Tips for Great Canadian Canoe Trips

Tips for Great Canadian Canoe Trips

Before the trip:

Get in shape: The fitter you are, the more enjoyable the trip will be. Do pushups and situps, or, if you have a health club membership, ask the staff to recommend specific exercises on specific machines or free weights to build up your paddling and portaging muscles. My first canoe trip was 12 hours the first day and 12 hours the second day, at the end of which I was in severe pain and could barely move my upper body. This is because I was not in shape. Now that I work out regularly, on canoe trips I do still get sore muscles the first couple of days, but because I'm in shape, the soreness is very minor.
Figure out what kind of trip to go on--flatwater (lakes and calm rivers) or whitewater (rivers with rapids). Flatwater trips, although they don't include rapids, may still entail long paddles across windy, wavy lakes. This kind of paddling does require a certain amount of skill and nerve. Whitewater trips should be taken only after you've gone on some courses, or only if you go with experienced whitewater paddlers. Having said this, I confess I did my first whitewater trip, a 250-kilometre paddle down the Missinaibi River in Northern Ontario, with no whitewater experience, and with my friend who also had no whitewater experience. It all worked out, but I wouldn't recommend that novices try this.
Decide who to go with: You never know how you'll get along with your canoe partners. For a first-time trip, it's best to go with at least three other people. That way, if your canoe partner becomes unbearable, you can switch partners. Also, your annoyance can be diffused among the other people. Usually in a group situation, it fast becomes apparent who's going to play which role, and within the first day, someone will be the cook, another person will be the firewood gatherer, someone else will excel at building tarp rain shelters, and another person will be the macho maniac who wants to carry everything on the portages. For some reason, though, very few people emerge as the dishwasher.....
Buy your supplies: See my canoe trip packing list, and camping food list for suggestions on what to
bring and what to wear. Basically, you need to pack clothes for hot, wet, and cold weather. Make sure you have one complete outfit of waterproof clothing. Don't bring any cotton clothing except to sleep in. Professional canoe trip leaders often wear one outfit for an entire trip; even if you can't imagine doing this, take a cue and don't bother bringing a different outfit for every day. Don't bring any strong-smelling scented products into the bush; they will really reek and will gross out your companions.
Solve the footwear challenge before your trip: What to wear on your feet seems to be the biggest dilemma canoeists face. Some people swear by sport sandals, and that's all they wear for the whole trip. There are two problems with this: one is that if you're lining or walking through rocky water, your feet will get all bashed up from the rocks, and the other problem is leaches. The leaches will be happy to have such great access to your feet, and will jump on and suck. Another problem with wearing sandals is bugs; they too will be happy to have easy access to your juicy feet. Hiking boots tend to be heavy and become destroyed by the water. Running shoes take a while to dry. Reef shoes are perfect for wearing in the canoe and hopping in and out of the water, but they give no support on portages. So, what to do? I've seen lots of people switch footwear at portages, going from their wet canoeing shoes to their dry portaging shoes. This seems like a lot of trouble. My imperfect solution to the footwear challenge is portage shoes. I wear wool socks inside them, making my feet leach and bug-free. The shoes are completely soaking wet for the entire canoe trip, but they work fine on most portages (except on slippery clay slopes.....) When I get to camp, I take off the soaking shoes and socks and put on dry socks and dry reef shoes. This way, I don't have to keep switching shoes between canoeing and portaging. But, I'm still looking for a better pair of portage shoes that have bigger grips on the bottom and that dry faster. I HATE putting on soaking wet shoes and socks every morning!!!
Buy maps of the canoe route: Topographical maps are the best because they show you everything. Simple maps of the area don't show all the details. Pick out your route and get a rough idea of where you'd like to camp. In Ontario, if you're canoeing in a provincial park such as Algonquin or Kilarney, you'll have to reserve ahead of time by calling1-888-668-7275 (sorry, I'm not sure what the situation is in other provinces). Other, less popular parks will allow you to randomly pick your campsites. If you're canoeing in a non-park area such as Temagami, you can camp wherever you like, but the best spots will likely be taken.
Leave the ghetto blaster at home: Most people who go on canoe trips are trying to get away from civilization and want to enjoy the peace and quiet of the wilderness. On the other hand, acoustic instruments such as guitars and bongos are very cool in the woods, with the downside being, of course, that you have to portage them and worry about them getting wet.

On the trip:

For flatwater canoeing, rent as light a canoe as possible. This will make portaging much easier.
For whitewater canoeing, you will unfortunately need the much heavier whitewater canoe; otherwise, a lightweight canoe will smash into smithereens when you inevitably hit rocks.
Try to have only two packs per canoe: One pack holding all the food, and one pack holding all the camping equipment and personal items. You can buy big, waterproof portaging packs into which you can put two smaller packs.
Put on insect repellant before you start portaging into the bush. Otherwise, you could be hiking through a swamp with a canoe on your head and suddenly notice there are 40 mosquitoes on each of your hands (this happened to me in Temagami).
Canoes are built to be portaged by only one person. If you have a lightweight canoe, one person should be able to easily carry it. Once the canoe is up above your head and the yoke is resting on your shoulders, the weight will be distributed properly and you won't feel too much pain. Whitewater canoes present a big weight problem. I am unable to portage a whitewater canoe by myself; even though I'm in shape, these canoes are just too heavy for me (they weigh about 70 pounds). So, if you don't have a macho man on your trip to volunteer to carry your heavy whitewater canoe, you can portage it with your canoeing partner. Both of you stand beside the canoe, on the same side, one at the front, one at the back. Pick up the canoe and hold it against your legs. On the count of three, swing the canoe upsidedown up above your heads and settle it into as comfortable position as possible (actually there IS no comfortable position, but there are lesser evils....) The person in the front can use the pointy bow to rest on their shoulders, and the person in the back can use the stern seat to rest on their shoulders. A padded lifejacket helps with the pain.
For portaging, wear a life jacket with comfy shoulder padding. That way, the wooden yoke won't dig into your shoulders.
Wear a hat: Especially if you're fair-skinned and blue-eyed, sunstroke can be a real killer, and a hat makes the big difference between writhing around in your tent in agony and enjoying a beautiful sunny day.
At the campsite, don't cut down any trees for firewood. True wilderness fanatics don't even build fires because the forests need all that deadwood on the ground. It serves as fertilizer for the trees, and makes the soil rich for growing. Only build a fire if you're really, really cold, and you need to get warm. Use a portable lightweight stove for cooking.
Hang your food pack in a tree. Chances are, no bears are going to barge into your camp, but the chipmunks and squirrels will love you for leaving them a pack of free food. Racoons also appreciate free food. Bears are attracted more by the smell of fresh meat than by peanuts, so keep this in mind when packing your food.
If you're going to be cooking a really smelly, meaty meal, cook it away from your camp so the animals won't be attracted to come visit the spot where you're trying to sleep.
Don't bathe with soap or shampoo in the lakes and rivers. Even so-called "camp soap" makes a big mess in the water. If you take a soapy bath in the lake or river, someone camping nearby may end up swimming or drawing cooking water from your used bubbles. Yuck! Instead, jump in the water and get all wet, then stand on the shore and soap yourself down. Use a container of water (such as your water bottle or a cooking pot) to pour over your soapy body. The soap will go into the ground, biodegrade, and not disturb anyone else on the lake or river. Real wilderness purists don't even bring soap on canoe trips. If you swim often you'll feel clean and refreshed. And, because most northern areas have dry rather than humid air, you really won't smell, and may not even need to use deodorant.
Don't go out into the lake to wash dishes. I read about someone who tried this in Massassauga park, and somehow fell out of the canoe and drowned.
Don't put dirty dishwater and soap into the lake or river. Dump it in the trees away from camp. Do all your dishwashing on land, not in the water. Put all the dishes away in the food pack so they won't attract animals in the night.

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