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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Listening Point - General Discussion :: Trip prep....Half the fun, or a pain?
 
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Dreamer
03/27/2025 05:06AM
  
I spend a lot of time mentally in the BW. Is that prepping? I go through old photos and videos, I read threads here and on several Facebook sites, I look at maps and do routes on padle planner, It's a real getaway for me, day by day.


One thing I don't do - I don't read trip reports. I will read them if it's about places I've already been. I do connect with that. But if I haven't been there yet, I don't want to know. I want it to feel like I'm the first one following that map. (Most of my trips these days are in areas I've never seen.)


I am always leading groups, taking in new people. I choose the entry point and the route for the most part. There is room for last minute group deviations. My daughter helps me with gear decisions and helps keep me organized. We talk about BW topics all winter.


We are going through gear now and talking meals and first aid. I've got to do some work yet on the boats (2 canoes and a kayak). But it really gets exciting about a week out when everything comes upstairs and you can smell the camp all through the house!


We totally pack on Saturday, and Sunday, right after church, we point our car north and the adventure begins!
 
bhouse46
03/27/2025 02:14PM
  
I like speckled comment about what we think about. I guess as we get older we think about it less.
Trip prep also starts at the end of each trip with cleanup followed by repack for the next trip. I have separate storage for truck camping, paddling and hiking trips. One tote is going on all trips. Pulling gear and food and final packing are trip specific but not unlike a shopping trip with list.
While I am older I still think about where I might go more than once a week and with the Spring weather several times a day. I am also old enough to know while thinking and planning are lots of fun doing is still better. Not so far and not so fast but truly love to the last.
 
TrailZen
03/27/2025 02:58PM
  
As I've said several times before, our 2500 mile round-trip from western NC to Canoe Country requires that each trip be well planned. We start planning for the next trip on our commute back to North Carolina, making notes of which meals we liked most, which gear might need updating or repairs, which of the lakes we visited we would like to enjoy on future trips, and which portages we might not want to revisit. When back home the paper notes become computer files that are added to previous years' comments/suggestions. Paddling maps start coming out again in late December or early January, and we try to keep up with BWCA.com trip reports about areas we like to paddle. We also track comments in the Quetico forums, since our best trips have been in Quetico. This year we had an early scare about Canada suspending the RABC permits, and started looking at northern entry options, but then Canada extended paddlers' 2024 RABC permits through the end of 2025, so we're again able to access Quetico via Prairie Portage. The Quetico reservation system only allows reservations up to 5 months before the requested entry date, and we prefer late-August start dates, so a couple days ago we made our reservations. Having the reservation in hand kicks the excitement level up a few notches, so we're talking menu and route final details now.


TZ
 
merlyn
03/27/2025 04:22PM
  
From ice out, I camp, hike, canoe and boat till Sept. then duck hunt, camp, canoe, hike, and boat till About Dec 1 . Sometime in December I begin planning and prepping till ice out - rinse and repeat.
Give me 20 minutes and I'm ready to go.
 
Deeznuts
03/23/2025 05:48PM
  
I love preparing for trips. I only get to go out once a year or every other year, so I spend the whole year, at least a few hours a week, researching the lakes and route options. I've been told it's overkill, but I can tell you which campsites are best and why, which lakes have which fish, and I always have a back up for each day if we get windbound or have an emergency. All the excess research helps me predict obstacles, prepare for tough portages, or find a cool off-the-path day trip. Part of the fun is scouring trip reports and this forum in particular, looking for any spec of info to add to the binder. I like seeing the pictures of campsite locations and portage locations ahead of time so I don't have to rely just on my navigation skills to find them.
There have been times research has paid off for sure. We saved about 15 or 20 minutes of backtracking on the unmarked Fat portage in 2023 because of info I got from trip reports explaining a false trail.
Packing starts about 4-5 months before, and I repack almost weekly once I get the pack out. I'm all about efficiency. I find that packing and re-packing also saves time when closing camp once youre out there, because I've already found the most efficient organization by the time I go.
 
MikeinMpls
03/23/2025 04:56PM
  
We spent today menu planning, purchasing some freeze-dried from REI (with our dividends and 20% off sale), and some items other items for dehydrating and make-in-the-bag meals.


Our trip is in mid-May.


Mike
 
LindenTree
03/24/2025 04:46PM
  
Chieflonewatie: "I feel it’s just a job to do the week before."
Pretty much the same here.
 
JD
03/24/2025 04:02PM
  
I've come to believe that I enjoy trip planning as much as, and maybe even more than, the trip itself. Letting my imagination run wild with the photos and videos I've seen, remembering amazing days from past trips, really gets me excited.


The actual gear deduplication, food assembly, and packing are less fun, but still part of the process, and I love having everything dialed in as a well-thought-out solution.


What I love the least is setting up tarps/tents/pads/etc before a trip to make sure all is still well and I have all the rigging equipment, and drying everything out and unpacking when getting home.
 
OgimaaBines
03/24/2025 09:31PM
  
Speckled: "I'll add - by a "fair amount of time" in the winter, I mean probably daily.



We've all heard the studies about what men think about most...Canoeing is a close second for me."


Same!
 
OgimaaBines
03/24/2025 09:31PM
  
Speckled: "I'll add - by a "fair amount of time" in the winter, I mean probably daily.



We've all heard the studies about what men think about most...Canoeing is a close second for me."


Same!
 
NEIowapaddler
03/23/2025 08:47AM
  
I enjoy some aspects of prep, like making dehydrated food. But when it comes to actually packing, I hate that lol. Doesn't matter if I'm packing for a canoe trip or an airplane flight, packing just sucks. So I usually procrastinate until the last minute, which makes me stress unreasonably. Hmmm, maybe that's partly why it sucks so much.
 
ForestDuff
03/22/2025 10:16PM
  
I'm guessing most of you, especially those of you on this forum, enjoy getting ready for a trip. As a solo guy most of the time, I love it because I get to make all the decisions.......where to go, what to eat, and what to bring.

I bought a table for the family room fifteen years ago because I knew it would be great for staging for a trip. And honestly, nobody's really sat at it, but it and the bench seats are awesome for gear prep.

I realize that there are folks that must deal with multiple decisions about a trip involving many people from different locations. What's the route? Who's bringing what, how do we avoid duplicates? Are there food decisions that impact others? How are we meeting up, who's driving? Stuff like that.

Much to my wife's chagrin, I usually start breaking out gear three weeks in advance. And even when I'm in a group, I grab my two packs and load up the solo at the entry point.........and float out there shaking my dang head for the next 45 minutes while the rest of my group gets their shiat together.

What boat do you fall in?
 
nctry
03/23/2025 06:58AM
  
My whole winter was always working on the next year. Dehydrating foods and trying new menus items. Going through my gear going through my stove… cleaning up packs, Bear vaults, etc. taking inventory and condition of everything.
I’d go through maps both in the bwca and WCPP and over the border from there in Manitoba. I’d have ideas on places to go and search them out…. By the time spring would come my anticipation was quite high. I’d sometimes get folks to join me. But it took a person(s) who would be proven to not give up or whatever. My biggest fear is on day two they couldn’t wait for the trip to end. My best trips were with friends from here where we didn’t always see eye to eye… but enjoyed every moment no matter what.
Now I can barely paddle a stroke… I enjoy my memories… and hearing or reading of you all’s accounts. I travel now in my RV going to places I can see new areas. Lots of great people here and it’s always great to share the anticipation of others now and hear about future plans…
 
boonie
03/23/2025 09:21AM
  
Yes, it's much simpler as a solo, and like Ben my prep began with the last trip. I did various aspects through the winter before spring/summer got busier. And other things well before departure to avoid last-minute rushes, especially with unpredictable work hours.
I eventually gave up trying to organize group trips with family and friends here and just told them my plans and said they were welcome to join me. I did some with others from the forum and many were just going solo too, so no worries. Even some I did tandems with did their own food, etc., and planning and coordination were not complicated.
Over time I developed a very detailed checklist including a process calendar to avoid last-minute packing stress. Things like repair, first aid, personals, kitchen are in their own stuff sack and easy to do ahead of time.
 
Speckled
03/23/2025 09:56AM
  
I spend a fair amount of time over the winter thinking about the coming seasons trips.


Entry dates, Entry points, routes, participants and target campsites are all figured out. From that - there's really no further preparation until maybe a month out. For group trips, in that under a month window, logistics are confirmed via text. Such things as, timing and travel plans to the cabin (common pre-night gathering point), making sure everyone is still in, boats, etc...


As far as my gear goes - every spring, I'll take a day or two to go through everything, clean and confirm everything is in good working order.


Actual packing for the trip; figuring out food and what I'm bringing all happens the day prior. I typically take the day prior off and figure everything out.


For solo trips and family trips - it goes from Mid winter planning and booking of the EP, straight to the day prior where I figure everything out.
 
Speckled
03/23/2025 10:07AM
  
I'll add - by a "fair amount of time" in the winter, I mean probably daily.


We've all heard the studies about what men think about most...Canoeing is a close second for me.
 
Mocha
03/23/2025 10:25AM
  
My joy is in the planning, scouring maps for lakes we hadn’t been to yet and how to work a route around that desire. Then, gotta have some difficult portages, so trying to also incorporate at least one or two mile long portages. Off the beaten path is a plus.


Menu planning is not something I enjoy. I put things on a list that I’d like to eat, my paddle partner does the same, plus we need snacks! And coffee.


Kinda the same with gear. I’ll dig it out a month or so before to make sure I have everything I need and then add a few new items to try out.
 
Chieflonewatie
03/23/2025 05:34PM
  
I feel it’s just a job to do the week before.
 
pastorjsackett
03/24/2025 08:59PM
  
Love trip prep! Love it.