How many year's have you made BW/Q trips? (approximate)

How many trips total? (approximate)

From the beginning until now, would you say that you pack in more or less gear?

Please limit your answers to either yes/no/more/less.

"How many year's have you made BW/Q trips? (approximate)
-No

How many trips total? (approximate)
-More

From the beginning until now, would you say that you pack in more or less gear?
-Yes
Please limit your answers to either yes/no/more/less."


about 10 years, about 15 trips, same volume of gear.

20 Plus, Alot, and less Gear but not much less.

10
16
less

How many year's have you made BW/Q trips? (approximate)
9

How many trips total? (approximate)
11

From the beginning until now, would you say that you pack in more or less gear?
less

25
About 14 actual
Much less

38,39, depends whether we are base camping or portaging. With base camping I'd say about the same or slightly more, with portaging I'd say less.

16
5 (six if you count a day trip)
About the same...I started going with experienced trippers and we already had good gear.

How many years have you made BW/Q trips?
2

How many trips total?
4, after Monday

From the beginning until now, would you say that you pack in more or less gear?
Less

Croixboy

quote Chilly: ""How many year's have you made BW/Q trips? (approximate)
-No


How many trips total? (approximate)
-More


From the beginning until now, would you say that you pack in more or less gear?
-Yes
Please limit your answers to either yes/no/more/less."



about 10 years, about 15 trips, same volume of gear."

Observant and funny!!!

10 years, 35ish trips, less gear

23 years
50 plus, can't keep track anymore :)
Probably take more stuff now.

18 years
17 trips (missed one year because of damn work)
much less gear

11 years
11 trips
same amount but different stuff

Oops! I gave a multiple word answer. Sorry!

8 years
@15
definently less gear.

16 years

18 trips

Less Gear

~10 years, 6 trips, less (and lighter) gear, clothing, food

37 years, about 150 trips (BW & Q), Less and lighter gear.

Are you going to summarize, total, average, and post the results?

12 years, 15 trips?, When base camping we pack more volume but about the same weight. When moving everyday we pack much less.

40
25 (27 if you count planned trips this year)
more

25 years
15 trips
less but more expensive gear

38 Years
26 Trips
More gear but lighter and ALOT more expensive.

6
6
More

32
35
Less

27 years

13 trips

less

16 years
17? trips (some skipped years around kids, some double years)
less stuff and lighter stuff

7 years

6 total trips and another on the way this Sept.

Less stuff and lighter stuff. I'm used to traveling light.

26 years

40 to 50 trips also have lost track

I don't know if I'm much lighter but I know my equipment has become much more expensive. I also still have the canoe from my 1st trip but it's retired from BWCA trips, the 85 pounds on my shoulders would have retired me.

34 years
25 trips (canoe/hiking)
Less

12 years
18 trips
pack less weight

28
45or so, but not enough yet
less(brought a 2 burner coleman stove on first two trips)

5
5
much less

26 years
61 trips (exactly)
I pack lighter every year

30
50+
same
Mostly base camp.

And the Survey Says...................

How many year's have you made BW/Q trips? 3 Years

How many trips total? 3 Total

From the beginning until now, would you say that you pack in more or less gear? LESS

SunCatcher

about 27 years.
near 40 trips.
much less and lighter.

7 years
8 trips
less

vinnie

48 years
more than 30 trips (lost count)
less gear (way, way less)

32 Years. Over 50 trips. Less clothing, better food, more fishing gear, better rain gear.

quote Kevlar: "37 years, about 150 trips (BW & Q), Less and lighter gear.


Are you going to summarize, total, average, and post the results? "

Yes Kevlar:

As for myself - 25 yrs, 30 to 40 trips and much less.

And out of a panel of 37 entries, survey says;

27 less - 4 more - 3 same - 3 inconclusive.

Thanks all. I thought this might be of some help to the newbies.

This was a very interesting thread, bruceye. I was a bit surprised to find that we are so much in the minority to be taking "more". And I looked at it again, but can't change my answer, so I guess it may be one reason that we are having trouble portaging now in our advanced years. :-)

On our first trip in 1971 we had three packs. We still have three packs. The difference is that now we have two folding camp stools tied to one of the packs in deference to our advancing years (with my arthritis I have to have something to sit on when I cook at the fire, as bending over has become too painful and squatting well-nigh impossible, and then Spartan1 discovered that sometimes the rocks and logs weren't in the right place for his sitting either--ha!)

And instead of a little camera I now take a big bag of photo equipment and he carries a carbon-fiber tripod for me. Not gonna give that up!

Now I have to figure out how to make the three packs lighter, as I don't see any way to get everything down to two packs! But we are, in the second half of our sixties now, making our TRIPS lighter but I guess our gear is going to stay about the same. Sigh.

I think the gear we take is lighter in some cases. The nylon tent (2011) is certainly lighter than the canvas one (1971). But we didn't take a tarp then. It seems like as we lightened up in one area we added a creature comfort in another. As the sleeping bag got lighter, we added a pad. As we got rid of the Coleman stove, we added the folding chairs. And so it goes.

I hadn't figured in the canoe, though. Going from the Grumman to the Northwind pared off a few pounds. Does that count??

Maybe if you count that, I'd have to change my answer to "less" after all.

Sorry for over-thinking all of this. It was a great thread and I think you got your answers. ;-)

quote arctic: "32 Years. Over 50 trips. Less clothing, better food, more fishing gear, better rain gear."

Amen to the better rain gear part. After a few soakers up there I was sitting underneath a flipped over canoe shivering because the rain was seeping through my jacket and I was shivering. Right then I would have given a thousand dollars for a gortex jacket. The first thing I did when I got home was to buy the best gortex jacket in the Cabela's catalog.

years - 15

trips 50+

gear - more but better and lighter

YEAR 5
Trips 2
Less gear always lighter

Years - 5

Trips - 7

Gear - Starting to become less

P.S. If you would have seen what I took on my first trip to the bdub it would be really hard to not bring less, as a matter fact the stuff we had for four guys, I could do a trip with 8 people and take less stuff, I mean we had a metal cooler that kept Ice for 5 days.

quote Basspro69: "P.S. If you would have seen what I took on my first trip to the bdub it would be really hard to not bring less, as a matter fact the stuff we had for four guys, I could do a trip with 8 people and take less stuff, I mean we had a metal cooler that kept Ice for 5 days."

Same here BP!

35 years, 50+ trips, same amount

1st trip - 1978
7th trip - 2010
we pack less gear and the new gear is much lighter

1. 35
2. ~30
3. I pack a lot more stuff

1. 35 years
2. ~30
3. In general more but lighter.

quote bruceye: "

quote Basspro69: "P.S. If you would have seen what I took on my first trip to the bdub it would be really hard to not bring less, as a matter fact the stuff we had for four guys, I could do a trip with 8 people and take less stuff, I mean we had a metal cooler that kept Ice for 5 days."

Same here BP!"

me too

4
5
a lot less

31/30+/less

25 years

About 25 trips (+/-)

Definitely less gear.

Years - a long time
Trips - lost count -
Gear - too much - cutting down again

6 years
7 trips, number 8 in 2 weeks
Less

About 17 years
21 trips that I've been able to remember, maybe a few more
A little less gear, but not much less

8 years (not counting a few trips when I was young)
11 trips (not counting a few trips when I was young)
Less gear.

7 years
10 trips (12 and 13 in August and September)
Less - never feels like it though

6 years, 7 trips, depends on the trip but definitely less than the first two trips I was on.

28 yrs., 50plus trips, less gear

17 years
about 30 or so trips
Less

7
13
more, except this coming weekend.

"How many year's have you made BW/Q trips? 12

How many trips total? 32

From the beginning until now, would you say that you pack in more or less gear? Less for sure

And the survey continues to grow magnanimously to the favor of,, Less.

Keep'm coming folks. As I said earlier, this is a thread that should help the newbies decide what to pack and what to leave behind.

41 years tripping. easily over 80 trips in bw, more than a dozen trips on northern canada rivers. countless trips on wisconsin and minnesota rivers. longest trip 45 days. i bring very little stuff. but my canoe is heavy. no

19 yrs.
20 trips
Less gear

5
5
same (first trips with avid bwca-ers)

quote Basspro69: "P.S. If you would have seen what I took on my first trip to the bdub it would be really hard to not bring less, as a matter fact the stuff we had for four guys, I could do a trip with 8 people and take less stuff, I mean we had a metal cooler that kept Ice for 5 days."

umm, some of us are still bringing the cooler that keeps ice for 5 days.

25

25

less

butthead

PS: hard to limit "Please limit your answers to either yes/no/more/less." bh

7, 5, less.