Hike..i have to take off for a bit but before i go here a a couple photos..the thing that makes canoe country work so well for tripping is just what you hinted at.the lakes are "small" or filled with islands and bays so being wind bound is rare.a canoe like mine,a 16 foot Prospector,can go out into anything just short of whitecaps and still feel safe.jumping windy narrows to the lee of the next point or island is all part of the game up there.and of course you have to keep smart about how and where you travel.my Wife and i were out in Canada and had just left the sheltered bay at the Ranger station when we saw the group that left ahead of us had a swamped canoe and were pulling it ashore.we held close to the shore line and took the same route just outside the breaker line and then camped for the day until the wind went down without any hassle.it's like going thru rapids,you just have to watch what your doing and not try and bull thru.i lay out my trips so in two weeks i have only a couple areas of big water to deal with and can shore line those if the wind is not up,the hard bit is shore lining up wind only a few feet off the shore when you are using the paddle as a push pole on the rock to make any headway!




a down wind run to beat a storm to a camp site.



resting in a lee before making a dash across a bay mouth.



and it's just not heavy storms too watch out for.in the spring we get these rain squalls that pop up without much warning.ahead might be clear blue sky and you glance behind you to see something like this pounding down lake..i got to shore in the nick of time for this one!