Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: What percent of your trip
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mooseplums |
All of my gear is stored in tubs, and can be packed up in a couple hours. The last few years, I have laid no expectations on where I'm going beyond the entry point. I stop and camp for the night when I'm ready to stop, don't don't stick to a specific itinerary anymore. To me it makes the trip much more enjoyable. I used to be a voracious planner, but not anymore |
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Bearpath9 |
Blatz: "It's a big part of it especially in the middle of winter."Yup. |
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A1t2o |
That's why I tend to over plan everything. |
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fishonfishoff |
SurlyDude: "I absolutely love the planning process. The fish are always biting and sun is shinning while I am planning my days on the lake too. I don't think I can really answer the question, but to throw out some percentages I enjoy 95% of the planning process. The only part I don't enjoy about planning is trying to get the whole group on the same page with trip expectations & gear - a tightrope that is hard to walk for someone like me who is a diligent planner with a group that is made up with a lot of fly by the seat of their pants folks. I try to not be overbearing, but I mostly fail at that." It's like you took the words right out of my thick skull! "Could you be my brother from a different mother?" |
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inspector13 |
~7%. And I justify my enjoyment of spontaneity on Robert Burn’s dozen score old musing: But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane, in proving foresight may be vain; The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley, an' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy! |
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Derrski |
Every lake is full of fish when planning a route. Ha |
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jillpine |
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nooneuno |
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analyzer |
I was updating some of my gear,and getting lighter for a portage trip. I was ordering all kinds of things on line, expeds, down sleeping bags, light weight chairs, light weight stove, mountain house meals etc, and they would randomly show up at the door. She just giggled. "oooh, what did we get today?" I think she had as much fun as I did. |
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HowardSprague |
bhouse46: " A map is always open next to my desk. I relive and plan trips all year long but am only on the water less than a week. You figure the numbers. Well-stated!! |
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BigFlounder |
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mirth |
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Bushman |
However, after two trips on my log book (I know, not much) I have pretty much figured out where my boundaries are for what I want out of the trip and what I need. I live in Michigan and while it is still a 14 hour drive I am looking for the fastest most direct route and Chicago is not it I don't care what Map Quest says. We drive straight north (we are just south of Lansing a few clicks) and cross the Mighty Mac and either head across the UP via highway 2 or cut up and take 41 across. The traffic on 2 can get pretty congested with the tourists and weekenders hugging the lake shore across the top of Lake Michigan. All of my planning now deals with routing strategies, campsites and menus. I watch a ton of youtube videos and read all the trip reports I can get my hands on relating to the areas I'm visiting. You can get a lot of info in the background of someone's fish photo. I do love to plan but my group mates don't seem to be as interested as I am. Perhaps they're just confident I will make the right choices or just dont care as much. Who knows? Most of my gear is stored in my portage packs and blue barrel and all I need to do is pack it. This year we have some long portages and the goal is to single carry so that is most of my planning for this years trip. To each his own and remember it's the journey not the destination. In this case the journey begins as soon as you decide to take a trip. |
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Derrski |
Can't wait |
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Derrski |
However I sometimes think I over analyze. For example, if I plan on an overnight at a certain lake, I research the feedback on the campsites for that lake and use that info to prioritize my site selection. Pre internet (the good old days) it was more "on the fly" site selection. |
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Derrski |
schweady: "Derrski: "...Every lake is full of fish when planning a route. Ha":-) Many thanks. I'm looking forward to many hours here, learning and sharing. |
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jwartman59 |
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straighthairedcurly |
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housty9 |
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Spartan2 |
Fearlessleader: "Fascinating to see how many other folks from Ohio are making the regular trip up to the BWCA. When you are driving a thousand plus miles the planning needs to be an enjoyable part of the trip. That way even if the weather doesn’t cooperate and the fish don’t bite you can get months of fun out of it. We loved that trip across the northern shore of Lake Superior in Canada--much better than the U. P., IMHO. We had spots that we loved to stop, at waterfalls, at certain restaurants, for lodging. We didn't find that it took that much longer than going across the U. P., and we enjoyed the scenery. Now we take our granddaughter with us for a cabin week every summer. Because she lives in a Chicago suburb, we must go through Chicago. Not as scenic, but it works. |
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SurlyDude |
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soundguy0918 |
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luft |
I research the areas I want to visit, the landmarks I'd like to see, best places to stay for my itinerary, what to bring, what (where) to eat. |
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ZaraSp00k |
unless the trip is mosquito season, then it's 31.09% |
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Ohiopikeman |
While I enjoy the planning part, it's really the actual trip itself that is the most fun for me. The drive through Chicago is NEVER any fun... though hitting Cabelas is always a nice stop. The drive through Michigan is really enjoyable once you get past the Bay City area; the UP is a really nice area. Dave |
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danbogey |
Derrski: "Additionally, the planning process I can work on for months, the actual trip is 6 days. I'm a fanatic when planning. Maps, food preparation, purchasing gear, watching youtube. My prior life was Military/Special Operations so we did a lot of planning with getting in and getting out. That definitely has carried over to hiking and canoeing. The only covert ops now are hiding the numerous stoves, quilts, hammocks, tents, backpacks and other gear from the wife :) Hiding the Canoe is going to be the Crème de la crème. BTW - We are heading to WCPP. Transportation in airlines, car rentals, floatplanes.. are a lot of logistics but well worth it. |
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bhouse46 |
A common warning to new folks in earlier posts was the BWCA is addictive. I think for many of us this forum is part of the year long fix (planning). Welcome to our nightmare. |
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walllee |
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johndku |
We also travel from Ohio, and have exactly 1,000 miles door to door to the outfitters we use. As such, we always spend one night somewhere on the way to the BWCA, then typically another night at the outfitters bunks. We've spent a night a Duluth, an night in Grand Marais, a night in Au Claire, etc., on the way up, and enjoy seeing what the different cities have to offer. Going up through the UP is our next adventure. Maybe a night in Mackinac Island? |
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Fearlessleader |
As many have said the route through the UP is much prettier than going through Chicago. If you have time or would like to take a northern Quetico trip going up through the Soo and across the north shore of Superior is a beautiful trip. So much wonderful scenery and nobody home!! |
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bombinbrian |
A lot of mine is educating the girls on what they can bring, what they can't and why. My wife is really into the finding of the food, after she watched a couple of videos and read some things about it. I'm taking a route that I've done before so I don't have to worry about new areas/portages, while trying to make sure that they are still enjoying the trip. I am looking at different campsites, looking at reviews, the works. Pretty long winded to say that I enjoy the planning process a lot. |
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cyclones30 |
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OldGreyGoose |
--Goose |
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bwcadan |
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boonie |
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carmike |
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JATFOMike |
Mike |
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Spartan2 |
jwartman59: "I get an entry permit, figure out food and hope I can find campsites. What’s to plan?" I guess I was always more like this. Spartan1 usually suggested the route, and he did some planning with the Beymer books. Because there were only two of us, and of course we lived in the same house, the planning didn't involve contacting other people or needing big campsites. We never looked at any information about campsites because we enjoyed the surprise of finding them. Spartan1 would do a bit of research about the portages, and once we had a an itinerary for the entire trip, a canoe-trip route in mind (and a permit) I would give some thought to food. After a few years we had lists for gear, etc., so when packing time came we each had our areas to work on, and mine was always the food. For us, a canoe trip wasn't a case of "get there and depart, end trip and immediately go back home." We always took extra time to and from the canoe country from Kentucky, central Illinois, and since 1975: south central Michigan. When our kids were still with us, they were dropped off at our friends' home in Minneapolis and we would spend a bit of time there. A 12-day canoe trip for us would involve about 15-17 days from home to back home again, sometimes more. There were some really fun times camping in rustic campgrounds with the kids on the way home through the U. P., too. Now that we do a cabin week with our granddaughter, we still stop every year en route to the north country and visit with our friends (who are now in a senior complex in St. Paul.) I think it is all very different for those of you who live in Minnesota. A spontaneous weekend trip was out of the question for us. And certainly the planning aspect would vary for those who travel with a larger group. For me, preserving the memories in a photo album, and later on with photo books that I made on Snapfish, was paramount. Planning for next trip, not so much. I suspect if Spartan1 were to reply to this thread his perspective would be different from mine. That is why we made a good team. :-) |
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gvpant |
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mgraber |
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x2jmorris |
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papalambeau |
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lundojam |
I think about that often. Thanks, Lee, you old shotgunner. So, 33. |
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Jaywalker |
It's not specifics like exactly what lake or hopefully which campsite on which day - I don't do much of that. I really like thinking through the process of travel and camping; scrutinizing what I brought or should have brought, better ways to do food, what gear to upgrade, sometimes making or altering gear, learning ways to improve my mediocre fishing skills, etc. Recently I've been thinking through the logistics - food mostly but some gear - on how to go from a 10 day trip to a 17+ day trip. |
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nooneuno |
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Tlaker1225 |
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HowardSprague |
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bombinbrian |
Last year my son wanted to do a trip that included two trip we did as a family. The trip would just be the two of us and he wanted to cover all of the ground we did in two trips in a one trip timeframe. I spent hours upon hours setting up the route. I then spent hours and hours and hours planning the gear and food since we had to single portage to make it happen. I had so much fun trying to make his wish come true. Then we set out in 40* weather, spitting rain, wind blowing 20 mph. We made it three days before we gave up. The day after we left the area got nasty thunderstorms for the next 4 days and the temps hoovered around 35*. This year we are taking the wife and stepdaughter with us on their first trip. I'm planning the packs now. I add this and that, then I weigh it. I'll make changes and weigh it again. Unfortunately, I think I'll be done with the packing portion in a few days then I just get to work out and be ready. |
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TreeBear |
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TrailZen |
Two days before our entry date we hit the road, traveling the 1250 miles from western NC to Ely. When we hit Ely, our outfitter gives us updates on Quetico conditions and critiques our route plan. When we pick up our permits at Prairie Portage, we may discover that we're entering under a fire ban or have other restrictions that prevent using the route as planned. Or we may hit weather that slows us down, and a 100+ mile route is trimmed in a place or two. I'm not sure we've ever completed the exact route we planned on any Canoe Country visit in the past 40 years, but they've all been fun to plan and fun to execute. TZ |
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analyzer |
SurlyDude: "I absolutely love the planning process. The fish are always biting and sun is shining while I am planning " That's soooo true!! I like the planning because i get to think about the BWCA everyday for months. It gets me through the winter blahs, and tough days at work. |
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Derrski |
I suppose some people don't care for the planning, but I enjoy it. How much do you enjoy the planning/prep? |
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Blatz |
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jillpine |
inspector13: " And best wishes and intentions that the other 93% is not this: An' forward, tho' I canna see, I guess an' fear! Paddle on! :) |
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schweady |
Derrski: "...Every lake is full of fish when planning a route. Ha":-) A slightly belated welcome to the site. |