New Trip Report posted by tg

Trip Name: Strangers in Paradise Part Deux.

Entry Point: 37

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Nice report. Sounds like it was a good time.
Two questions for you..what kind of tarp did you use,
and what does your canoe weigh ? I still like those aluminum
canoes.

The tarp is a Kelty Noah's Tarp 12. It costs about $60 at REI. At some point I may have to graduate to a CCS tundra tarp but this tarp has worked wonderfully on my last two trips. I am now a firm believer in tarps. I keep it on top in my pack, and it is the first thing setup in camp. If its raining you can even setup your tent beneath the tarp and move it out once your rain fly is in place.

The 17' Ultra light weighs in at about 56 lbs off the rack. Mine is at least 10 years old and was a rental in a former life. It has 2 nice welds from a prior harpooning which certainly add to the weight. I generally portage it with crazy creek chairs and PFDs strapped to both bow and stern benches. I also wedge our paddles in between the thwarts and seat. And I also generally have 4 fishing rods bungeed to the thwarts. Finally I have a thwart bag but it throws the balance off so I generally don't leave it strapped in-if I bring it. Still I would guess my true portage weight of the boat plus that gear to be close to 70#. I have single portaged it with large 40+# packs which I wouldn't recommend but with a lighter pack its pretty manageable. The boat is basically bullet-proof and moves pretty good. And I think its pretty darn stable too-especially when loaded up with gear. Shady felt that my boat was faster than his Royalex Bell Northwind and its definitely lighter. I think he would say that his Bell is more stable however. I would definitely check with outfitters, or spring creek http://www.canoegear.com before buying a new aluminum. the scratches only add character:) You should be able to find one for <$400 vs $700-800 new. Even check craigslist

hth!
tg

btw if you're up in the TC you're welcome to try out my boat

tg, Very enjoyable trip report, it read nicely. As long as others ignorance does not interfere with our plans too much it does make each trip distinctive in our memory. Not the best way to recall trips, but the Mrs. and I often will bring back a particular trip with "Remember the trip where the person....." and we are quickly at the same place. Your suggestion of keeping the tarp so handy was learned by you much more quickly than I did. I had to climb into a few damp/wet tents before I figured out to rig it first.
Boppa

i try not to let their ignorance get to me...

and ignorance is probably the best way to describe it...perhaps a little portage etiquette education is in order. not sure if outfitters routinely offer up that kind of info. i know when i take newbies up i make a point of teaching them the right way. i also try to lead by example and hope that the inefficient/disorganized/ignorant groups take notice. perhaps ignorance explains the rowdy group across the lake, but i think its also a matter of selfishness. i feel like the overwhelming majority of BWCA visitors value it's peace and solitude (all things relative) and that being aware of your impact on others is tacit. one might consider it part of the leave no trace ethic. perhaps it is just ignorance, but i'm a cynic. BTW-there is NO WAY that noisy group didn't see our campfire.

BTW this was trip #10 or 11? for me-it took me awhile to learn too:) ...about the tarp thing that is!

tg

Good report. It's cool that you guys got together to make it happen.

I didn't bring a tarp on my first solo back in 84 and learned the hard way. One day it rained and rained so I had to finally pull over and set up mty tent fly between trees and just stand there in the rain until it finally lightened up.

I have a pic of this and will post sometime. :)