My First Canoe Trip
I'm just a malfunctioning alien-human hybrid publishing my thoughts and experiences
My first canoe trip took place in August 2011 and was my first time in the backcountry. I had done some canoeing and front country camping with my family at that point but was fairly inexperienced with solo canoeing and no backcountry experience. Like most things I like solo ventures and hobbies, so I decided to do the research and planning and go by myself. The thought of group camping with strangers in the backcountry I found unappealing. Apparently us hybrids prefer solo activities and to keep a low profile.
At least when I was younger, I would meticulously plan things out before doing anything, and I mean anything! With one partner, they remarked at the hours of research I would put into things like buying a jacket or a simple couch. I believe this is why the trip went mostly well despite my lack of experience. I ended up taking way more food and equipment than I needed too. Some of the equipment too silly to mention. I was tremendously fit back then from all the Crossfit, so carrying too much wasn't that much of a problem.
For equipment I took 3 or 4 generic canoeing lists, compared them all and made my own list. I kept everything in the "essential survival category" that each list recommended. There was a lot of overlap in that category, so it wasn't as bad as it sounds. And then added or left out things that I felt appropriate for utility and comfort. I didn't own a GPS back then, so I went with map and compass. My reasoning was that since it was waterways I was navigating it would be hard to make a mistake and portages are marked so you cannot get lost. I left a copy of my route and estimated time of returning with family and the outfitter in case there was an emergency and needed to be extracted.
I thought my 8ft box pickup truck would be perfect for hauling a canoe, but it's actually not that easy. With half the canoe sticking out, I needed to make a rack. I believe the canoe was a 16ft and had no options for a solo sized canoe.
Later on when I owned my own canoe, I found that they make trailer hitch supports for drywall and lumber, but also worked perfectly for canoes/kayaks. That would've been much easier than building a roof rack out of 2x4's that I didn't entirely trust. Speaking of trust, few things put more fear into me than driving along the highway with a canoe on top of my vehicle. No matter which way I do it, no matter how many times I check the knots, I feel extreme unease while travelling down the highway and I do mean highway speeds to the landing. I've never had an issue, but damn if it makes me nervous.
I got the hang of solo paddling with a fully laden canoe really well, it was almost natural for me. The waterway is shaped like hand with a central hub, within the hub are many islands. I made my way across the hub but my compass was lying on my axe and it pulled the needle too much in one direction, this caused me to go down a wrong arm of the lake after exiting the hub. I paddled for a fair bit until realizing my mistake, corrected myself and had no further issues in navigation the entire trip.
The entire trip lasted 3 weeks. 3 weeks alone in the woods, with no cell service and no internet. I remember telling that to a coworker years later when asked what I do for vacation and said "No way could I do that! I couldn't live without being connected to the internet". I found that comment quite amusing. They didn't explicitly say what about the internet they couldn't be disconnected from, but as someone who grew up on the internet in the late 90's and early 2000's using Netscape Navigator, and was a clan leader of an FPS, I too should've been unwilling to disconnect from the internet.
Nonetheless, why would a person need to be connected to the internet? I can understand cell service in the case an animal attack or broken bone, but the internet may because of social media? Perhaps connecting with others via social media is an important aspect of life, even daily. I've long noted that humans feel drawn to each other, that they enjoy spending time together and communicating for reasons other necessity. Spok was similarly confused on the episode "Shore Leave" when he said something along the lines of "you expend energy to build energy, it's not logical". Similarly for me, I don't quite understand the inclination towards communication for anything without a strict purpose or necessity.
Somewhat congruent, 3 weeks alone in the woods is my happy place. I cannot really put my finger on why. I could say that I like seeing the stars with no light pollution, the smell of campfire, how food seemingly tastes better after hours of paddling, the breeze with no air pollution, swimming in a lake instead of a pool, finally getting to your campsite after a day of hard work, seeing the end of a portage, but none of those things really explains why I feel better alone in the woods for weeks on end. It's just soothing in a way I cannot explain.
The truck was probably there for use at one of the old mines in the area
The food didn't taste half bad, but was way too laden with salt. Like everyone says, the chocolate desert wasn't sweet enough.
My first fish ever. After losing all my jigs to rock snags, I caught this one with a simple hook and a piece of gum attached to it.
This is a testament to how quickly storms come through in the backcountry. This isn't photoshop.
I actually don't mind portaging all that much. I see it as a hike with added weight and since I was doing lots of Crossfit at the time, I viewed it as more of a challenge than something to lament. I dabbled with the idea of using a kayak for backcountry trips instead of the canoe because I always go solo. The efficiency, stability and ruggedness of a kayak is much better, but the question of portaging arises. How does one portage a kayak in the backcountry? You can empty out the kayak, then "one-arm" it, but that'll be difficult and unergonomic at long distances. My first portage was nearly a kilometer mind you. You can buy a folding portage cart and then strap it to the outside of the kayak. That was an okay idea but since my 70L backpack would have to be attached to outside too, then you'd have two bulky items on the outside, it would've been something to experiment with though. I also saw the idea that you could make a custom yoke which would be ergonomical, not bulky but would need some custom craftsmanship to make.
An old patch on the canoe sprung a slight leak, this was likely from me not shifting my weight better when getting into the canoe. I patched it up with some duct tape on the outside and headed home a few days earlier than expected.
I'll never forget the storm that awaited me when I got back to the arm of the main lake. The swells were damn near a foot and tremendous head winds. Technically I could've camped out at the portage head until the wind died down, but since there was no actual designated campsite there, I chose to paddle into the storm. The wind was so strong that if I stopped paddling for just a few seconds, I would be blown sideways. As I cut through the hub section of the lake, the rain portion of the storm blew through drenching me but then like always, sun and clouds the next minute.
