Seeking the collective wisdom of the group: What are you planning for footwear? Normally for this early in the season (& much shorter trips) I'd just wear my cheapo rubber boots / wool socks, but they're really heavy & unsuitable for lengthy portages.
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Good question.
It definitely a matter of preference. Do you plan on wetfooting canoe entry/exit or try like a spoiled housecat to keep your feet dry (like me)? It also depends on the weather. Cold & damp means more protection and fewer chances to dry. Hot and sunny and I might just go barefoot (lol).
As you know, the biggest annoyance of an early season portage is how wet and muddy the portages can be. You can wear a nice pair of running shoes, but you'll be tiptoeing around the puddles until you get that invariable soaker. I've been eyeing some kind of waterboot from Keens like Jiblets sports, but i might just fall back to my trusty hightop LLBEAN Maine Hunting Boots. Couple those with a pair of sandals for camp and I'm set.
Survival is about getting out alive, Bushcraft is about going in to live - Chard (aka Forest-Hobo)
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http://oceanriver.com/footwear-for-paddling/
informative reading with some pictures. I like pictures - what can I say. I skipped kindergarten.
I have resigned myelf to typically always doing wet entries and exits. I'm pretty tolerant to cold feet so it doesn't bother me. I use an old pair of neoprene diving booties I used when I first got diving certified. They are fairly think neoprene, thicker than the neoprene booties I've seen at MEC and the sole is thick enough to get me over short portages. The ones at MEC are not bad if you can take the cold water close to ice out.Originally Posted by KeeWayKeno
Don't let life get in the way of living.
Sandals for wet entry/exit/portages; wool socks added for cold water or mosquitos.
Trail runners for camp or light hiking boots if the weather forecast includes rain or is unknown; this trip will be light hiking boots.
All of the above are good options. At the end of the day, you'll need to have comfortable enough footware to get you across the final monster 5km portage.
Survival is about getting out alive, Bushcraft is about going in to live - Chard (aka Forest-Hobo)
Upcoming EGL Hangs: tbd. For EGL notifications, subscribe to the EGL Hang Notification Thread
EGL Trip Reports: The Collection Follow me on Instagram
Holy S#!T
Just about a month to go!!
Time to start dehydrating food, varnishing paddles, sharpening hooks and then packing and repacking a dozen times to try to get the weight down. Seems no matter how I arrange my gear, all that crap always seems to weight the same! I'm sure there's a trick to it. I know this guy that travels under the name of Iguana and who's able to pack ridiculously light, never seeming to want for anything. Bizarre!
Smaller pack.. Smaller pack!
Survival is about getting out alive, Bushcraft is about going in to live - Chard (aka Forest-Hobo)
Upcoming EGL Hangs: tbd. For EGL notifications, subscribe to the EGL Hang Notification Thread
EGL Trip Reports: The Collection Follow me on Instagram
Packing light but also prepared for the potential extremes of highly variable Spring weather for such a long trip is my biggest challenge. We could easily have ice cold rain & high winds for a week or it could be sunny & warm. Fortunately I was able to cut a bit of weight in other areas & worked out like a Spartan to drop some excess "me". It also helps that my (typically 60 lb) food barrel is not coming on this trip!
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Just wondering when the other 'relaxed' hangers heading in.
Also we can start a request list to resupply the voyageurs (though I assume it will mainly be meat and liquid refreshment).
That tends to happen since you usually carry two packs
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