Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Solo Tripping :: First trip to bwca, and it's a 6 day solo
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GraniteCliffs |
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boonie |
ducks: "That's awesome! I like it when people come back to the forum after their trip to let us know how it went." +1 It's always good to know the advice was useful and the trip went well :) Glad you had a good trip! |
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marcfrdly |
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ducks |
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pswith5 |
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TheBrownLeader |
Also, I found it harder to fish solo than I anticipated on my first trip. Over time I have gotten better. TBL |
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TomT |
TheBrownLeader: "When I go solo, I bring food that doesn't require me to be doing a lot of dishes. PB&j, cheese, sausage, eat in bag meals. I discovered how much work it can be without others around camp to share the workload, so cutting out serious dishwashing helps me a lot. I started leaving my fry pan home on solos about 7 years ago to simplify things. To cook fish I season and lightly oil the filets and put in a foil "tent". I go in Quetico where there are no fire grates so I bring a small collapsible grill that backpackers use. It saves a lot of mess. |
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AmarilloJim |
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marcfrdly |
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marcfrdly |
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cowdoc |
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bhouse46 |
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Duckman |
> Get a blue heeler. It'll add to the conversation and then some. |
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Duckman |
> Been awhile since I pulled off the double post. |
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mjmkjun |
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cowdoc |
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marcfrdly |
I will definitely look for the flying moose, hope to run into you guys! I will be the guy paddling in circles trying to figure out how to catch a fish. |
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cowdoc |
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boonie |
There's probably all kinds of advises we could give you, but a lot might be stuff you already know, depending on how much your experience is like tripping in the BW and how much solo paddling and camping you've done. You may also have picked up on a lot of it by reading through threads during your lurking period. The first thing I learned was that I didn't know enough about the kind of paddling the BW required. The second thing I learned was that food weight adds up in a hurry and what I didn't eat was a lot of extra weight to portage in, around, and out of the BW. Another thing I learned was that I could drop pack weight by simply leaving things behind. Start early (avoid wind), find a camp site early (before they fill). Most of my trips have been solo and so what I do is geared towards that. I have to carry and do everything on a solo, so I tend towards simplicity. I try to keep my chores simple and my loads light. I do my own food and even then it took me a couple of trips to pare it down to just what I need. The food I take doesn't take a lot of preparation or cleanup. Gravity water filtration. I'm not strong enough/young enough to single portage, so I double portage. I don't know what your plan is, but it's a good thing to think about, even if you're not doing a lot of traveling. Are you planning to come back out the same way you go in or make the little loop? Being organized - having your gear packed up without a lot of loose stuff to deal with at each portage makes it a lot easier and quicker. A specific item you'll need to bring: painters for the bow and stern of the canoe. Tie it up; don't let it get away from you. If you do, make sure your life jacket isn't in it so you can put it on to swim it down :). Many of us also take a spare paddle, which is attached to the thwarts. Have a good trip. My first one was in EP #16, Moose River North to LLC, don't miss Top'O'The World on the river, see the pictos and Warrior Hill, over to Pocket, down through Gebe to Oyster and back out. Nice trip. |
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WHendrix |
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Frenchy19 |
Also, I find I do not eat as much on solos; not sure why, and many others on this site echo that. Be mindful of how much food you bring. Be safe, and hope to hear from you once you get out! |
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GraniteCliffs |
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GraniteCliffs |
My various group trips are much more of a "lets go" and go as far and fast as we can. My solo goals are going fairly far but I prefer to be up early and paddle/portage at a leisurely pace all day long. If I stop too early I get a little bored with my own company. Bring a book! It is a lifesaver on a rainy day under the tarp and a companion for my evening bump and cigar. I am always prepared to be a little lonely as I am a definite extrovert. But I recognize it for what it is and let it go. I just pity the poor folks I run into on a portage if I have gone several days without seeing anyone or talking to anyone. |
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NoisyWetHermit |
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cowdoc |
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TomT |
cowdoc: "I love paddling solo.....hate camp time alone. I'll get up early and paddle all day, set up camp late to just get chores done and supper ate and get ready for bed. If I do set camp early, I'll either hike or go for a paddle. I sit still poorly and it's worse if I'm alone." The older I get the more I don't like the isolation of the campsite. A hybrid trip of pure solo time for a period then meeting up with other solos to hang and camp with seems ideal to me. I can only converse with my dog for so long. She's a great listener but doesn't add much to the conversation. :) |
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GraniteCliffs |
cowdoc: "I love paddling solo.....hate camp time alone. I'll get up early and paddle all day, set up camp late to just get chores done and supper ate and get ready for bed. If I do set camp early, I'll either hike or go for a paddle. I sit still poorly and it's worse if I'm alone." That is not far from where I am at. If I am hooked on a book, however, I am content to sit by the shore and read for several hours each night. When I am alone at night I sometimes find myself thinking of the oft repeated phrase "happiness is best shared." Then I set out paddling and I am good to go and revel in the alone time. |
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marcfrdly |
Could you elaborate on this one: "The first thing I learned was that I didn't know enough about the kind of paddling the BW required." I paddle fairly big lakes pretty often, (mainly Jocaasse and Keowee nearby, I live in SC) and have a decent amount of river and whitewater experience. Do you see this as similar to bw paddling? I have done a fair amount of solo camping, and I don't anticipate getting to bad of a case of the homesick blues, but will bring a couple of books I have been meaning to read. I have a few "goals" for my route, mainly pictographs and such but I plan to take my time, fish and enjoy the beauty first and foremost. I have a uncle who hitchhiked from Birmingham Alabama, bought a canoe and some gear in Ely, and ended up spending a couple of weeks paddling around when he was a kid in the fifties. Those stories have made the bw a place I have wanted to see ever since, so I want to enjoy being there and although I have a planned route that starts and ends at moose river, I hope to get detoured by the fish biting at least a few times. |
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TomT |
marcfrdly: " I know this story from somewhere. Is this in a book? Does this person now live in Illinois? I vaguely remember someone I may have met telling me about this. Wait, it's coming back to me now. I know someone who at age 14 took a train and then a bus from somewhere in the south all by himself to go to a summer camp in the BW where he then did a month long group canoe trip. This was around 1960. Yeah, I don't think people do these kinds of things anymore. |
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marcfrdly |
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HayRiverDrifter |
There is generally log seating around the fire pit, but a chair is very nice. |
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boonie |
I hadn't paddled any lakes before I went on my first trip, having only floated down some rivers - whole different ball game. Your big lake paddling will serve you better than my river floating. Does that paddling consist of paddling as many miles as you will on the trip? What you may not have experience with is the portaging . . . ? You'll start with a half-mile portage from the parking lot. I double portage, which means I carry two loads across the portage, walking it three times or 1 1/2 miles total. First load is a small pack and the canoe. Second load is bigger pack, pfd, paddle. What's your routine or your plan? Giving a little thought to these things now will give you more time "to take my time, fish and enjoy the beauty first and foremost". It sounded like you had done some solo camping and that shouldn't be a problem. One other thing I discovered a few years ago is the advantage of a water filter bottle (such as my Sawyer) for drinking on the go. It saves me from carrying pounds of water or stopping to filter some. I don't know how fast you'll travel, but you'll have plenty of time to fish, relax, etc. I'd figure 8-10 hours for me to get up around the pictos, so a couple of half days of travel. Enjoy yourself! You'll do fine. |
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muddyfeet |
boonie: " Also: bring a couple bungees or dealy bobs or nite-ize gear ties to lash things to the canoe. Loose items like fishing rod, paddle, painter lines, etc. this will help keep your kit organized for portaging. |
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primitiveguy |
Jon |
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bct |
You'll probably forget something you wish you hadn't and carry something you don't use. I agree with previous comments regarding food - it is easy to bring too much. Despite what we may believe, you CAN go without food for a minute. This past September, I found that on the last day, after oatmeal in the morning, I really didn't want much more than a granola bar. It made the victory meal at the Ely Steakhouse all the better (Steak, Walleye, Fries, Cheese curds, cheesecake, and a coke). Simple things work well: +1 on gravity water filtration. I also prefer a trangia stove for solo trips. |