Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Winter Camping and Activities :: Toboggan packing troubles
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Gadfly |
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Pinetree |
Yes you can't get top heavy or even have a super narrow sled that tips. There is a nice compromise. I think super short sleds tip easy also. I use a bunch of bungee cord to secure my load. Even if it tips over nothing falls off. |
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Gadfly |
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dhfish |
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dhfish |
Ended up bailing out before setting up camp the second night, just because it seemed like less work to get all the way back to the car than to set up camp and take it down in the morning. Details: EP19 - about a mile and a half of hills before you get to flat river. Toboggans each carrying over a hundred pounds. I know this seems stupid but we had been testing on flat ground and it really didn't matter how much weight we pulled, it was fine. One of the toboggans kept twisting in the front- turning into a snowplow. I figure it was due to weight distribution? Heres my question- How do you all handle hilly terrain in the winter? Less gear will be a main player next time (we figured we can drop 80lbs! ha we are dumb...) but are there other options we should be thinking about as well? Besides flat ground that is. I cannot just get beat like that. Dhfish |
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DanCooke |
15 lbs Stove and rolled pipe, 6 lb tent , 4 lb ground cloth, 10 lbs spare clothing, 6 lbs for hatchet and saw, 2 lbs tarp, 10lbs camera and tripod. Thermos and cozy cover Nalgene round out my load. Toboggan is 1/8" uhmw, with 1/4" uhmw running down the length of both sides. 1/2" fiberglass detachable poles. All the stuff goes in a long tank bag with end pockets. Food and pots and pans, shovel goes on anothers sled, fishing gear and auger on another sled. |
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dhfish |
I did build the toboggans. It was fun and not too hard. Ended up getting a UHMWPE blank cut into 3 pieces. Still have one to build. I also thought about putting sides on, but have not seen a way to do that. |
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Soledad |
HDPE toboggans with rigid sides do help. I made 3, 8' toboggans and they do better than my longer 11' soft toboggan. On the toboggan that was plowing snow, maybe simply adjusting the ropes or putting the heavy things in back would help. Everything is tougher in the winter. Next year it will be easier for you with less of a load. I will try to weigh my stuff before going next week. I don't think 100lbs is too much to have on a toboggan though. |
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Mnpat |
Complete sleep setup 6.5 lbs for all temps. For long trips 12 lb stove. I plan on getting a lighter stove soon. |
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Soledad |
Mnpat: "The fiberglass poles are going to break long after the aluminum poles would. I use 1/2” the same ones recommended by skipulk.com. Adding poles to my sled was the biggest gear improvement I have done. No more wasting time and energy on the portages. Going over fallen trees, no problem. Not having my sled get stuck in the trees, priceless. Mnpat, I am always looking for ways to lighten my load. Can you tell me how much your tent and stove weighs? My Snowtrekker is about 27lbs. My stove is about 25. So those two things pretty much maxes me out according to your weights. Axe, saw, clothing food, beer etc. Maybe we should make a distinction between cold camping and hot tenting, which I think are two totally different topics within winter camping. It is easy to get a cold camping load down to 50 or 60 pounds. If the OP is cold camping with a load of well over 100lbs, then yes, I would agree there is room to trim some weight. |
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Pinetree |
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Arcola |
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dhfish |
Mnpat: "In the winter you will need to portage on most routes. I hadn't thought of that. It sounds terrible! Maybe the best option though. I think next time we will put one guy in front and one guy behind the toboggan, and do a double trip. We tried to keep going and switch who was in the lead, but still got really burnt out. |
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Mnpat |
Leave the extra 30 lbs of crap at the car. |
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Mnpat |
100 lbs may fit on the toboggan but it’s beyond what I consider a reasonable load. If your going a mile or two from the car no problem otherwise good luck. I am usually 7 miles or more from the car to where I camp. Depending on conditions I try and stay between 50 to 65 pounds total weight max. The toboggans having a flat bottom is a big negative on the portages. The trails aren’t flat and causes the sled to be in the trees. My gear has been refined from 30+ winter trips. I was able to do it with the wrong gear but I am much more comfortable now with the right stuff. You can make a some nice gear at home for cheap. |
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dhfish |
Those other people are nuts. |
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Pinetree |
Actually the sleds are also like 20 years old and tough as nails. Some of the new ones are brittle. Myself I got aluminum poles from hardware store and than purchased a ski-jouring belt used by the ski-dog people. Maybe they have the fiberglass pole rigs now so they don't get brittle in cold also? I don't know. |