Hello Everyone, sorry about posting this on the general forum and here. I had forgotten that there was a "solo tripping" section.

So, the story...

Sadly my group is unable to go the BWCA this year. One has a new job and can't take the time off and the other just has a crappy job and can't take the time off.

With that said, I was thinking of going on a 7 day solo at the end of August. I have been going to the BW (extended group trips of 7 to 12 days) for the past 7 years now but I have never gone in solo. Other than the fact that I should rent a solo canoe what advice can you give me?

I have all the gear that I will need (stove, packs, paddles, food barrel, et al) but I am unsure what issues might pop up that would not have to be thought of if I was doing a group trip.

Any and all information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Boonie and Jamotrade offer a lot of good advice on your original post in the Trip Planning Forum RT. If you reference the other posts below; "solo trip advice" authored by nicole, "First Solo", authored by jeepgirl, and "Solo Gear", authored by bigdada6186, there's a wealth of information and advice contained within those threads that should be helpful.

I could give you my two cents, but considering the aforementioned threads, it would be redundant. Probably the most predominant theme of solo tripping is using good judgement and common sense in-order to have a safe trip.

You might want to read "The Solo Experience", authored by boonie as well. There's a lot of good posts within that thread about the mindset of solo canoe-trippers.

I sincerely hope your first solo experience goes well and you have a safe and fulfilling experience. Solo-tripping may not be for everyone, but for myself, and for the many other regular contributors to this forum, it can be very rewarding and addicting.

Hans Solo

Yeah, I would just use this solo forum by reading all the pertinent threads. My advice is to go light unless you are basecamping and don't take any chances. Also, watch where you step. Lot's of easy ways to sprain a knee or ankle there. Whenever i'm walking I'm looking down even around camp. Have fun on your trip!

If you haven't paddled a solo canoe before, be sure to get some time on the water in one before the trip. It's a pretty different experience, even for a seasoned tandem paddler. Some people take to it right away, others it takes a bit. A solo canoe can expose flaws in your stroke that a tandem can sometimes hide.

Thanks for all the info, everyone. That "the solo experience" thread is great.

HansSolo, who has probably done more solos than any of us brings up the most important point - use good judgment, don't "push the envelope", know your limitations.

Like TomT said, be aware of each step, each move. I've gone down a couple of times with a load and been lucky I wasn't hurt worse. Be especially careful at rocky landings; it's awkward getting packs out of a canoe on slippery rocks and then turning and carrying them up and out of the way. That goes even more for the canoe.

Be careful with sharp tools, barbed hooks, fire and hot things. It's hard to get a fish hook out by yourself...and I do know what I'm talking about.

I'm not an expert paddler and maybe Hans will offer some additional advice, but I'll offer some from the perspective of "self-taught, seldom practiced, little experienced, and very basic skills". Read up on the basic solo strokes, especially if you don't have solo paddling experience, and the strategies for adjusting trim in different wind conditions. When I was first trying to learn to paddle solo, I found it easier to use a double blade, but I always took a single and tried to learn how to do the J-stroke. You may want to go with a similar strategy.

Being a "not expert" paddler, I try to avoid large windy lakes and long open water crossings. It's amazing how quickly things can "blow up". If it gets a little uncomfortable I get closer to shore, a little too much, and I'll just get off the water.

The solo canoe will probably have less initial stability than you are used to, so when you get in hold onto both gunwales, step right on the center line with your weight as low as possible, and sit down.

I think you said you were going end of August for a week, but don't remember you saying anything about an entry or route. Have you picked one yet...?

One other thing to think about is the length of time. Just starting out, and going for 7 days, may be a long time, for the first time? Everyone is different, and adjust to not having anyone around differently. As in other posts, there are a lot of sounds in the night, that we don't think about with another person or two around. It may take some getting accustom to?

Anyway, have fun, be safe, and enjoy yourself

Greg

Thanks for the tips! I will probably go in on Seagull Lake at the end of the Gunflint. I have been friends with Debbie at Seagull Outfitters for a few years now and she is likely to hook me up with a rental discount. I was thinking of crossing Seagull and headding for Ogish. From there... who knows. That is the alure of a solo for me.

quote RT: "Thanks for the tips! I will probably go in on Seagull Lake at the end of the Gunflint. I have been friends with Debbie at Seagull Outfitters for a few years now and she is likely to hook me up with a rental discount. I was thinking of crossing Seagull and headding for Ogish. From there... who knows. That is the alure of a solo for me."

Good area... Little Sag gets little use and is a beautiful lake. went through there last fall and I saw campsites that haven't been used in some time. Might make for a good loop.

I think you are on par with not having an exact route. However, no goals or destination could set you up for an early exit so it's something to be mindful of.

Overwhelmingly, mindset and mental preparations for your first solo will be key to success.

Gnegard is spot on with differences of a solo canoe. And where you may have not thought of blade angles out of the water, you will become very aware when solo, especially in a headwind.

I found it took a few days to become accustomed to a solo paddlers wilderness pace. At about the third day the routine had formed and time began racing by. More so than when with a group. So if it feels unnatural during days 1 and 2, don't give up.

I mentioned this before in the other threads but it bears repeating here. Remember that you do everything yourself. There isn't anyone to share the chores with so you're going to be busy until your routine is set. Make camp early, take your time and be organized. You'll have a great time.

It's your own trip. And you own it!

Here is a long video..quite nice of another

first solo canoe trip

Not BWCA but Maine. The solo experience is not much different.

If you do a YouTube search of maddythegoose it will keep you occupied and give you some great tips and he is entertaining to an extent as well.

RT,
My first solo was in early Sept and I expected that the traffic would have slacked off - I was wrong! The first day was entirely too long in search of a campsite. Also, while I've done several trips in the BWCA,this was my first solo venture and my load was too much, especially food. My biggest mistake was taking an unnecessary risk on Thursday Bay. If I got in trouble, there was no one to help me. Be more cautious than you might when in a group.

If you are interested, here are my trip pics:
https://picasaweb.google.com/116752160612781058478/BobSBWCAAdventure2009#

At the insistence of my wife, I took along a SPOT. It worked well and a tech savy friend at work set it up so that my trip could be followed, real time, on a Google Map. I was able to then go in and annotate the map - pretty cool.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=111914787860940993513.000472a1a50fcfb0819a8

Before I left, I was concerned about lonelyness, but that was never an issue.

Here is what I do -

Keep moving. Base camping when solo is boring at least for me.
Bring reading material.
Pack a lot less food, I find that I just eat a lot less when solo.
As others have mentioned - be careful. I did a Q solo on a seldom travelled route and was very aware that if I slipped and broke something I'd be on my own for several days... at least.
Pack light.
Bring a comfortable chair.

quote Beemer01: "Keep moving. Base camping when solo is boring at least for me.

Bring reading material.

Pack a lot less food, I find that I just eat a lot less when solo.

As others have mentioned - be careful. I did a Q solo on a seldom traveled route and was very aware that if I slipped and broke something I'd be on my own for several days... at least.

Pack light.

Bring a comfortable chair."

I definitely agree with the "keep moving, base camping is boring" solo concept Beemer01.

Where I differ is with the chair and less food. I just bring a small chunk of closed cell foam for a seat. It's small, lightweight, and it adds an extra layer cushioning when I place it against the inner wall of my pack.

I also tend to bring a fair amount of food. Not being a meat eater, I rely on additional food sources for protein and nutrition, so my criteria is somewhat different.

This is not to say that either of us is right or wrong with our approach to solo tripping. But like other canoe-trippers, it's just a difference of what works best for us.

Some solo-trippers prefer hammocks to tents, axes to saws, or single-blade canoe paddles to double-bladed kayak paddles. Part of the fun of solo-tripping, or canoe-tripping in general, is discovering what works best for your individual needs.

Although frequently mentioned, being cautious is paramount when traveling solo. I too did a less traveled route for my first solo and it was also in the Fall when there's fewer travelers.

For first time solo-trippers, a more popular route might be preferable in the event a serious injury would occur. At least that way, you'd have some other paddlers that could relay your condition to the proper authorities.

Hans Solo

I'm of the keep moving school.
One blade and two
Less used routes..but started out with more used routes.
Always seem to have too much food. What you need is something you have to figure out for yourself.
In old age I like my Helinox chair enough to bring it.
And yes..books.. You do need down time in camp but looking at your feet gets discouraging for a few hours.At least for me I can only take x pictures of fungi..

Caution is the key. Other than that its all your trip. The joy of solo is that you really don't have to listen to anyone else and its not a ocmpetition.

I would say that I should not bring an axe. Being relatively new to using one, I think I might be prone to mistakes; one is more than I can afford.

In the interest of avoiding too much redundancy, I offer just a couple thoughts -

1) Amount of food - while I've heard others echo beemer's comment that they eat less when soloing, it has not been my experience at all. Since this is a first solo trip, I would bring the amount of food you would bring for one person on any other trip. If you find that it's too much for you when soloing, you can cut back in the future. But it seems to me that it would be terrible to assume you will eat less on your first solo trip when you don't have any personal experience with it, and then be hungry for a week. On the other hand, if you bring the normal amount of food and it turns out to be too much, it's not a disaster - you've just carried a little extra weight.

2) Like you, I had lots of experience with long canoe camping trips before soloing. My first solo was two year ago and I was only out for 3 nights, which I thought was enough. This year I've gone on two solos, for 2 nights and 3 nights each, and again thought they were enough. I also didn't seek complete solitude on my first solo, but did have complete solitude on my 2-night solo this year and enjoyed that. In contrast to my own experience, I have a friend who took a first solo for 10 or 12 days in Quetico (also his first Q trip) with lots of solitude and loved it. Everyone is different in how they respond to so much alone time. With that in mind, if I were going on my first solo for 7 days, I would probably go to a fairly busy area where I would be likely to see and interact with other people, but also build in the possibility of finding a little more solitude for a night or two if I felt like it during the trip.

3) Have fun!

Thanks for even more info, everyone!

Base Camping: Not my thing. Even with my group I prefer to go somewhere new each night. For the most part my group agrees. I plan on going to a different site every day, even if it is just down the lake a ways.

Food: Thanks for the heads up. I would not have thought about that. I will definitely be preplanning my meals so I don't overload myself. I find that when I solo car camp (State Park or parking and hiking) that I lean toward a light lunch (cheese and crackers) and a two dish dinner so I will plan on that.

Be Careful: Oh Yeah! I enjoy solo hiking so I am well aware of the risks of being alone in the woods. Alone in the Wilderness will be different, of course, but I plan on taking it easy. About the only risk I plan on taking is swimming sans trunks. :P

Books: Big BIG yes. I am already having dreams of sitting by the lake, feet in the water, and devouring chapters at a time.

Being Alone: I am too social to ignore everyone. While I want my site to be quiet I totally plan on chatting up the people I meet on portages (if any). I like swapping stories too much not to.

Thanks again everyone! ^_^

I was also thinking about doing a solo at the end of August. We should solo together. :)

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you that posted your advice. It has been most helpful. However, one of my tripping buddies is now able to go. So, instead of a solo, it will be just me and him. Thanks again everyone.