SYP--strong young person--in the last post i did before going off on a solo two week wilderness canoe trip,i said that i was thinking about a SPOT or PLB when i went back into the "by permit only" remote areas that i scouted out last year.once again at the ranger station i was the only one on the page for the month of June seeking a permit..



this is what i found this year.the water levels had dropped from a historic high to just a bit above normal.i unloaded just under that limb and did not have to go far to find out that i was not going anywhere.the winding narrow creek thru that bog was now too shallow to get thru without getting out and draging ---so that was the need for the SYP--getting to that treeline in the far distence would have taken all day and then it was a "brush bust" for 50 or so yards into the small lake where i wanted to camp..by the way the yellow stuff on the water is pine pollen not some sort of scum..
a couple things did get my attention..one is the rangers carry radios..i met them a week or so later and along with the packs,two handed saw,axe and shovel they had a radio tucked away someplace that i heard crackle so there was a source of help if needed..but in two weeks in a "busy" portage is not the same as one in a remote back bay..the other thing was just how nasty the shoreline was.on a rainy day i was looking over the tangle of trees,moss covered rocks,cliff faces and heaps of rocks that i would have to deal with in a "overboard and swim" sitution--it did not look good even with all the gear in my ditch vest PFD it would be survival and not camping untill help came..all food for thought before the next trip-

Cool pic and story.

Anymore pics to go along?

Can you find out the frequencies to which the rangers listen?

Hope you enjoyed it.

Canoeing alone in remote areas, you should take more precautions.

It looks like you have a classic canoe with wood gunnels.
Whatever canoe you take to remote or risky areas, should be
outfitted so 1) the canoe cannot sink and 2) all your gear will
stay with the canoe, even in a violent and sustained thrashing.
If you want more detail from me, on this, just say so, but a
good start (or refresher) would be canoe books or canoe forums.

Read (or reread) some books, authored by Cliff Jacobson. Since
you live in canoe country, these should be available in libraries
and used book stores, even if they are out-of-print.

Low water levels can be problematic. With the experience you
have gained, do you think there are some predictors of this?

I am considering a PLB for hiking and I certainly would
get a PLB if I went canoeing again.
Still, the basic gear, boat-outfitting, and precautions are
critical, because you could drown or die of hypothermia long
before a rescue-team was even notified.

CANOEDOGS, you have been canoeing solo for what....150 years now??

regards,
Bill

just a few follow up photos and a couple replys.
Hike--thanks for your concerns but i have the solo canoeing just about down to a art.twenty five years,spring and fall every year plus buddy trips and a honeymoon.canoe country country is in my "backyard" and i have a pile of outdoor books going back to the 1800's.the only real change by the way is the old ones cover cooking over a open fire in great detail.
Dan--ranger radio??--good thought..over at BWCA.COM this have been brought up along with PLB and SPOT but the draw back is would you be able to work a radio if you were really injured?
pressing a button on a PLB might be the best you could do.
for Todd and the rest here are a few photos of what it's like out there...

postcard views are normal,it's everything you read about it is true--blue water reflecting blue sky--as in The Land Of Skyblue Waters..



the local joke is that none of these waters are connected so its small runs of rapids like this everywhere



this is the real danger..the portage landings which are nothing more than rock piles.getting the canoe in and finding a place to unload or rather stand and toss the pack into or out of the canoe is a real trick and a place where falling is a major hazard.




but this is more like it.



and this----



and to wrap it up a shot of a camp in what i am told is the most remote place in Minnesota---Coleman Island on Lac La Croix
when i hit camp i really "hit" it..the packs are pulled open and out comes the gear for a "boil up" and a kick back to enjoy the view..

Wow, I'm so jealous! That looks great, you are a lucky guy to have all that beauty available to you.

-Blast, who has never worried about CANOEDOG's safety.

Nice, CANOEDOGS your home looks a lot like my home.

Mike (who also is not concerned about CANOEDOGS ability).

Blast--it's just not the beauty it's the fishing and after about ten days of being outside with no real shelter you get a real feeling of what people were made to do..and it's not sitting around inside--how about one more---



i guess you could call those my Bail Out Bags--i tell people that if i had a 50 pound of flour and a can of lard along i could stay over the winter...

Jeal.ous.

Hey CANOEDOGS, what kind of canoe are you using? I have been thinking about getting a solo canoe for use when moose hunting, as my knees are getting too bad now to walk the cutover and burns.

Thanks,

Mike

Swamp..it's a 16 foot Bell Prospector--


i'm sure Swamp knows but for the rest of you the Prospector is the pickup truck of canoes.several brands were made in Canada,mine is a copy of the most well know one made by the Chestnut Company 100 years ago.it's just the right size and shape to carry heavy loads--like a quartered out moose--and still be stable on bad water.mine is made of Kevlar and at 37 pounds i can carry it anywhere.to use it solo i remove the rear seat which is replaced with a short thwart and paddle from the bow seat faceing "backwards"..the stern now being the bow.this puts me more to the center of the boat for better control. i got a full size canoe so i can paddle with my wife or the East Coast Buddys when they come out.i got all wood trim and seats not just because i like the classic look but it's quiet to paddle.


the solo set up with the seats changed around--bow view..




and just to compare boats this is the Old Town Path Finder i used for some 20 years..57 pounds and about 14 feet made from a plastic called Royalex..a very tough canoe.

Two questions:
1. How tough?
2. How much?

-Blast, even more jealous.

Blast--the Pathfinder is a brick..it sort of paddles like one too and these flat bottom "sportsman" canoes earned the nickname of Pusher..not much glide between strokes but they can be bent just about in half and pulled back into shape and the floor stomped flat again..the gunwhales of course would need repair but you could get back home again with the clever use of some duct tape..Royalex is soft and a run-in with a sharp rock will leave a small curl of plastic at the end of the scratch.round boulders and logs don't seem to bother it.i have fiberglass "grunch" pads at bow and stern that take up much of the damage if i hit something.the woodwork needs care and Oldtown no longer offers this boat with wood trim but the plastic is well done...price??i payed $600 for mine in 1985 but check Oldtowns site for an updated price.
the Bell Prospector was $2500..handmade with a craftmans touch to the woodwork..Ash and Teak..Kevlar picks up alot of scratches but is light and tough,i don't think you could fold it over a rock in the rapids and stomp it back into shape--at 37 pounds i can carry it over any portage--so far--
so your thinking about another canoe???..



heres the Prospector on a bog portage.a light canoe is much safer as you don't have the stress of hauling something like a 85 pound aluminum boat.i made this carry with my 57 pound Pathfinder and at the end set it down with a "clunk" rather that just rolling it off my shoulders and setting it down like this one.

37 pounds to carry makes up for a lot of issues on the water... Though at that price I guess I'll stick to my kayak.

-Blast