BWCA Minimal Expedition Boundary Waters Listening Point - General Discussion
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Voyageur
Guest Paddler
  
08/06/2008 12:58PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I have taken quite a few trips and have been guilty of bringing way to much stuff( extra food, D cell flashlight, chair, table, martini shaker, cordless drill,...sherpas, etc)
What is the least amount of gear you have ever brought? If you were going to go on a one week trip in the BWCA (September) and were going to bring the minimal amount possible, the bare essentials, what would you bring? (Beside Canoe, paddle, PFD)
 
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Mattbrome
distinguished member (339)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
08/06/2008 01:15PM  
Here is a copy of a tried and true packing list that I have used many mnay times:

Here is a list of things that each person should bring for the camping trip to the Boundary Waters. Portaging requires a lot of hiking in the woods with our backpacks, so it is VERY IMPORTANT to keep your backpack light. We will pack two people's things in each backpack, so there will be two backpacks for personal stuff, then two more backpacks for group gear and food. You might think that this list is too small for several days of camping in the wilderness, but this works. It is possible to wash clothes when we are camping. If you bring less, you will be very happy when you are hiking with a light backpack.

THIS LIST INCLUDES THE CLOTHES YOU WILL BE WEARING ON THE FIRST DAY!!!
I suggest you take a separate change of clothes to leave in the car for the ride home.

PERSONAL GEAR

1 sleeping bag (small enough to fit in a stuff sac, light, should pack down pretty small 1 sleeping pad (Thermarest ulta-lite ¾ length, NO LARGE FOAM ROLL UPS!)
1 long sleeve shirt (like a flannel shirt)
1 warm sweater OR sweatshirt (Fleece is best)
2 T-shirts
1 pair of long pants (we usually wear Army pants)
1 pair of shorts OR swimsuit
3 pair heavy hiking socks
3 pair of underwear
1 two-piece rain suit (NO PONCHOS! Sterns makes good 2 piece rubber suits, would be worth a few extra bucks to get a nice one)
1 pair of good hiking boots (Pair from Target or Kmart would be fine, should be high tops with good support)
1 pair of sandals OR tennis shoes (for walking in camp while your boots are drying out)
1 small hand towel
1 small bottle sunscreen lotion (This is a must!!)
1 bottle insect repellent (with 100% deet)
1 set toothbrush and small toothpaste
1 cap AND hat (Baseball hat and a stocking cap, would recommend both, not two of one or the other)
1 small flashlight (with extra batteries)
sunglasses*
bandana*
fishing pole*
fishing lures*
camera*
film*
pocket knife*
fishing license*
book*
playing cards*
schnapps*

* These things are optional

IF YOU PACK LIGHTLY, YOU WILL BE A HAPPY CAMPER! IF YOU BRING
TOO MUCH STUFF, MATT WILL MAKE FUN OF YOU WHEN YOU ARE CRYING!!!!!
please ask Matt if you have any questions.

Then we'll together figure out the common gear, I have all of it already, just FYI here's the list:

GROUP GEAR

tents
ground tarps
stove
extra fuel
cooking pot
frying pan
spatula
cooking spoon
eating bowls
spoons and forks
water bottle for each person
collapsible water jug
iodine pills
duct tape for fixing canoes, etc.
camp suds
dish scrubber
dish towel
compass
maps
first aid kit
salt and pepper
clothesline
matches
garbage bag
toilet paper
50-foot bear rope
 
Beemer01
Moderator
  
08/07/2008 09:09AM  
I will tell you that the older I get the more ruthless I have become in reducing gear.... and food.

My personal pack on the last ten day trip into Quetico in mid May, was 35 pounds, including my shelter, pad, sleeping bag, clothing, camera, sandals, fish finder and tackle.

Some are better than me in reducing their gear load - I aim to cut my pack down even further.

Did you know that cotton tee shirts are heavy? I cut these from my clothing stuff sack and reduced the weight by a couple of pounds, replacing them with poly shirts.

On the food front - when I travel and am in charge of food, breakfast consists of coffee and powerbars, lunch is simple and dinners are good, but not 'over the top'. The aformentioned diet will work and weighs a lot less.

Ounces add up to pounds.
 
08/07/2008 09:35AM  
"What is the least amount of gear you have ever brought?"

If this were a contest, I couldn't hope to win for several reasons: I always bring a chair; fishing gear; reflector oven; cook kit; food barrel, heavier foods, ax & saw, ... . I do double portage, but even with all my "extra" stuff I am close to getting it all in one pack. Primarily it is the food barrel (carried in a day pack) that prevents it.

If someone told me I had to single portage and to go as light as possible, I start with the obvious: no chair, no fishing gear; no reflector oven; hang food rather than a barrel; no ax & saw, no tarp. Elimination of those items alone would more than get me down to one pack.

I'd also look at the type of food and it's preparation. You could go no-cook and eliminate stove, stove fuel, pots, pans, and utensils. I might go with an esbit stove, tiny pot, cup, spoon, and dehydrated "backpacker" food.

After that it's not so much the amount of gear than the weight and volume of gear. Over the years, as I've needed to replace items, I've tried to get items that are smaller and lighter: a sleeping bag compressed to the size of a football; a sleeping pad rolled to the size of a nalgene bottle, a tent the size of a large loaf of bread, etc.

Your senario of a September trip makes things a bit heavier because you need to bring extra clothes and a heavier sleeping bag. September, especially later in the month, can get cold. Still keep a lightweight philosophy. Down, fleece, silk, polypro are all good.

Personally, I'd consider a two-man tent rather than a solo simply because you may have to spend more time in it. It starts to get dark early. Along with that, a good headlamp and perhaps a paperback book.
 
shoreviewswede
distinguished member(697)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
08/07/2008 09:50AM  
Since really, a Sherpa carries himself, does he count as pounds?
 
Voyaguer
Guest Paddler
  
08/07/2008 10:40AM  
The Sherpa doesn't count as pounds, he just carries all my luxury items. The other sherpa carries all my excess fishing tackle.
Unfortunatly one sherpa is in boot camp, the other is in school and the way things are going I may be forced to solo this September.

Not a contest I just thought it would be a fun discussion.

 
08/07/2008 11:27AM  

Bare minimum 1 week for me:
food - dehydrated dinner, instant oatmeal or grits and coffee for breakfast, ramen soup for lunch. Cliff bars to add extra calories.

clothing - September makes this heavier. Add good technical fleece to nylon/polypro else. Plan on wearing the same thing most/all of the trip, although I always make sure I have an extra something dry to sleep in - base layer and dry socks, etc. NOT what I've been wearing during the day. You should have a base layer, regular clothes layer (zip offs, long sleeve shirt), fleece layer, and add your rain gear as a layer if you're still cold. Later in September... start switching to wool.

shelter - tarp plus bivy sack or hammock. Sleeping bag. Closed cell sleeping pad, which also serves as a chair (lean against a tree for back support). Although my preference really is to use a small piece of closed cell to sit on and to line the inside of the backpack with, and use an inflatable pad to sleep on. 'Dem bones are feeling the ground too much anymore.

gear - Map and compass, water filter, alcohol stove, small aluminum pan, lexan bowl and spoon, led headlamp, paracord. Frogg toggs if I think it will rain or cheap plastic poncho if I think it won't. Small survival/repair/first aid kit. Lighter and a small knife/multitool I consider part of that kit, but I'll mention separately since they're critical. Probably add a few chemical hand/foot warmers in September for extra cold nights.

Should be a 25-30# pack or less, depending on the sleeping bag, clothing, etc.
 
Big Ying
distinguished member (178)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
08/08/2008 07:09PM  
A hammock instead of a tent will save a lot of space. You need a tarp obviously, but you can get by without a sleeping bag also, if you wear your heavy, fleece clothes (with rain gear if it gets unseasonably cold in the summer). You must have a sleeping pad under you, however, or your butt and shoulders will get very cold even with the warmest clothes on. A cheap, thin, foam pad that weighs almost nothing will suffice down into the high 40's.
 
08/08/2008 07:24PM  
The "Rambo Survival Knife" You know; the one with the compass/screwtop butt cap with the 3 matches,fishing line,hook etc. inside the handle. Complete with vynl riveted sheath and hone stone in japanese stainless. Cammy sheath of course. What a jewel! Oh and maybe an extra pair of underwear and a solar emergency blanket. :)
 
buck
member (33)member
  
08/10/2008 09:12PM  
Unless you haul in ice, you don't really need the martini shaker. You could just use a twig to stir it. (At least that is what I do.)
 
08/10/2008 09:59PM  
i dont even take an everclear shaker.
 
bapabear
distinguished member(2861)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
08/11/2008 06:45AM  
Of those listing items, unless I missed something, only one had a water filter. Is that an omission or would it not be brought?
 
mattbrome
distinguished member (339)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
08/11/2008 11:29AM  
I always just drink the water right out of the lake. Paddle out to the middle, hold the top on your Nalgene, dunk it, release the top, then when it's filled pull it out and drink. I've never had a problem.
 
Mad_Angler
distinguished member(1720)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
08/11/2008 09:52PM  
Here is my list:

- The clothes I was wearing
- Multitool on belt
- Hat
- Knife in pocket
- Lighter in pocket
- Fishing pole (it doesn't count)

Backpack
- Spare lighter/waterproof matches
- Light rain gear
- Headlamp
- Parachute cord
- Hammock shelter (includes bug net and rain fly)
- Good sleeping bag
- Small tackle box
- Tin foil
- Pan for cooking fish
- Bottle of oil
- Pancake batter (doubles as fish batter)
- spork
- Quart Nalgene with survival kit: (space blanket, zip lock bag, waterproof matches, whistle, bandaids, neosporin, compass, small pocket knife, parachute cord)
- Small first aid kit (immodium, ibuprofin, bandaids, neosporin)
- Sun screen
- Small bottle of pure DEET

For September, I'd add:
- Fleece pants
- Fleece jacket
- Stocking cap
- Pair of wool gloves
-
 
tmcd
Guest Paddler
  
08/12/2008 01:47AM  
Everytime the wife and I have gotten a tow or shuttle from an outfitter,the driver, be it truck or boat, has always said ,"Is that all of your stuff".This we take as a complement.Most of what is listed in the other replies we take along and it fits into 2 Duluth packs and a small day pack.The only extras besides 3 fishing poles,tackle bag and landing net,are a bird guide, binoculars and drawing/watercolor supplies, as the wife likes to make paintings and such.We have always secretly laughed at the groups that are struggling with to much stuff.tom
 
Voyageur
Guest Paddler
  
08/12/2008 02:08PM  
No Filter....
mattbrome: Do you do this on all the lakes or only the clearer ones? BWCA and Quitico? Filtering water is just one more camp chore I would like to get rid of.
 
Voyageur
Guest Paddler
  
08/12/2008 02:12PM  
buck
Of course I hall in ice. A martini should be shaken not stirred. I don't go into the BWCA to be uncivilized :)
 
Jason74
member (13)member
  
08/12/2008 02:42PM  
Voyageur:

I am too paranoid to just drink the water without filtering/treating (no matter where I go). Check out the Steripen. Light and waaay faster than pumping.

Jason
 
mattbrome
distinguished member (339)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
08/14/2008 10:08AM  
Voyageur-

I do it on all the lakes. I haven't ever had a problem. Don't get water out of the river. Don't get water near a beaver damn/lodge. Don't get water is shallow stagnant areas. Just paddle to the middle and try not to let any "chunks" get into your bottle that might be floating on the surface.
 
08/14/2008 10:46AM  
mattbrome -
I'm doing it your way next trip.
 
mattbrome
distinguished member (339)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
08/14/2008 10:50AM  
It saves you from all the pumping from a filter or the waiting for the pills. I always bring a small bottle of the iodine pills or the chlorine pills...just in case, but never use them.
 
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