I don't have as much wilderness canoeing experience as C Dog, but I have been fairly active in the woods and upon the waters of this great state for many years. I have fallen out of my canoe a couple of times over the decades while fishing or hunting; once in the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and once in a backwoods river.

I like C Dogs idea of a floating vest with a survival kit.

In my younger days, I was duck hunting on a backwoods MN river on a snowy day in November in a canoe with a big, sweet, old, but poorly trained, dog. All of my gear, including shotgun, shells, daypack, etc were laying in the bottom of the canoe. When the dog saw something swimming in the water, it leaped out suddenly and capsized the canoe. As I rolled into the water, I was amazed by how cold it was as it ran in through every opening in my canvas hunting gear. My prescription glasses were the first thing to head to the bottom, followed by my shotgun, shells, and all of my gear. As I clung to the overturned canoe, pondering my limited options, I decided that since I was already soaked to the bone, I might as well dive to the bottom and retrieve what I could. I found my gun sticking muzzle down in the mud, and was able to dive down again and retrieve some of my other gear. I never found the glasses.

Not to be overly dramatic, I did have a companion in another canoe not too far away that assisted, but even after a warming fire lit with a Bic, my day of hunting was ended as I paddled out cold, wet, and without glasses. Could have been much worse.

I learned some valuable lessons about fire, canoes, dogs, guns, and gear.

I like C Dogs idea of a floating vest with a survival kit.