Getting Ready for a 3 day/night paddle-trip

Four of us will be paddling into the St. Regis Canoe Area in the Adirondack Park of upstate NY at the end of this week, and I'm just about ready...

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Food for 3 breakfasts, lunches, dinners, plus snacks and drinks...not shown is booze and cigars...


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Shelter: MSS green bag, HH tiny tarp, HH (big, but has the bug net built-in), tree-huggers, UL-carabiners


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My Hornbeck 14, CF-paddle, PFD, and throwbag


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Faks: trauma on the left, boo-boo kit on the right


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My miscellaneous gear. Starting at 12: a smaller gear/backpack hammock (which also serves for a chair); at 1 is my Katadyn basecamp water filter and hydration bag; at 3 is a dropper of bleach (for backup water purification) and a 16oz nalgene (which I use for cocoa and iced-tea); at 5 is my poopkit (with lighter and whistle); at 6 is a gorillapod for pics and some pieces of rope; at 7 are a compass and spare, along with a whistle and incendiary bug repellent (in pipe and cigar form); at 9 are headlamp and spare, multitool and knife, and a carabiner for hanging food at night; at 10 is my jetboil stove, insulated food-rehydrating bag and spoon.


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from 12: black fleece jacket, white sunhat, yellow raincoat, blue vest, balaclava, polypro long underwear, 5-fingers, bug-headnet, crocs, wool socks, cotton boxers (sleeping), 2 polypro shirts (2 SS, 1 LS), 2 swimsuits, 1 pair lightweight nylon pants

The trip we're going on is described HERE.

All of the gear pictured above fits in a portage pack, which I can wear while hauling the canoe overland from pond to pond...

I'm pretty excited for it, it should be a fun time.

Jamie - nfa

Sounds like a great trip...Do you happen to have details on the portage pack you are using?
Also, do you carry a spare paddle? Duct Tape?
Hve a great trip....

That is a great set up. It is interesting to see photos of what other people carry for outdoor adventures. I must say it is well organized and compact.

Be prepared for the black flies. They were out last weekend. The breeze kept them at bay for a while, but when the air stilled, they swarmed.

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Originally Posted by Grillmastertoo

Sounds like a great trip...Do you happen to have details on the portage pack you are using?
Also, do you carry a spare paddle? Duct Tape?
Hve a great trip....

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Thanks for the comments so far, I like posting pics of the gear-pack because it helps me think it through, and make sure that I both have everything that I need, and need everything that I have.

I can post actual pics of my portage pack later today, but it is an older version of this one:

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It's designed to ride lower on/below the shoulders so that it doesn't interfere with portaging a canoe...it's bigger than I need for this trip, but I plan on putting my PFD and throwbag and such in it for the portages as well...

Among our group, we'll probably bring 1 spare paddle.

I have duct-tape in my boo-boo kit.

There should be some flies, but we've had snow and lots of frosts in the last couple of weeks, so they've been held back a bit...we're normally good-ish until Memorial Day, but I'm bringing tons of DEET-intensive stuff.

Jamie - nfa

im jealous:D
the Hornbeck 14 , is it the kevlar one? what does it weigh? what shoes are you using for portage? taking a camrea? if so what kind? i am very interested in your trip. you could blog it here http://www.kayakmagazine.com/blog.php.

did i say i'm very jealous:lol:
HAVE A GREAT TIME
KK

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Originally Posted by kayak karl

im jealous:D
the Hornbeck 14 , is it the kevlar one? what does it weigh? what shoes are you using for portage? taking a camrea? if so what kind? i am very interested in your trip. you could blog it here http://www.kayakmagazine.com/blog.php.

did i say i'm very jealous:lol:
HAVE A GREAT TIME
KK

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The Hornbeck is the Kevlar one, it weighs about 24 pounds.

I'm wearing the 5-fingers for paddling/portaging, and the crocs are to change into for camp.

I have a Canon Powershot D10, which I'll be bringing (and taking a gazillion pics with).

I will post pics here and in my blog - Adirondack Diary

It should be fun, especially if the weather and bugs cooperate!

Jamie - nfa

We had a great time...it was a brutal trip, but lots of fun, and through beautiful country that most people never get back into...

I'm working on a blog entry about the trip, but here are some pics:

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We arrived Thursday night to hang out and talk about gear and paddling and women...

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My Hornbeck 14 was a great boat for the trip, allowing me to make each portage in 1 trip, unlike my partners in crime who mostly had to go back for either boat of gear on each portage

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Even with the perfect boat, the portages were long and hot and sweat-filled and buggy and twisting and rocky and filled with mudpits that often sucked you in past your knees...you had to laugh or you'd cry...

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The first day included 7 ponds and 6 portages, long and hard enough that we didn't make camp until well after 7pm...our group slept in 2 tents and 2 hammocks, mine is the hammock all the way to the right...

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2 pieces of my gear that I can't praise highly enough were my 5-fingers shoes, and the Katadyn basecamp filter...they made everything easier in and out of camp (although I brought along a pair of crocs for wearing in camp at the end of the day)...

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On the 3rd morning, I got up early and went for a paddle before everyone else woke up, just as the sun hit the pond...I brought a nalgene of Starbuck's Via coffee and a Clif bar to fuel me...it was perfect!

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After the paddle, but with everyone else still asleep, I enjoyed some quiet time in my Arrowhead Equipment Bushman Hammock-Chair...it very comfortably supports a 300 pound man with coffee and a pipe loaded with aromatic tobacco that he enjoys and the bugs hate!

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Our last day on the water, we did 5 portages, and paddled across 7 bodies of water...it was invigorating knowing that the toughest portages were behind us, and that we'd end the day paddling on the St. Regis Lakes...even 800-1000 yard portages seemed easy after what we'd done in the previous 2 days

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One of my favorite pics from the trip...an island on tiny Bear Pond that has been submerged by a dam at the outlet end...the signs on the tree indicate that there is no camping and not fires allowed in this spot!

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Our trip ended on the campus of Paul Smith's College...we were tired and dirty and smelly and cut and bruised and bug-bitten, but had done an incredible trip...19 bodies of water and 16 portages in 3 days!

Jamie

Nice trip report!
Looks like quite an aerobic adventure.
I like seeing all the gear laid out, but can you expound on the foodstuffs? Looks like a repeating menu.
How do you find sitting on the bottom of the boat? Any back issues? (I see a back rest)
Can you paddle it with a single blade paddle?

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Originally Posted by canoeski

Nice trip report!

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Thanks, it was a fun trip!

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Originally Posted by canoeski

Looks like quite an aerobic adventure.

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It was a workout, especially given that I'm 12 years older than the next oldest guy...

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Originally Posted by canoeski

I like seeing all the gear laid out, but can you expound on the foodstuffs? Looks like a repeating menu.

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I have oatmeal and a clif bar and cocoa for breakfast, GORP/beef-jerky/candy bars/drink mix for lunch, and dehydrated pasta/TVP/sauce and drink mix for dinner...I also pack some cigars and booze and some extra candy bars...it's a simple menu, but it fills me up and tastes good.

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Originally Posted by canoeski

How do you find sitting on the bottom of the boat? Any back issues? (I see a back rest)

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It was a bit weird getting used to, more like a kayak than a canoe in some ways; but it lowers my center of gravity and the seat and backrest are very comfy...no back issues during/after the trip.

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Originally Posted by canoeski

Can you paddle it with a single blade paddle?

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You could, but a double-bladed paddle works better because of your position relative to the water.

Jamie - nfa