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GopherAdventure	06/27/2021 07:25PM   SHC, looks like you’re ready to go! You should have no problems singe portaging with that load if the portages aren’t particularly long. The day pack is nice for trimming the solo canoe when wind is present. I did the BRC last fall with more gear than you have packed and had no problems single portaging. Where are you headed on this trip? Best of luck and you’ll have to let us know after you get back how things worked out and if you plan to make any changes to your setup for the BRC. Tony
straighthairedcurly	06/27/2021 05:38PM   Finished packing for my 8 day solo. Trying out some lighter gear to see if I can single portage comfortably in preparation for the Moose Lake Border Challenge later in the summer. My food is just over 10 lbs. I know that seems light, but it is quite high caloric density. I make my own "just-add-water" dinners and breakfasts. Lunch is salami/cheese/tortillas/peanut butter plus nuts and jerky snacks. Other than food and canoe gear, I got my base load pack down to 23 lbs. This is still a few pounds heavier than my plan for the border challenge since I am packing a book, cards, and my watercolors on this trip. This is the gear in its individual sacks, including the Ursack of food. This is everything packed into my Earth Pak 55L and a 20L daypack (about 1/2 full). Outfitted my new (used) lighter weight canoe and marked the balance point for the yoke when the paddles are strapped in. Ready, set, go... Hope everyone is having a fun summer!
sns	06/27/2021 07:43PM   Awesome! Sounds like you are well-planned. Look forward to hear about how the singling went after you return. Go light, go far!
jillpine	06/28/2021 06:14AM   Happy paddling! Excited for you, and looking forward to your trip report!
boonie	06/28/2021 02:11PM   Hope everything works out well for you. My food is usually about 16-18 oz. a day, but you’ll be burning a few more calories.
straighthairedcurly	06/28/2021 01:41PM   Loop out of Sawbill...Lady chain, Louse river. On some of the really tricky footing portages I will double portage. Wish I was still in my 20's or 30's...then single portaging would be a piece of cake. I used to portage wood and canvas canoes no problem.
straighthairedcurly	07/06/2021 11:44AM   campnfish: "Bit-O-Honey!" The best!
straighthairedcurly	07/06/2021 11:45AM   whyzata: "Sounds fun. I do about 3 solo's a year and the planning is half the fun. Curious as to what stove and how much fuel you bring along? I use a whisperlight international on long solo's and use propane on the shorter trips. My camp kitchen pack seems always to be overloaded but sure is nice to have when I need something. Also, I plan on a fish meal at least once a day so need the olive oil and breading. Enjoy your outing! Always fun to "get" away." I use an alcohol stove made from a cat food can and tomato paste can. It is super light and no parts to break down. I carried a 12 oz. Gatorade bottle filled with alcohol. It takes less than an ounce of fuel to boil the water for my meals. I had 10 meals planned that needed boiling water. And I did boil water longer one night to steam/bake some birthday cupcakes. In the future, I plan to not bother boiling water for my oatmeal since I discovered in the hot summer, it actually tastes better cold-soaked. Cook kit details: Cat food can stove (0.8 oz) Toaks titanium windscreen (0.9 oz.) (includes a clip I added to keep it around the pot but I am going to switch to a smaller, lighter clip) Toaks titanium 750 mL pot (3.9 oz.) Talenti jar with homemade cozy (2.8 oz.) Toaks titanium spoon (0.6 oz.) Bottle with alcohol (7.6 oz...consumable) Matches, waterproof (1.1 oz.) I don't do fish on solo trips and I hate alcohol so easy to save weight there :) Because I chose simple "just-add-water" meals this trip, I didn't need a fry pan or spatula.
straighthairedcurly	07/06/2021 12:16PM   I am back! A day early, but that is only because I had planned 2 short days at the end in case the wind kicked up too badly on Sawbill for me to paddle. But the lake and winds cooperated and I had accomplished everything I set out for on the trip so I can back yesterday. Great trip! I was 100% successful in single portaging and it felt incredibly liberating. The 1st day I was tentative about it and so I only committed to single portaging the short portages (<100 rods) while I worked out the best way to connect my packs. But by the 2nd day, I started single portaging everything. I thought there would be some of the tougher portages on the Louse River that I would opt to double, but it felt so natural and comfortable by then that I stayed with singling. I set a goal of doing the Zenith-Lujenida portage without a rest break and I did it! Single portaging had me going so much faster that I reached Malberg by 9:30am on my 3rd day. So I took a day trip to the Fishdance pictographs. So cool! Thanks to cowdoc and others for their great notes about the Louse River. I only had to bushwhack for about 15 rods in one spot. More to come in my future trip report. Best part was having Wine Lake 100% to myself for July 4th! Not a person seen or heard. Thanks everyone for your support on this adventure. Oh, and having a mink run right past me twice while sitting at my Trail Lake campsite and then later came out with at least one baby.
straighthairedcurly	07/06/2021 12:03PM   OCDave: "I can never get my pack that light. 1) I always panic and overpack my food bag and 2) my shelter/ sleep insulation seem larger/heavier than anything I see pictured. Can you tell me what you use for shelter and sleep system? " Even with this light packing of food, I came back with leftover snacks and my emergency meal. I also ended 1 day early since I had the wind at my back so I had an extra of each meal. I have gotten better about not panic packing but still give myself a cushion. I also figure I have plenty of "reserve weight" on my body to handle any unforeseen issues. I packed light, worked hard, and didn't loose any weight. Shelter/Sleep Tarptent Bowfin 1 tent. (38.3 oz.) lightweight groundcloth (2.47 oz.) titanium tent stakes ( qty. 4 @ 0.28 oz. each) extra line (2.8 oz.) Montbell Hugger #4 sleeping bag (21 oz.) (I have always used a down bag since I was a kid and have learned all the tricks for keeping it dry) Klymit X pillow (1.9 oz.) Nemo Tensor extra long/wide sleeping pad (21.2 oz) On this trip, I also carried my 8'x10' CCS tarp but only set it up once.
campnfish	06/28/2021 06:52PM   Bit-O-Honey!
EddyTurn	06/28/2021 04:38PM   My gear pack's only twice as heavy as yours, nothing to be proud about, but still could be single-carried. I bring few things I can do without, like a chair, and some that I can't, like a repair kit. Since I broke a yoke on the very first day of my very first canoe trip I feel that extra 2lbs is a reasonable price to pay for a piece of mind on a wilderness trip. Another time tent pole attachment point was ripped out. There are repairs that are difficult with duct tape alone. My food is slightly heavier too (at approx. 22-24oz/day plus 3-4oz of booze).
TipsyPaddler	07/07/2021 06:14AM   Darn double post.
TipsyPaddler	07/07/2021 06:14AM   Congrats! Sounds like a great trip. I am planning to do that route in about four weeks and look forward to your trip report. I am a little comcerned about the water levels on the Louse River portion but sounds like it wasn’t horrible.
straighthairedcurly	07/07/2021 09:53AM   TipsyPaddler: "Congrats! Sounds like a great trip. I am planning to do that route in about four weeks and look forward to your trip report. I am a little comcerned about the water levels on the Louse River portion but sounds like it wasn’t horrible." Water was low and I added a few scratches to the boat, but I had no concerns about getting through.
TomT	07/09/2021 06:43AM   Thanks for the mini report. Very cool seeing the minks!
Jaywalker	07/09/2021 11:21AM   You are definitely solo tripping at the top of the pro-level!
cowdoc	07/09/2021 01:19PM   Nice. Where did you bushwack along the Louse?
whyzata	06/29/2021 09:58AM   Sounds fun. I do about 3 solo's a year and the planning is half the fun. Curious as to what stove and how much fuel you bring along? I use a whisperlight international on long solo's and use propane on the shorter trips. My camp kitchen pack seems always to be overloaded but sure is nice to have when I need something. Also, I plan on a fish meal at least once a day so need the olive oil and breading. Enjoy your outing! Always fun to "get" away.
OCDave	06/29/2021 12:34PM   I can never get my pack that light. 1) I always panic and overpack my food bag and 2) my shelter/ sleep insulation seem larger/heavier than anything I see pictured. Can you tell me what you use for shelter and sleep system?
cowdoc	07/09/2021 02:55PM   Yeah....that was a little difficult area for us too, going east to west. We paddled out across that beaver pond to the far end, not realizing the portage was behind that beaver dam back behind us. My boys eventually peeked over the dam and found it. I suspect you paddled out across the pond also.....probably, if I remember correctly, you should have just hugged the left bank after crossing the dam. Sounds like the beavers are still busy in there though and maybe I wouldn't recognize things. I bet you didn't see many people on that leg.
straighthairedcurly	07/09/2021 01:27PM   Cowdoc, trying to enter the west end of Louse Lake from the river section. I reached the big beaver dam on the eastern part of the portage, but then could NOT find the 2nd little bit of the portage. I tried 4 different places that looked like they had experienced foot traffic (2 before a little pull over beaver dam and 2 after the little dam) and they all dead ended very abruptly. I ended up doing an easy bushwhack on the opposite side where I found some gaps in the trees and brought me up to a final beaver dam. When I exited there, I saw a landing for a portage on the other side, but I decided not to take the time to investigate where it spit out...should have, but was too busy celebrating finding my way out :) And I was coming down off the adrenaline rush of having temporarily lost my map on the first part of the portage...stupid, stupid...
straighthairedcurly	07/09/2021 04:54PM   Surprisingly, I had company the night I stayed on Trail Lake. However, those were the only people I saw on that stretch. And I had Wine Lake completely to myself on July 3rd and 4th. Great area! I would definitely do it again.
SunrisePaddler	07/07/2021 10:15PM   straighthairedcurly: "I am back! A day early, but that is only because I had planned 2 short days at the end in case the wind kicked up too badly on Sawbill for me to paddle. But the lake and winds cooperated and I had accomplished everything I set out for on the trip so I can back yesterday. Great trip! I was 100% successful in single portaging and it felt incredibly liberating. The 1st day I was tentative about it and so I only committed to single portaging the short portages (<100 rods) while I worked out the best way to connect my packs. But by the 2nd day, I started single portaging everything. I thought there would be some of the tougher portages on the Louse River that I would opt to double, but it felt so natural and comfortable by then that I stayed with singling. I set a goal of doing the Zenith-Lujenida portage without a rest break and I did it! Single portaging had me going so much faster that I reached Malberg by 9:30am on my 3rd day. So I took a day trip to the Fishdance pictographs. So cool! Thanks to cowdoc and others for their great notes about the Louse River. I only had to bushwhack for about 15 rods in one spot. More to come in my future trip report. Best part was having Wine Lake 100% to myself for July 4th! Not a person seen or heard. Thanks everyone for your support on this adventure. Oh, and having a mink run right past me twice while sitting at my Trail Lake campsite and then later came out with at least one baby." Inspiring! Can’t wait for your trip report (looking toward a possible Louse trip in 2022). Congrats on a great trip.
DanCooke	06/29/2021 06:29PM   You got this. Have a grand adventure!