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Author	Message Text
HighnDry	02/24/2021 10:49AM   Cast iron skillet. I was trying to weigh down my 18ft kevlar boat since I was soloing. Portages were near unbearable. Never again. :)
3Ball	02/24/2021 01:58PM   An old girlfriend. She was a tiger when packing, but useless when portaging.
trstuck	02/24/2021 11:17AM   Very first trip back in '98 - leather hiking boots. Twice as heavy when wet and just dried out last year. Also broke every fashion rule with those boots and shorts.
brux	02/24/2021 10:39AM   Ten pounds of fresh potatoes. I wasn’t in charge of the food on that trip....
bwcadan	02/24/2021 10:59AM   Enchilada dinner dry pack, just add water meal from the Boy Scout store. On a scale of 1 to 10, it comes in at a -20. That is the worst "food" I ever ate, by far. No one came close to finishing it and most of it went into the brush on a nearby island and scattered for the ants to eat if they would. I doubt a bear would take a second taste, but at the time, I did not care if they did.
Freddy	02/24/2021 11:08AM   That's an easy one! Many years ago, my wife and I took our very first backpacking trip at Isle Royale National Park. The fishing was purported to be really good so I decided to bring a couple of six foot, one piece spinning rods. The fishing was outstanding, but pointing two fishing poles down narrow, wooded paths for four days was something we laugh about to this day.
MidwestFirecraft	02/24/2021 11:53AM   Yeti Tundra 75. Never again!
ockycamper	03/27/2021 06:06PM   Luci lights are your happy place from using gas laterns
afromaniac	02/28/2021 12:36PM   Honestly I love my aluminum canoe, it’s a tank and steers great! Continue to be frustrated by Kevlar when I’m on the water. I must be the only one :) Worst thing I brought was a mandolin. Thought it would be great but it was bulky and when you finally get time to play it, no one wants to hear it! Unless you’re going to bring a full band load of equipment it’s just not worth it
Jackfish	02/24/2021 11:19AM   A few things come to mind, but probably the first "worst thing" I brought happened on my first or second trip. I had bought a rain jacket and pants set from K Mart (or some similar store) and, because of a nice dry week, they were never needed... until the way out. We were on a particularly long portage when it started to rain. It was warm enough so the rain felt ok, but we were still getting a bit wet. Once we were done with the portage, I started to get my rain gear out. The guys kind of laughed at me, saying that it was a waste of time because I was already wet. My response back was something like, "I brought these things in here. I'm going to wear them!" I got into my clear plastic rain suit feeling like a prepared outdoorsman. However, as soon as I sat down in the canoe, the rain pants split from the crotch all the way down both legs. LOL What a waste of $5.99. :)
nofish	02/24/2021 10:56AM   It would probably be myself the day after tearing my hamstring. I had a game the night before we left and as I was walking out the door my wife yelled out "don't get hurt right before the trip". 2 hours later I went down in a heap with a torn hamstring. I limped home and pretended it wasn't that bad. Spent the next few hours limping around the house packing our gear. Drove north the next morning and entered early the day after with my wife and daughter. The first portage of the day ran into a god send who without even asking picked up half our gear and portaged it for us. The next few were tough but they got harder over the next few days. By day 2 and 3 my hamstring was all sort of cool shades of black, blue, and purple. I was able to suck it up and make it through the trip without further injuring myself and I spent time each day soaking my leg in the cool water. I think I'll try to avoid doing that again.
ockycamper	03/27/2021 06:02PM   we have a guy that brought a full cook set of cast iron and wanted the group to help portage it. We told him if he did it again, we would put the cast iron in his canoe, tie him up and put him in the canoe with it, then light the whole thing and push it out on the lake like the vikings.
ockycamper	03/27/2021 06:10PM   Favorite youth pastor story. . . .outfitter had just bought new canoes (royalex). Youth pastor and youth group rented them and went out for 3 day trip. They came back and there were pots embedded in the bottom of all 3 canoes. They had used the canoes for tables, putting the hot pans on them. Worst part of the story is they left and never offered to pay for the canoes.
missmolly	02/24/2021 12:12PM   MidwestFirecraft: "Yeti Tundra 75. Never again! " Whoa! You'd have to be a Yeti to portage that beast. Great thread. The responses are so different.
pswith5	03/27/2021 07:35PM   A guy named Dave
cyclones30	02/24/2021 01:07PM   Aluminum canoes....when I was 17 or so and doing Missing Link to Tuscarora on Day 1. The trip was fine and we made it to Little Sag, Ogish, and out via Sag at the end of the trail. But....I vowed never again to portage an 85lb hunk of metal or whatever those things were.
Argo	02/24/2021 01:32PM   nofish: "It would probably be myself the day after tearing my hamstring. I had a game the night before we left and as I was walking out the door my wife yelled out "don't get hurt right before the trip". Two hours later, I went down in a heap with a torn hamstring. I limped home and pretended it wasn't that bad. Spent the next few hours limping around the house packing our gear. Drove north the next morning and entered early the day after with my wife and daughter. The first portage of the day ran into a god send who, without even asking, picked up half our gear and portaged it for us. The next few were tough, but they got harder over the next few days. By day two and three, my hamstring was all sort of cool shades of black, blue, and purple. I was able to suck it up and make it through the trip without further injuring myself and I spent time each day soaking my leg in the cool water. I think I'll try to avoid doing that again." When you said "a game" I immediately thought baseball. Then I saw you played ultimate frisbee. There was a time I played both baseball and summer hockey. I was always a bit anxious about a potential injury from baseball games just before a trip, but never worried about hockey. In hockey your muscles are always warm. In baseball, it's a lot of standing around and suddenly doing something explosive. Ultimate is probably somewhere in-between hockey and baseball in that regard. Worst thing I ever brought was a mask, snorkel and fins. All of the lakes on that trip were tea-stained with terrible visibility.
A1t2o	02/24/2021 01:31PM   A cheap school backpack. It was my first trip. The thing soaked up water like a sponge, didn't hold it's shape at all, and painfully dug into my shoulders because it had no padding. The same could be said about cotton clothing, non-polarized sunglasses, 99 cent ponchos, and a square stern aluminum canoe that must have weighed 95lbs. Never again.
scotttimm	02/24/2021 01:41PM   My second BWCA trip, I brought a big, orange, plastic Coleman canoe. We only camped on Lake Two, so only a couple of portages...but GEEZE. Good thing I was 15 years younger than I am today.
sns	02/24/2021 01:45PM   Argo: "Ultimate is probably somewhere in-between hockey and baseball in that regard. " I'd say nothing like baseball - very much in-line with basketball. At least in soccer you can take it easy away from play...not the case in ultimate. Depends on the level as well - nofish, guessing that was twin cities summer league?
nofish	02/24/2021 01:49PM   Argo: "nofish: "It would probably be myself the day after tearing my hamstring. I had a game the night before we left and as I was walking out the door my wife yelled out "don't get hurt right before the trip". 2 hours later I went down in a heap with a torn hamstring. I limped home and pretended it wasn't that bad. Spent the next few hours limping around the house packing our gear. Drove north the next morning and entered early the day after with my wife and daughter. The first portage of the day ran into a god send who without even asking picked up half our gear and portaged it for us. The next few were tough but they got harder over the next few days. By day 2 and 3 my hamstring was all sort of cool shades of black, blue, and purple. I was able to suck it up and make it through the trip without further injuring myself and I spent time each day soaking my leg in the cool water. I think I'll try to avoid doing that again." When you said "a game" I immediately thought baseball. Then I saw you played ultimate frisbee. There was a time I played both baseball and summer hockey. I was always a bit anxious about a potential injury from baseball games just before a trip but never worried about hockey. In hockey you're muscles are always warm. In baseball it's a lot of standing around and suddenly doing something explosive. Ultimate is probably somewhere in-between hockey and baseball in that regard. Worst thing I ever brought was a mask, snorkel and fins. All of the lakes on that trip were tea-stained with terrible visibility." Yeah it was an Ultimate Frisbee game. Its a lot of quick/sudden movements and depending on the game you can cool down while you're on the sideline during long points. My 38 year old legs didn't like cooling down and then attempting to make a sudden cut to keep up with the player I was guarding who was probably 10-15 years younger than me.
AmarilloJim	02/24/2021 01:55PM   trstuck: "Very first trip back in '98 - leather hiking boots. Twice as heavy when wet and just dried out last year. Also broke every fashion rule with those boots and shorts." LOL
tumblehome	02/24/2021 02:03PM   I brought snorkel gear once. Dumb because of weight and bulk but quite fun to snorkel around the waters of campsites. Tom
mschi772	02/24/2021 02:35PM   tumblehome: "I brought snorkel gear once. Dumb because of weight and bulk but quite fun to snorkel around the waters of campsites. Tom" What, did you bring flippers, too? A mask/goggles and a snorkel isn't that much/heavy and all you really need to cruise around lookin' down below. Definitely a solid way to spend some time. Usually find some decent lures and make sites/swimming safer and cleaner for everyone which is always great.
jamdemos	02/24/2021 03:22PM   Gallons of drinking water for the four days. I was probably 18 or 19 at the time and it was my first trip. Pretty stupid when you’re literally surrounded by water....oh well.
bottomtothetap	02/24/2021 03:55PM   A brother-in-law
MikeinMpls	02/24/2021 02:31PM   Argo: "nofish: "It would probably be myself the day after tearing my hamstring. I had a game the night before we left and as I was walking out the door my wife yelled out "don't get hurt right before the trip". 2 hours later I went down in a heap with a torn hamstring. I limped home and pretended it wasn't that bad. Spent the next few hours limping around the house packing our gear. Drove north the next morning and entered early the day after with my wife and daughter. The first portage of the day ran into a god send who without even asking picked up half our gear and portaged it for us. The next few were tough but they got harder over the next few days. By day 2 and 3 my hamstring was all sort of cool shades of black, blue, and purple. I was able to suck it up and make it through the trip without further injuring myself and I spent time each day soaking my leg in the cool water. I think I'll try to avoid doing that again." When you said "a game" I immediately thought baseball. Then I saw you played ultimate frisbee. There was a time I played both baseball and summer hockey. I was always a bit anxious about a potential injury from baseball games just before a trip but never worried about hockey. In hockey you're muscles are always warm. In baseball it's a lot of standing around and suddenly doing something explosive. Ultimate is probably somewhere in-between hockey and baseball in that regard. Worst thing I ever brought was a mask, snorkel and fins. All of the lakes on that trip were tea-stained with terrible visibility." I've played hockey since I was seven, nearly 50 years, and played softball on and off for 25 years. I still play hockey (skating tonight), but softball ended five years ago after a tearing off all the tendons that held my hamstring to my pelvis. Disgusting injury. Obviously, no paddling for a while after that. I suffered more and more serious injuries playing softball than I ever have playing hockey. As for the worse thing I ever brought, I think it was our one-trip experiment with the BWJ poly food box. Not the whole "fresh food" insulated ice system, just the box. I don't know what problem I was trying to solve, but the box created all kinds of issues in terms of repacking and rebalancing as the food supply dwindled. I sold it upon our return. I once brought a small battery-operated fan. It was a spectacularly hot trip. The fan was maybe six inches in width, folding in half. The problem was weight...not the fan itself, but the four D-cells required to power it. The fan unit was actually kind of handy, but the weight of the entire unit when including batteries was not worth the relatively little wind it produced. I've often considered bringing fins, mask and snorkel. Sounds like it might not be worth it. I actually swim better without fins, so maybe I'll try mask and snorkel. Maybe. Mike
GopherAdventure	02/24/2021 05:57PM   These are great! I’m noticing a theme...most of the stories are from first or second trips. This totally makes sense and my useless item is also from my first trip. I brought my Coleman 4 person tent, not light at all (10-12 lbs) and the rain fly was horrendously undersized. Needless to say, we had a doozie of a storm pass over on night two and within minutes we were in a puddle. We had to rig a tarp over our tent the rest of the trip as a 2nd fly. I always use quality, sturdy, and dependable tents ever since that trip. Tony
BoxofRain	02/24/2021 06:28PM   An appetite
treehorn	02/24/2021 09:38AM   What was the one piece of gear (or food, person, pet, etc.) you absolutely regretted bringing in with you on a trip?
thistlekicker	02/24/2021 03:58PM   A pound+ of uncooked tortillas during a fire ban. We didn't realize they were uncooked until we took them out of the food pack and looked closely at the packaging a couple days in.
lundojam	02/24/2021 04:25PM   15' Coleman canoe. I hated that effer.
dschult2	02/24/2021 06:02PM   Coleman gas lantern. Mantle turned to ash first day and then it was useless weight.
beanpole	02/24/2021 06:11PM   first trip - 90 lb aluminum canoe. My boyfriend thought he could handle his pack and canoe on all the portages. He made it one day. The weather (40 degrees and rain) didn't help. I tried to help out by carrying it with him, but I quit after he dragged me across a rock. After that it was double portaging with our friends. Us females got the packs. The guys got the canoes. We actually bought a Kevlar canoe on our trip back so we couldn't make that mistake again.
SevenofNine	02/24/2021 06:56PM   A cheap Target sleeping bag on a late April canoe trip. I had to wear everything I had for insulation to try and sleep one night. Also learned to bring more layers.
Duckman	02/24/2021 06:26PM   My first trip ever was solo. I wore some knee high neoprene boots I use for deer hunting. Still swamped them. After I got to my campsite I couldn’t get them off. For a good hour or two I was certain I’d have to cut them off. After a few hours of effort and letting them dry some I finally got them torn off, but it was miserable.
Jaywalker	02/24/2021 06:22PM   On my third or so trip, and second trip with a GF, we brought a heavy duty rubberized double sized inflatable air mattress that required your lungs to inflate. It was heavy and bulky, and took forever to inflate. It was like trying to use your lips to inflate a car tire. For the next trip we found a foot pump thing that added weight and bulk, and decreased the inflate time from about 30 minutes to about 20 minutes. For the next trip we found Thermorest self inflating pads and felt we had discovered a miracle.
tumblehome	02/24/2021 06:34PM   dschult2: "Coleman gas lantern. Mantle turned to ash first day and then it was useless weight." Oh boy, I think we need to talk about mantles. Tom
MNGreene	02/24/2021 10:58PM   After my very careful packing to keep weight to a minimum, I opened the food pack at our campsite on Lac La Croix and found a whole cantaloupe that my dad had slipped into the food pack. Talk about worthless weight!
dschult2	02/24/2021 08:09PM   tumblehome: "dschult2: "Coleman gas lantern. Mantle turned to ash first day and then it was useless weight." Oh boy, I think we need to talk about mantles. Tom" It broke more than turned to ash when it fell but yeah that's on me. Shoulda brought extras. I just use a headlamp now but still have a place in my heart for the lantern. Just at home.
egrabi1	02/24/2021 08:36PM   home made pvc rod case heading up to sturgeon on the maligne river. another time a heavy gauge aluminum canoe on crooked lake loop from mudro
QuietSolo	02/24/2021 09:04PM   An aluminum canoe on my first solo trip having never paddled before. I got hooked on solo canoe trips nonetheless, but never again with a tandem aluminum.
7thinningstretch	02/24/2021 10:19PM   On one of my first trips about 20 years ago, I decided I needed to bring a Coleman Powerhouse white gas stove, a Coleman propane lantern, AND a one of those portable table top propane grills. Plus, of course, a four pack of propane tanks and a half gallon of white gas. In hindsight, it was a bit overkill for our 2 person four day trip!
jhb8426	02/24/2021 10:40PM   Jackfish: "I got into my clear plastic rain suit feeling like a prepared outdoorsman. However, as soon as I sat down in the canoe, the rain pants split from the crotch all the way down both legs. LOL What a waste of $5.99. :) " Sounds like the cheap frog togs jacket/pants I bought. Zipper on the jacket separated the first time I tried to zip it up. dschult2: "Coleman gas lantern. Mantle turned to ash first day and then it was useless weight." Ummm, spare mantles don't weigh all that much. Always carry about 10 or so. Worse item we ever brought was 30 gallon Rubbermaid bins to haul the 2 weeks worth of food and cooking gear for a 5 day trip. It was a boy scout trip to Crab from Burntside. For reasons still unknown to me someone decided to let some car camper parents plan the food and conveyance. The food packs each included 10 lb. packs of tortillas for roll ups. Worse yet, no one aside from myself said "That ain't gonna work." We had enough food to stay 2 weeks. Hauling those bins over the portage to Crab was pure hell.
dschult2	02/24/2021 10:53PM   Your right, they don't weigh much but I prefer to travel light now, hence just a headlamp.
okinaw55	02/24/2021 11:37PM   dschult2: "tumblehome: "dschult2: "Coleman gas lantern. Mantle turned to ash first day and then it was useless weight." Oh boy, I think we need to talk about mantles. Tom" It broke more than turned to ash when it fell but yeah that's on me. Shoulda brought extras. I just use a headlamp now but still have a place in my heart for the lantern. Just at home." I have a passion for the old Coleman lanterns too. I still bring mine with me when doing the car camping thing. I've had it since the 80's I would guess. Just love watching moths fly around them LOL.
siusaluki23	02/25/2021 07:58AM   Pack when I was a poor college student, I thought it would be a great idea to use a inflatable raft--think pool lounger--as a sleeping pad to save some cash. It lasted about 10 minutes before all the air leaked out.
saltdog	02/25/2021 08:11AM   Hands down -- my brother in law Steve. Janice at Cache Lake ranger station nick named him One Foot. After taking one look at him she said he had "one foot in the grave."
yellowhorse	02/25/2021 04:12AM   Laundry bag on first trip with one strap. Probably had 70 lbs in it.
missmolly	02/25/2021 07:16AM   For years, I tripped with a guy who liked to say, "We'll settle up at the end." So, instead of paying for gas every other time or he could buy the bait while I bought a meal, I'd pay for everything. He even used and lost my lures and the off-road vehicle was purchased by me, as well as the canoe and all the equipment. On some trips, there was no settling up at the end and when he did make the attempt, he forgot half of what I bought. Then, when I started paddling with adults, as opposed to a de facto dependent child, I saw how the world should work. One of my my new favorite paddling partners said, "i'll pay for everything on the road. It's the least I can do for the wear and tear on your equipment."
CityFisher74	02/25/2021 07:24AM   After year 1 we realized all the food we brought was dry and kind of bland. Next year we thought it would be smart to bring a bag of freaking oranges...we just throw in a small bag of Jolly Ranchers now lol.
Bobaaa	02/25/2021 08:29AM   Coleman lantern in carrying case and full MSR fuel bottle. Never used, just carried along the whole trip. Also ran across a group of guys on a hot July trip who had brought in 35 dozen minnows. I asked "Wow, how are you keeping them alive?"... They didn't, all were dead within just a few hours :( I suspect that might've been that groups answer to this question.
RunningFox	02/25/2021 09:46PM   Inexperience, a leaky tent, cheap rain gear, 100% Deet, and water purification tablets that made the water taste like the local swimming pool.
ForestDuff	02/25/2021 08:56PM   12 lbs of M&M's.........kidding, we enjoyed every last one. College kids and I worked at a DQ the first year the Blizzard came out. *wink* It was the large watermelon that I regretted bringing on that trip.
Blatz	02/25/2021 09:49PM   A guy I worked with and his best friend. The guy I worked with was a total dick to his "best friend" the entire trip. His friend was actually a decent person.This co worker also ruined a seldom if ever in a life time Wolf sighting by yelling "Hey look a wolf"
mgraber	02/25/2021 10:44PM   3Ball: "An old girlfriend. She was a tiger when packing, but useless when portaging." LOL!
HayRiverDrifter	02/25/2021 10:55PM   Sandals with covered toe and these great holes in the sides for water to drain out, however, these great holes also suck in mud and rock on muddy portages.
Bearpath9	02/26/2021 07:59AM   1. Coleman suitcase double burner stove, white gas (made circa 1980s). 2. Lantern - just too much space taken up. No problem with mantels, I just put a new one on before moving camp. Besides, I have a battery powered AM/FM radio with a light and siren feature. About the same weight, but much easier to pack. 3. Ten pound 4 man tent for two people. Just say no. Probably could come up with a couple more, but those three stood out.
bfurlow	02/26/2021 10:24AM   Went in with a partner that thought we were going to party for a few days. He passed out in the woods one night and was miserable and complaining most of the time. He would then proceed to repeat the following evening. Luckily it was a short trip so only had to endure it for a couple of days. Needless to say, he has not been back. Equipment perspective - did full outfitting service one year. Didn't realize until we reached camp that there had been two large nalgene full of water and a full size axe in the pack! Lots of extra weight there.
bottomtothetap	02/26/2021 11:17AM   Blatz: "A guy I worked with and his best friend. The guy I worked with was a total dick to his "best friend" the entire trip. His friend was actually a decent person.This co worker also ruined a seldom if ever in a life time Wolf sighting by yelling "Hey look a wolf"" My long-standing personal rule has been that nobody from work is allowed to come BWCA tripping with me regardless of how well we get along working together and how much fun we may have outside of the office. Inevitably, the conversation will turn to "shop talk". I do not bring any company-logo clothing either. Part of my trip's purpose is to step away from anything work-related for for a few days. I have tripped with FORMER work colleagues and had a great time. Yes, there was then plenty of shop talk but it was not about any current issues and rather was some recollections of the "good old days" and none of the BWCA experience was going to carry with us back to working with each other.
thebotanyguy	02/26/2021 01:21PM   lundojam: "15' Coleman canoe. I hated that effer." That brings up memories of a trip 30 years ago on the Little Missouri River through the Badlands in North Dakota. A friend had borrowed a 15' Coleman canoe, with the idea that he would buy it after the trip if he liked it. It handled with all the beauty and grace of a garbage scow! An no, he did not buy that POS. It reminds me of a Klingon quote .
QuietSolo	02/26/2021 09:02PM   My husband.
JWilder	02/26/2021 07:11PM   It has already been mentioned, but on our first ever trip we brought a cheep rain poncho. My son and I are blessed it did not rain a drop. When I think back, the two guys leading us never asked or enquired as to what we actually had packed for the trip. WTF. I would never lead people out there without a full pre-trip briefing on EVERYTHING... Oh yeah, our first aid kit could have been considered a camping relic or antique of some sort. JW
Spartan2	02/26/2021 09:42PM   cyclones30: "Aluminum canoes....when I was 17 or so and doing Missing Link to Tuscarora on Day 1. The trip was fine and we made it to Little Sag, Ogish, and out via Sag at the end of the trail. But....I vowed never again to portage an 85lb hunk of metal or whatever those things were. " All in your perspective. Our first trip was in 1971, and we continued to trip with an aluminum canoe until 1999. (Weren't able to go every year, so that was only 17 trips, but they weren't all easy ones. The one in 1992 was 22 days.) Then in 2004, after five trips in the Bell, I convinced Spartan1 to carry the Grumman one more time, as I was having knee problems and sitting in the narrow bow of the Northwind (and getting out of it) was painful for me.
Wharfrat63	02/27/2021 07:15AM   fairmatt: "Its with great apprehension I admit to this. I was young and dumb and trusted my elders. My first intro to the BWCA was when I was maybe in 8th grade. Uncles cousins brothers all their first trip too. As I recall we rented gear in Ely and went in at Lake One. Instead of a nifty water filter or dipping for drinking water it was decided that the best course of action was to fill up a Culligan water jug and strap it on a frame pack. Mistakes were made! I shake my head at the image of myself carrying 5 gallons of water over portages. It's a wonder I ever went on another BW trip.....hey Culligan man! " Ooopps, It is a tie.
fairmatt	02/26/2021 07:41PM   Its with great apprehension I admit to this. I was young and dumb and trusted my elders. My first intro to the BWCA was when I was maybe in 8th grade. Uncles cousins brothers all their first trip too. As I recall we rented gear in Ely and went in at Lake One. Instead of a nifty water filter or dipping for drinking water it was decided that the best course of action was to fill up a Culligan water jug and strap it on a frame pack. Mistakes were made! I shake my head at the image of myself carrying 5 gallons of water over portages. It's a wonder I ever went on another BW trip.....hey Culligan man!
MacCamper	02/26/2021 08:32PM   Carhart coveralls on a rainy trip.
Spartan2	02/26/2021 09:39PM   siusaluki23: "Pack when I was a poor college student, I thought it would be a great idea to use a inflatable raft--think pool lounger--as a sleeping pad to save some cash. It lasted about 10 minutes before all the air leaked out. " You are so young! That was all we had for sleeping pads back in the 1970's and early 80's on our first several trips. And yes, they didn't make it through to the end of a trip, either! When we first found Therma-rest pads were were thrilled!!
Spartan2	02/26/2021 09:47PM   To answer the OP: Many of the things we started out with could be considered "worst things" in retrospect. But I think the thing I hated the most, probably because I usually carried it, was the two-burner Coleman stove. Bulky and uncomfortable to portage. Only took it a couple of times.
Wharfrat63	02/27/2021 07:12AM   jamdemos: "Gallons of drinking water for the four days. I was probably 18 or 19 at the time and it was my first trip. Pretty stupid when you’re literally surrounded by water....oh well." Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner. This is the best one.
RedLakePaddler	02/27/2021 10:58AM   Youth Pastors. During the eighties we did a canoe trip with our church. We had 3 groups. My wife and I took one group, another couple took another group, and our Youth Pastor and Dale took the third group. The first thing the pastor did was to asked the outfitter if he could bring a can of Coke along, so much for following the rules. Barb and Elaine worked hard drying food, packing it, and making instructions as to how fix the meals. Well the first thing they did was lose the instruction, probably used it for fire starter. The next day we headed for Insula Dale decided to pull his canoe up one of the rapids with an SLR camera laying the bottom of the canoe. The water was going over the gunwales into the canoe. No more pictures for that group! When we got to the portage into Insula Dale came up to me and said he had left some of his gear a couple portages back. I told him he should go back and get and l would come back to the portage and bring him to his camp site, at this point he was thinking yaa sure he will. So while he was retrieving his gear, he had to peel his rain suit of a group young kids, they started setting up the canvas tent they had bought and found they had lost the center section for the tent. In the meantime the Pastor when out to get water and flipped the canoe, I guess he filled the bucket! Our group and the other group had a great time. They were amazed that we could make pizza out in the wilderness with a reflector oven. So from that point on the rule was no Youth Pastors. We all got back to Lake One safety and for the most part had a good trip. The following year they when on a canoe trip on the Mississippi and had a close call on Lake Bemidji, one of canoe swamped and a kid came close to drowning. So Youth Pastors out there forgive me, if you are on this site I am sure your trip would be much better. Carl
bottomtothetap	02/28/2021 09:27PM   afromaniac: "Honestly I love my aluminum canoe, it’s a tank and steers great! Continue to be frustrated by Kevlar when I’m on the water. I must be the only one :) Worst thing I brought was a mandolin. Thought it would be great but it was bulky and when you finally get time to play it, no one wants to hear it! Unless you’re going to bring a full band load of equipment it’s just not worth it " afromaniac, you are NOT the only one! I have a 1993 Alumacraft QTC-L and love it just as much as the day I bought it. It is of a lighter-gauge aluminum so comes in at a bit less weight than many aluminum canoes--about 65 pounds with the portage pads. Not the fanciest or fastest canoe but very sturdy and stable and it does the job beautifully. On 3 trips this canoe stayed home from the BWCA. Once we needed a three seater and rented a Souris River 18.5', which to me paddled like an old tub. On the other two occasions I was talked into leaving my canoe at home in favor of not having to haul it and to have lighter-weight kevlars for a couple of 200-300 rod portages we had coming up on the planned trip (we rented Wenonah 17' Boundary Waters models). The hour or so we spent on those portages was the only time I didn't miss or didn't regret not bringing my Alumacraft canoe!
fun4dad2	03/24/2021 12:41PM   I have gotten a good laugh out of some of these, and found myself agreeing with several. I was jokingly going to say brother-in-law, but someone beat me to it. And really, he was not that bad. It was my elder daughter. She did not portage much, she fought with her sister on the first lake, and get it a huge fight with her twin brother. I have sworn I will never take all of my children on a trip together again. As they are adults, this is not going to be hard to keep. Breaks my heart, but my sanity is worth it. On that same trip, two of my crew brought backpacking backpacks. Pain in the tuckus loading and unloading but they were sure nice on the portages. As for gear I will never bring again.... Not sure. I have been camping since early 60's as a kid, so have a pretty good idea of what is worth having and what is not.
shock	03/25/2021 07:09AM   a party ball and a framed screen tent (opener) both into the SAK. one member brought in chest waders one year ! another year a member pulled out a gallon bucket of cooked spaghetti noddle's. and this guy had his wife pack his food and at the landing opened up a duffle bag of grapefruit (like 10 pounds) and also had flip top container of oil open up in his cloths pack ,
Savage Voyageur	03/25/2021 08:09AM   This dubious award goes the the Katadyn filter. It clogged after two bags of water. I cut it apart soon after and used the bag to hold the dirty water and installed an inline filter.
Scout64	03/25/2021 12:03PM   I will have to say a blue tarp to use as a cook tarp. We encountered very heavy winds and the thing basically unraveled and fell apart. I was just a big ball of unwound fibers. Never in my life have I wanted to leave a trace. But we packed it out bulging atop a Duluth pack. I will also say Katadyn filter - I brought it on two trips and it was a piece of junk both times. I had to flush it out a couple of times just to filter the water in one bag. I threw out that filter, kept the bag and added a Sawyer filter to it - works great now.
deerfoot	03/25/2021 11:40AM   2008 on a 2 week crossover trip in Wabakimi from Davies Lk on the west to the Ogoki Reservoir on the east. There were 4 of us and one of us soon demonstrated his inability to portage canoes ("my balance isn't good"), inability to put any effort into his paddle stokes (his canoe constantly fell way behind) and he brought along a lot of heavy Filson tin cloth clothing (he looked like a 1900 Pacific NW logger). What did it for me was when I came upon him at the end of a long, grueling portage on a hot humid day and found him guzzling water from the rest of our day packs. He explained "sorry but I need to drink extra water. I will pump some more and refill your bottles." After that trip none of us would paddle with him again.
straighthairedcurly	03/25/2021 07:17PM   Down booties as my dry camp shoes. I figured they would save weight and space. Miserable experience! I was slipping and sliding all over and they provided no structural support for my feet on the rocks and roots.
PineKnot	03/27/2021 12:36AM   I don't know....maybe a 10-lb bag of Idaho potatoes....not mine, but one of my tripping colleagues.... This was a trip with probably 20+ portages....after giving him grief for 10 days, I got back to Ohio and found a spud in my pack....the best present I ever received!!
OgimaaBines	03/26/2021 11:37PM   My first trip I brought nothing but the clothes on my back and 40lbs of potatoes, 10 lbs of onions, a Rambo-style tourist-shop knife, and a Wal-mart childrens raft. When I realized I'd forgotten a paddle... just kidding. I once packed in a Coleman 4-man tent that only served for a place to put a guitar once we set it up.