Wednesday, September 09, 2015 I got up early, put my canoe clothes back on, and headed for North Hegman. Prior to my trip, I had asked a young guy at Piragis how long the paddle would take. He started to say 2 hrs looked at me and said 3. So, based on my research on BWCA I anticipated 3 hrs. It only took me 2 hrs and I was taking my time. I wanted to find that young guy again! The pictographs on North Hegman are fantastic, well worth the short paddle. I had lunch at the Moose and headed home, feeling very good about my trip.

What I learned 1. I like soloing. Perhaps every other year I should do a solo trip. It confirmed what I thought about myself, and then some. I found that I thought deeper, and opened up more in my journal. This was a spiritual experience. 2. It’s easy to take too much stuff. Even after reading the warnings about this I failed. I think I had too much of a base camp/trip partner mindset. One of the issues with have too much stuff is creating too many decisions. If you don’t have it, you don’t have to think about it. 3. No more pancakes when soloing 4. No more taking the Irwin saw. I’ll take a smaller one if at all. 5. I debated taking my Cutco sheath knife, I am glad I did 6. I didn’t take my Leatherman, I didn’t need it but… I think it’s a good thing to take 7. The Nalgene canteen is a very nice piece of equipment. 8. The InReach was a good way to keep my wife informed and allow friends to follow my trip 9. The Lawson bear rope is very slick. It’s very easy to get a food bag up. It’s almost too slick when tying off. http://lawsonequipment.com/Ultraglide-Bear-Line-c148/ 10. I doubt I will bring the hatchet on my next solo, especially if moving around. 11. Frying bacon ahead of time is a good thing. 12. I think that I would like more base-camping while soloing. 13. Setting up and breaking camp takes at least 2x as long, especially when you bring too much stuff. See #2 14. No more sealskins, I just used wool socks and boots. Thin socks, like Fit, will bring less water into the canoe. 15. Going slow is the correct speed while soloing. It’s safer and, for me, keeps the intensity in check. 16. I takes me longer to integrate back into civilization after soloing. 17. Cut down the spices in the food bag. Salt, pepper, and hot sauce will do it. 18. I think a hand pump filter may be a better choice for me while soloing. 19. I think the Amok hammock may be the hammock for me. I use a Jacks R Better, but I want more internal space. 20. Luci lights are now on my must list. I bought one for this trip after reading forum thoughts. Very nice and I now know what to get for everyone in the family for Christmas. 21. Rethink meal sizes, I took too much. 22. First night vegetable soup is a great idea. 23. The Lost City of Z by David Grann is a good read. It’s about exploring the Amazon. The descriptions about the insects and parasites may give you the heebie-jeebies. 24. Check your batteries, maybe remove them between trips.