I like the cart idea.

I would go with 2 heavy duty larger wheels, like a small rickshaw (sp) or big game cart.

I would keep my essential BOB items in a pack on my back; in case you had to abandon the cart or if someone else liked your cart more than you wanted to fight to keep it.

Between college terms many years ago I worked at a welding shop and constructed a two wheeled cart to portage a canoe along an abandoned turn-of-the-century railway line in Algonquin Park. At the portage the canoe was unloaded, balanced within the small u-shaped cart and connected to it with a ratchet strap. We then reloaded the canoe and with one person pulling and one pushing we crossed the about 3 km portage. This first design I built was crude and used large 10 speed wheels, but my partner made a second stronger, padded, collapsable version using BMX tires. This system is tough on fiberglass or kevlar canoes, we used a Coleman Ram-X canoe which paddled like a scow but was near indestructible. This cart allowed us to portage much more weight in one trip than would have been possible on our backs.

This cart system is not something for canoe tripping or narrow portages but was perfect for our use. We have also used this cart to tow a canoe behind an ATV to access remote fishing/hunting lakes.

Mike