (occasionally)
Flashlight/headlight
Ammo as required

I'm sure I'll think of other items but this is a start...

quote jwartman59: "probably $350 worth of materials. and a lifetime exposure to epoxy resins and other nasty chemicals that i hope to never inhale again. really the biggest expense was the 18' pieces of ash used for the gunwales (x4). try calling any lumber yard here in minnesota and request a 18' strip of any clear hardwood. for a reasonable price you might find douglas fir, it sucks compared to ash, and when pressured to the lines of these old canoes, it will break rather than bend. also doing the canvas filling is a skill that takes several attempts to master. mine turned out fine, but it seems that there is a chemical reaction between the filler and the outer paint.


anyways i have used this canoe on about a dozen BWCA trips. solo it rocks, touring with gear, my longest trip has been just seven days, and that trip included the border route from lac la croix to basswood, in october, with very large following waves. on this trip i was with my daughter's boy friend from san diego,CA. a great kid, he had never canoed before in his life, he is a surfer, he could backpack anywhere, water was always his main concern. on this trip we were surfing, often. lots of times i was thinking we were pushing what i consider safe canoing. most of the waves were deflected by the gunwales. a few came over. but this old canoe seemed to know what to do in waves. it was in it's design. i can't think of many canoes, most of them actually, that would have been able to handle these conditions.
"

I've had the same great experience in heavy water with my w/c. We even did two rescues on Brule Lake a few years with a stiff 35-40 mph west wind. My buddy in the stern just kept us perpendicular to the waves as I hauled the canoes over the bow in front of me to drain them and then pulled them alongside and grabbed the gunwales while the hapless canoeists (who were inexperienced enough that they had absolutely no business being out on the kind of water) clambered in. I don't think we took on even a cup of water.

I've been paddling w/c canoes since the mid 80's. Wouldn't paddle anything else. I had a blackgold Northwind several years ago, but sold it to buy the Old Town. W/C canoes just paddle differently. They're corks in big water and they're more "alive" than other canoes. There's a bit of flex and give that you don't get with kev, fglass, fglassed cedarstrip or, heaven forbid, aluminum (and, yes, you get some flex with assorted plastics, but not the "right" kind!). I know many people don't like that, as they don't want to lose any of the power form the paddle stroke, but it's something I enjoy tremendously.