I'm sure some of you take a kayak on your trips. I am a minimalist and I still get overwhelmed at the thought of where I would put basic gear in a kayak...so?

i've seen a few yaks in the BW and they all had the gear piled up on the deck and held down with bungee cord.

Most of the kayaks I see in the bwcaw are in company with canoes. The canoes carry most of the gear while the kayaks race to the portage and wait for them.

tony

thanks, I have run into I believe only one in my trips, it was on the first portage. I was always curious.

My last trip in, I had a kayak in a group of canoes. I have a sit-on-top style built for fishing. I didn't get much in my kayak so the canoes carried most of the stuff...worked out for me.

i saw a gaggle of gear loaded yaks on knife last september.

Most Kayaks have waterproof bulkheads fore and aft that are accessed through hatch covers. You have to break everything down to small size and stuff through the hatches.

So do you have to carry a pack and put all those small size items into it to portage? I'm interested in the kayak idea but none seem to hold a full Duluth pack.

Duluth Pack on a Kayak, that would be a sight. I cannot accept the idea of myself in a canoe carrying all the kayaks gear or making them carry mine. Maybe I'm not as much a team player as I once thought.

quote BillConner01: "So do you have to carry a pack and put all those small size items into it to portage? I'm interested in the kayak idea but none seem to hold a full Duluth pack."

I think carrying a Pack and then loading and unloading it would work on the portages.

I also think a special removable portage yoke can be used in a kayak too.

i just saw a post on here the other day, talking about packs with 'smaller sections' that one packed together onto a bigger frame. these smaller sections should easily be broken down to fit into the kayak hatches, vs. stuffing/unloading diff bags and then finding a spot for the duluth pak on the yak.

just a thot. it's in the gear section, i think. and it may be a 'do it yourself' deal, or some guys' personal website who shows you what he did, and provides direction on how to either purchase or diy.

Yes, I did it once and have talked to others who also have kayaked the BWCA. You have store most everything in the bulkheads, and then either put it all in a pack for portaging or strap it onto a frame. Some stuff can be straped on top of the kayak when on the water, but not too much.

There are kayak yokes. I use this one for both my kayak and Wenonah Voyager solo canoe: Kayak Yoke

quote Richwon4: "I'm sure some of you take a kayak on your trips. I am a minimalist and I still get overwhelmed at the thought of where I would put basic gear in a kayak...so?"

I have done kayak trips in the BWCA since 2002. All of my gear fits inside my kayak. Since I have a large volume touring kayak I could see it being a tad harder for a smaller kayak. It is harder to take stuff in a kayak but that is what we do.

I do have a deck bag for gloves, rain jacket and a few small things but it really isn't all that necessary.

My buddy and I stick to wheeled or no portage trips so I could see a frame pack getting strapped to the outside if I did portage trips.

The key is to keep your keep your gear small. I have a down sleeping bag that packs down really small. My tent fits inside my holds. The food I bring also fits inside my holds. I use tapered waterproof bags so small stuff like spare socks fit in the bottom of the bag and use all the available space inside the kayak.

Right now, the only gear that goes on the outside is a camp chair. But that is a luxury I could do without if need be or I could buy a different chair system like one that uses your sleeping pad.

My son and I did it a couple years ago in 12 foot Wilderness Systems kayaks. Like others said, keep gear small, and pack it in small bags stuffed into the hull, with some bags lashed to the deck. At portages put the small bags into larger packs with straps. A removable portage yoke worked, and if you search this site from a couple years ago, I posted pictures of it.

Kayaks are fun to paddle and to fish from, but canoes are less effort, as you just pick up your pack, canoe, and hit the portage.

I use a 17 foot touring kayak. All gear is stowed in small drybags that fit inside my bulkhead compartments fore and aft. At portages, I stow all of the drybags inside a backpack. It's time consuming and far less convenient than a canoe.

On the other hand, a kayak is great in heavy weather on the big lakes ... more than making up for the extra hassle on portages.

I've been kayaking in the bwca for years... probably over 20 trips. Prior to kayaking, I did alot of backpacking. If you can camp for days out of a backpack, then kayaking is a luxury for all the extra gear you can bring along.

I use a Duluth Pack and I bring along a folding camp chair. The DP is carried empty inside the rear hatch. As others have stated, all gear is in smaller dry bags and then I load up the DP to portage. The chair is kept under the front deck and so all gear is below deck, not piled up on top.

I no longer think of the kayak being slower or less convenient to portage than a canoe. I have traveled with canoes and have been able to portage as fast as they do. It is just a matter of getting a system in place. I have been jealous of the lighter weight of the kevlar canoes, though, as my kayak is 55 lbs.

We've taken a recreational kayak (17' Current Design Storm w/hatches, 13'-6" Old Town Loon/no hatches) along with canoes several times on trips into the BW and as far as Robinson Lake in Quetico. They are a hassle on portages--good intentions of stowing and carrying all your gear and using the portage yoke (a hassle to put on/take off at every portage) quickly disappear and the majority of gear except daypack stuff ends up in someone's canoe and the yoke stays lashed to the deck if you can con someone into carrying one end with you, so it helps to be with generous and even-tempered partners. But...what a pleasure on the water! Much better, in fact FUN, in wind and waves that are daunting to canoeists, great for fishing and slipping up quietly on wildlife and FAST--we would send our kayaker ahead to secure the night's campsite ahead of the crowd in popular areas (Lower Basswood Fals for example). We have seen solos and groups of kayaks deep in Quetico though (Ted Lake for example), and I am envious of their skill/ability to travel so compactly and the enhanced experience they must be having. My fantasy is to rent a good sea kayak in Atikokan and spend a week exploring, fishing and photographing on Pickerel Lake which in my opinion is the ideal place for kayak tripping.
Here's a photo of my older son with a nice pike he caught trolling around Horse Lake at around 10PM in early June a few years ago (time exposure with flashlights).

Here's an interesting new vehicle from Wenonah--

http://www.wenonah.com/products/template/product_detail.php?IID=245&SID=a0110cc65fa416c9c1332da63f00d3b6

I did a solo with a kayak lst June. I stored stuff in the hatches and then I rigged up an external backpack to put the kayak on top of on portages. At the portage I would put the external back pack on and then put the kayak on top of that. I don't think many wold be as fast as that (canoe or kayak or back packer). Here a a picture of the back pack on the back of my 17 foot kayak.

That is a beautifull kayak dring. The pack portage set up looks like a great idea too. How long and heavy is your yak?

quote dring: "I did a solo with a kayak lst June. I stored stuff in the hatches and then I rigged up an external backpack to put the kayak on top of on portages. At the portage I would put the external back pack on and then put the kayak on top of that. I don't think many wold be as fast as that (canoe or kayak or back packer). Here a a picture of the back pack on the back of my 17 foot kayak. "

great looking yak... is it a CLC boat??