Great suggestions. I’ve been traveling the BWCA since the 70’s. Sold my canoe years ago and now rent Kevlar. Prefer bent paddles. Adopted the camp chair when I hit 40. I’ve gone back to Duluth Pack canvas bags (#4) for durability and functionality in and out of a canoe. Tried many others. Never thought about taking my hunting GPS. Next trip.
Great tips! Our family got back into canoeing in 2019 with all the Pandemic restrictions. We learned all the things you have identified but the hard way lol. I agree with most of the comments here. 1. Agreed - Very seldom do you stop to have lunch every even when you are in one place. If you plan for a full lunch every day you will over pack. Plan for snacks instead. 2. Water filtration system- if you are going with a group of people go with a larger gravity system as it saves time, provides the volume of water you need and takes less time. 3 Dehydrated food- game changer. You need less cooking equipment, it saves preparation time, food doesn't go bad, save a ton of weight. 4. Discuss safety in advance and encourage/empower everyone to speak up if they feel unsafe with decisions taken. Identified one person who is responsible for reminding people to drink water and snack during the trip. Great post.
All great suggestions! It seems I eat less every year. We used to cut open our dehydrated meals and combine them to save on volume, which required everyone to eat dinner every night, but since we started bringing the meals in their bags (and finding other things to save volume), everyone including me seems to skip 2 dinners on a 9 day trip. Sometimes you just had too many snacks, or you sat around all day and aren't hungry. This year I'll be leaving a few dinners behind, relying on fish or snacks for dinner whenever I don't want a whole meal. I love my 10L dromedary and 4L Platypus gravity filter. I don't even see a need for them to offer a 2L kit (which I started with). Dehydrated food saves so much time... I'm not out there to make exciting food, I'm out there to photograph, fish, and explore. Everyone has different preferences, but if you want to cover a longer distance, cutting food weight makes a lot of sense. Safety is always important as well, and with last year's high water in the spring, I was explicit with my friend group to speak up if they felt uncomfortable and consider any risky waters as a group before proceeding. Thankfully we didn't have anything too sketchy that first week of June, but there were some pretty quick-moving rapids to cut across, and we did assist in the rescue of a Boy Scout canoe that tipped trying to skirt upstream near rapids that we chose to portage around. There's reason people say "Safety first!". Thanks for watching Brian!
Surprised you didn't mention best time of year to visit BWCA. The first couple trips my brother and I did in the early 90's - in June \ July - the mosquitoes were horrific. For a native Minnesotan it wasn't surprising but it was a bloodbath. Every trip since we did in mid-September to first week in Oct. It's the perfect time. Yes it can get chilly, but the fall colors and complete lack of bugs is amazing compared to the 4th of July.
That is a pretty obvious omission now that you say it! I always go in June (good fishing, long days) and Sept (low bugs, mild temps, colors), but I know there are merits to the summer months like warmer water for swimming and ripe berries to eat. I love my spring trips for fishing and the long days that make every day feel like two, but I love my fall trips for the low bugs and crisp weather with a more moody atmosphere. I would highly recommend a late August to mid September trip to anyone who wants to experience the BWCA at its best, without excessive bugs or heat - that right there is a comfort tip if I've ever seen one! Thanks for watching and for your comment!!
Oh CRAP!!! I am going to the boundary waters over the Fourth of July for my first time. Hope the mosquitoes are not as bad as you say. We do have had nuts and have soaked our clothes in permethrin and have permethrin spray for our dogs.
@@cvweekendercvweekender4005 Perhaps we were just unlucky. Lot's of things influence how bad mosquitoes get any given year. Just roll with it. Going to be amazing.
A pair of binoculars so you can see where campsites and portages are thus saving time! Also for wildlife viewing. Forgot mine on my last trip and i was pretty bummed because it would've been so handy.
My wife and I camp together and have traveled the BWCA for over 40 years, starting with a cheap tent and no pad, moving to a foam pad, then a self inflating pad until we finally moved to luxury, an airbed. We usually base camp so fill the airbed once and we're good. Before you get a barrel and carrier, try to help another camper by carrying their barrel. I won't get one, the do not fit my back. We have tried different tents over the years but a few years ago we splurged on a more expensive one. No more leaks. Grocery stores have lots of dehydrated food options and many are quite cheap. You can get the luxury food when you get home.
Good video. I brought a chair to the BWCA for the first time last year, and it was a life changer. My 44 yo butt just couldn't take the hard ground anymore. One tip on the saw is to make sure you have a dry wood blade. There are blades for dry wood and wet wood. Won't need the wet blade for anything in the BWCA.
Interesting to see the differences in what is needed in different parts of the country. When paddling the Everglades it’s all about water. Every drop is carried in the canoe. So the gear and food goes ultralight to make room for water weight. Good thing is, sleep systems and insulation can be lighter because of warm climate. And we eat fish so that knocks down on food weight a bit. A 1week trip takes 100-120lbs of water. We don’t have to portage it , but we do have to float it and paddle it around.
Nothing to complain about, all great advice. Only thing i would add as comfort items is an extra pair of dry socks/underwear. And a bug net if you want to stay up and watch the stars
After 60 years of going to Quetico and BWCA that is the best advise ever. I am sorry it took me so long to learn, and I still learned from your video. Thank you. We are leaving Saturday!
My tips from experience: 1. Coat your tent and rain fly with silicone waterproofing spray before the trip. It may rain the entire time you are out there. You don't want to get wet. 2. Always bring a full GORETEX rain suit, including a waterproof breathable rain hat. If you get wet all day from never ending rain, you won't be having fun, hiding in the tent. A hoodie blocks your hearing and vision. A rain hat is better. 3. Yes to the camp chair. Never go without one. Even a light weigh beach chair works if you don't have $9,000.00 to by a Helix chair. 4. Use a headlamp instead of a flash light so your hands are free. 5. Yes to the Kevlar canoe. 6. A canoe seat with a back rest. For the same reason you have a camp chair. Never go without one. 7. Moleskin - if you get a blister, or want to prevent one, you'll be every grateful for it. 8. A G-Shock GW-M5610U wrist watch. A durable best value MacGyver watch. 9. Fire steel fire starting kit. Always keep it on you. Never go anywhere without it, just like your knife. 10. Never travel alone or leave the group to go by yourself. Travel in pairs at least. 11. GoPro or equivalent. Record that experience. It will bring back great memories later. 12. Record a daily journal and detail everything. Each day up there is better than any day back home. Later it will bring you joy to remember. 13. Always know where you are on the map and make sure someone else does too. Don't be a single point of failure if you die up there. 14. Leave the brainwashing technology at home and don't use it up there in heaven. No smart phones or stupid iPads. 15. Metamucil. Take a Ziplock bag of it. You may not poop regularly out there, and if you aren't, this will activate it. Works like a blessing. A healthy person should poop at least once a day but I had been out there and hadn't popped for over five days and I was eating regularly. I just didn't have to go. A few large tablespoons of Metamucil spread over my dinner activated my bowels the next morning like clockwork. It was taught to me by an older, wise friend. 16. Leather "fire" gloves - to pull off hot pots and pans and to protect hands during sawing and cutting. 17. Fully decked out First Aid kit. 18. LED Lantern for Table and tent. 19. Gas stove - to quickly heat up water for coffee without having to start a wood camp fire. 20. Large contractor-grade trash bags - used as backpack waterproof covers, trash bags, waterproof other gear inside backpack, and makeshift poncho, or a sail in the canoe. Multiple uses.
Awesome recommendations here! I definitely agree that a head lamp is a MUST - most things you do out there require both hands, so holding a flashlight is just not practical. I also like the moleskin recommendation, though in the past I've used Leukotape which is a soft cloth tape that is SUPER sticky, so it doubles as moleskin for hot spots on your feet, as well as an adhesive in case you need to attach two items together. Works better than duct tape in my experience. Thanks for your wise tips!!
Thanks for all the tips man! Any knife recommendations? I’m just getting into hiking/backpacking/ type stuff so I would like any recommendations I can get, thanks!
@@c.eastonnn A lot of people like Mora knives and they seem to be fairly good blades for the money. The Garberg is a good bushcrafter option with a full tang blade so you can really beat on it, when batoning wood for example, and I like mine though I need to spend some time sharpening it. As for a smaller blade, I don't have any great options. I carry a Victorinox Swiss army knife even though I know the metal isn't the strongest or sharpest, because of all of the tools. I've heard Leathermans have better steel but I just like my Swiss army knives I guess. Figure out if you actually want a big belt knife or if all you need is something smaller that can fit in a pocket/big pocket. I realized on most of my trips I don't always need a ~5-6 inch blade at the ready, so if I do bring a bigger knife, it's in a pouch/pocket of a bag, and not on my belt. Belt-mounted stuff can get in the way when backpacking, portaging, and I did accidentally hook the handle of a knife on a canoe seat once and nearly dumped the canoe right at shore. So, figure out what you think might actually be necessary for your situation, to figure out the blade size/form factor you're trying to fit in, and what you need the knife to do. If you're not batoning wood, you probably don't need a full tang knife, which will save on weight and bulk. Anyway, hope this helps!
@@c.eastonnn I only buy Busse Combat knives. Made in Ohio, lifetime guarantee, and they appreciate in value like gold. Of course, those are "combat knives," not camping knives. As far as camping knives, there are so many good ones. It's hard to beat an Esse, not because it's the best, but because they are easy to field sharpen, and they have a lifetime warranty,and they honor it, as Busse does. Busse Combat Knives has the best customer treatment I've ever experienced.
Great tips! One of my favorites tips is four color mesh bags. I put the breakfast in a Blue, lunch in red, and supper in yellow. Easy to pull out of pack and you can see what’s in there. Good ears!
I do: Purple for food, each bag marked b'fast, lunch, dinner. Orange for clothes. Blue for Tent. Green for cooking. etc. Much easier to toss the orange bags to the tent area and the purple and green to the kitchen area but only unpack the green.
Good call. Organizing food in barrels is tough and everyone hates having to dump out half the barrel to find their stuff. Due to the food storage requirement changes this year, I ended up going the Ursack route with my friends and it was nice when you have your own bag with everything in it, so you never have to look far for your meals and snacks. The colored bag trick will definitely get used by me if we end up using barrels again outside the BWCA, so thanks for that tip!
@@TechnicallyRugged I was able to buy a bunch of these 8-liter bags for cheap. Then I used silicon spray to waterproof the inside and outside of the bag because you cannot trust cheap.
Another great tip is to always wear you PFD fully connected - all professionals should wear them on video that way too :) We've had too many drown because their PFD came off and people don't realize how cold/deep the water is.
I hear ya. I need to fully zip mine more often, but I've also had many low risk scenarios where it's nicer to get the ventilation with the bottom clip only. My rule is that if you're in the canoe, it's always on, and clipped at the very least.
I've been meaning to try Camp Chow!! Saw it at Trail Center on my way back from East Bearskin last year but didn't pick any up. Maybe I'll snag a few this year. Thanks for the recommendation!
I am glad you go to the woods. There is a popular saying on the Appalachian Trail in the east. "hike Your Own Hike" Your tip#1 I really agree strongly with Kevlar canoes. Tip 2 I am an old school grocery store food guy. Your opinion is correct but so is mine. Tip 3 cost/ I still hang packs. Tip 4 I agree wholeheartedly. CCS yes definitely go with portage packs. Tip 5 map and compass and back up, yes, yes, yes. Tip 6 portable chair. Yes Tip 7 inflatable sleeping pads, yes. Tip 8 saw and ax is an optional item for me. Tip 9 tarp yes, I am a CCS 10'x14' guy. Tip 10 check
I'm glad I'm not too far out there with my suggestions! I definitely encourage people to find what works best for them. I've been meaning to buy a larger group tarp which I still don't own (since my friends do) and I'm keeping CCS at the forefront for my search. I'm not ready to buy one yet but I'm sure I will soon. Oh and don't think we don't eat plenty of grocery store food for snacks and breakfasts, it's just nice to have dehydrated dinners that are super quick and easy to make and clean up. I spend most of my time out and about doing fun wilderness things so if I'm not going to spend time filleting and cooking fish, I want to boil some water and chow! Thanks so much for watching and commenting!!
@@hotdraank698 Not a bad idea! I am probably a little more specific about used gear and how abused it may have been in the past (I want it to be reliable) but I will genuinely consider that. I was hoping to buy a used Kevlar canoe from an outfitter this season but all of the ones I've seen were far more well-used than I'd like (patches and all). Maybe over the winter...
Good job. Dehydrated/Freeze-dried are the way to go for most of your wilderness foods. I recommend that groups eat as much fresh food in the first day, as possible. They're just better for you, overall. The blue barrels are not bear-safe. The BearVault and Ursack are both good options.
I've got 2 Ursacks (AllMitey and Major XL) but they're not meant for actually carrying food, and for a group of 4 we'd probably need 5 Major XLs which would get quite expensive, not to mention you then need another $150-250 portage pack to carry them in. I saw Ursack makes a large 30L bag, but we'd still need 2 of those (at $240 each) and a portage pack to put them in. No matter how you break it down, a bunch of BV500s or Ursacks is much more expensive and much less ergonomic than carrying a 60L barrel in a harness. It's a shame that _literally no one_ makes an IGBC-approved 60L barrel.
good advice. also, Don't! bring too much fishing tackle. we stop at a state park in the UP on the way home. you can get a good cheep shower without staying the night.
Hey bud! Hope to see your summer adventure up here soon, how’d it go? My latest trick - leave some cold drinks and a few snacks with a full block or bag of ice in the cooler in the car. Even after 6-9 days they’ll be cold when you get back to your car. And nothing helps when hauling all your crap back than a cold beer...and a cold beer while taking a shower at the outfitter is heaven. Cheers guy!
It was great!! I'll try to get the trips up sooner than last year's :) I love your suggestion. I just might have to try that for my next big trip. Thanks as always Scott!
Well done sir! All great tips for beginners- good reminders for the experienced. One thing we've learned is that we are usually out fishing or exploring or putting the miles behind us during the lunch hour and not willing/able to have a group lunch. We each bring our own 'snacks' and eat when convenient. Patiently waiting for tips 11-20!
Thanks Andrew!! I always do the same thing... I rarely have time or want to dedicate the time to lunch because I'm doing stuff! I practically live on snacks out there, lol. It is just so much more convenient - but we do make our lunches pretty easy with meat/cheese/PB&J/tuna and tortillas, so you could make some lunch in the canoe quickly and easily. Good tip for sure!
A Tarp can keep you warm! Me and my brother fell asleep on the river on a trip. Woke up no paddles getting dark and miles away from a camp site. We were in a big group and only had certain gear on us. The lord blessed us with both our paddles sitting in the weed line not to far from us. We couldn’t make it in the dark on rapids so decided to stop and make do, we had one wet sleeping bag and no food or fire. Best believe we made it work, sleeping bag for mat and tarp to wrap up in. It worked and we caught up to our group the end of the next day because our other brother wouldn’t move with out us! It was a godsend at that point, we were both spent and loosing faith that we would ever catch up to the group. “Gotta have faith” And yes, we messed up bad 🍻
Glad you made it out of that one! I've never paddled at night but I can imagine it getting risky if you've been going all day. Thank goodness your paddles were nearby.
Any suggestions for footwear? Heading there in early august. Usually hike in trail runners, but looks like things can get mucky so was gonna bring one pair for wet stuff. Keens? Thanks for the info!
I would steer you away from sandals, even if enclosed, as they just don't seem to have grippy insoles and if you start getting into mud/muck, you already need to worry about slipping on the outsole. Slipping inside the shoe is not something you want to deal with. Personally I love my NRS Boundary Boots for cold water, but in August you won't need them unless you just don't want to get wet. For wetfooting I use my Astral Mesh trail runners which drain and dry quickly, and have a fantastic grippy outsole. I find them quite comfortable with a good amount of cushion, and the toebox is wider than most so it'll be comfortable if you have wide feet like me. Their customer service is great as well so if you're unsure about sizing, send them an email - they had no problem with me buying two sizes and sending one of them back after figuring out which one fit me best.
@@TechnicallyRugged Thanks for the quick reply! Much appreciated. Oh, do people do trekking poles or are your hands otherwise occupied securing the canoe?
@@chadfavre You definitely won't have hands free for poles while carrying a canoe, but people generally don't use them while portaging. Some folks with bad knees do, but portages are usually short enough that you won't need them. I'd skip them unless you're at risk of repetitive injury or something, in which case you still won't be carrying the canoe since you'd need to be using the poles.
The lightest weight tarps made of DCF are quite spendy but you do save a ton of weight. They aren't the most durable though so they're mostly popular with backpackers who are trying to save as much weight as possible. I'd recommend something made of silnylon or silpoly. You can get something cheaper than my Warbonnet Cloudburst or Thunderfly, but they are great tarps and right around a pound, maybe a shade more, for decent coverage. For a larger group tarp there are lots of options and I'm not sure what the lightest weight would be. I would focus more on durability for that use case because you might be setting it up in an open area where it can get stressed by wind, and you'll want it to hold up under those conditions. Cooke Custom Sewing makes great tarps for a bit of a steep price but they seem well-loved. There are some ideas for you, hopefully I got you pointed in the right direction.
Yes! Those are the NRS Boundary Boot. Not much for overall foot support, so I wouldn't want to walk a long distance on super technical terrain, but for typical 50-200 rod portages, they're fine, and reasonably priced too!
I saw that you were wearing the NRS Boundary Boots in your video. I am going on a trip to the BWCA in July for the first time and am struggling to find a good pair of boots to bring for portaging. I know I want ankle support, but don't know if it is better to get something like the NRS boot or something that can shed water quickly. Any advice?
I will say that the Boundary Boot is not super stiff, so it will only provide mild ankle support. Certainly more than a quick-draining/drying trail runner, which I love (I wear Astral TR1 Mesh shoes for that), but nowhere near a proper boot. That said, most proper boots will not dry remotely quickly. The water won't be cold in July. If you want something that will work for all seasons, the Boundary Boot is awesome, but it will overheat your feet on hot days. I wore them the first week of June in 2021 when we hit record highs, like 94F, and my feet were roasting. I should have switched to my trail runners but didn't. So, for July, I'd probably want a quick drying boot. Astral has their TR1 Merge boots which my buddy had for a season and liked them a lot, but they got stolen at his last rental, sadly. I like Astral because they focus on grip; the outsoles are quite grippy. The prices have gone up quite a bit unfortunately, but they are a good company with good customer support, if that helps.
@@stevensapyak7971 Not necessarily,. Bears are known to get on an island and once there not want to leave. If that's the case then your almost guaranteed a visit by the bear to your site.
Go tips I run a Kevlar fusion Swift Prospector 30lbs and a 65 L black canyon Seal line portage pack never more than 32 lbs for a 5 day trip. I PCT hang my food. Slack line bears don’t stand a chance.
It's not - while the material is fairly thick, you'll want to use a pack liner to keep things dry (inside the main compartment). You can get these at REI for something like 5 bucks.
BUGS: Wear oversized (baggy) white businessman dress shirts (tight weave) with super long sleeves (the cuffs should reach your knuckles)...use athletic wristbands or cut the elastic off running socks to keep the sleeves from collapsing on your arm while doing things...eat dinner early and prepare camp for bed early so all you have to do when you come back from an evening paddle/fish is get in the tent....for the men: have a designated PISS BOTTLE (wide mouth Nalgene) for peeing in the tent at night....for the gals: you know what to do....
those blue barrels ARE NOT even bear resistant . get bear vault or counter assault bear keg , ursack bear bag . In boundary waters finding a single branch to hang bear bags , next to impossible . When I need to , I use two trees with a pulley centered and a second line to hoist food bag . The rest of your tips are good . 20 + years tripping there.
I've begged BearVault to make a large 60L size so I can carry it in a harness. Sticking a bunch of small barrels or Ursacks into a larger pack sounds uncomfortable and it also makes them harder to access. Until then, though, it looks like we'll have to start hanging our barrel :(
I disagree. Bear barrels are great because they are resistant enough to keep bears out of food packs in short intervals like portaging. Bears can rip into food bags at portages super quick. I do hang my blue barrel and find that easier than hanging a pack. Also keeps mice out. Definitely improvement possibility if there are bear proof containers that are as large as these barrels. But as already mentioned, packing a bunch of small bear proof containers is impractical. I’ve always found a place to hang barrels, just have to wander farther from camp sometimes.
A foam sleeping pad is preferable than an inflatable one. A foam pad will float and keep your pack buoyant; it will also never deflate so it will never fail. They are not heavy nor cumbersome to carry. Food barrels however and an extreme pain to carry because they are heavy and have an odd shape to carry while portaging. Best to avoid bears and other creatures being a nuisance is to put your food on a wet proof bag hang your food in some tree away from your camp. Remember to please clean after yourself.
You are right that foam pads can't deflate, but they ARE much larger than an inflatable pad when folded or rolled, if you want a pad thicker than 3/4 of an inch (hardly better than sleeping on the bare ground in terms of comfort and warmth). Also, I think a sleeping pad isn't going to keep a 40-60lb pack buoyant. Use a pack liner to keep stuff from getting wet and it should hold enough air, along with all of the other buoyant stuff in your pack, that the pack itself will float. As for the food bag, finding a GOOD tree to hang it from and going through the process of hanging it is not something most people want to do, so they hang it on a small branch where a bear could easy get to it or break it down. Use a barrel harness like I showed in this video and you'll realize it's not that uncomfortable at all! Keeping a clean camp is always important though regardless of whether you hang your food or not - I definitely agree there.
No camp chair, no axe, mist dehydrated food can be bought at normal stores cheaper (noodles, rice, soup mixes for cooking base, mac and cheese with it's own cheese container like craft ...and so on). No fresh food what so ever, even on short trips...BEARS can smell for MILES. Most meals if planned can be liggt weight and cheep if you do a little cooking research. I use a liq fuel camp stove, and very SMALL fires in the pit. Koolaid type power, mixed with a shoot lor two of 100 proof vodka or good rum....and a nalgene container of the booze can go two weeks or better. Also....everyone carries their own 12oz insulated gas station type cup with a lid. A good water filter too....... hay, lov the video. It helps people. Been going into the B-dub and other remote wilderness canoe areas since 1962. I've guided, and enjoyed turning people onto a true experiance. I'm now 72 and slowing down to only a few trips a year, including winter. Living next to the B-dub wilderness is a rush to say the least. Keep up the your good vids. Peace.
Great suggestions. I’ve been traveling the BWCA since the 70’s. Sold my canoe years ago and now rent Kevlar. Prefer bent paddles. Adopted the camp chair when I hit 40. I’ve gone back to Duluth Pack canvas bags (#4) for durability and functionality in and out of a canoe. Tried many others. Never thought about taking my hunting GPS. Next trip.
Great tips! Our family got back into canoeing in 2019 with all the Pandemic restrictions. We learned all the things you have identified but the hard way lol. I agree with most of the comments here.
1. Agreed - Very seldom do you stop to have lunch every even when you are in one place. If you plan for a full lunch every day you will over pack. Plan for snacks instead.
2. Water filtration system- if you are going with a group of people go with a larger gravity system as it saves time, provides the volume of water you need and takes less time.
3 Dehydrated food- game changer. You need less cooking equipment, it saves preparation time, food doesn't go bad, save a ton of weight.
4. Discuss safety in advance and encourage/empower everyone to speak up if they feel unsafe with decisions taken. Identified one person who is responsible for reminding people to drink water and snack during the trip.
Great post.
All great suggestions!
It seems I eat less every year. We used to cut open our dehydrated meals and combine them to save on volume, which required everyone to eat dinner every night, but since we started bringing the meals in their bags (and finding other things to save volume), everyone including me seems to skip 2 dinners on a 9 day trip. Sometimes you just had too many snacks, or you sat around all day and aren't hungry. This year I'll be leaving a few dinners behind, relying on fish or snacks for dinner whenever I don't want a whole meal.
I love my 10L dromedary and 4L Platypus gravity filter. I don't even see a need for them to offer a 2L kit (which I started with).
Dehydrated food saves so much time... I'm not out there to make exciting food, I'm out there to photograph, fish, and explore. Everyone has different preferences, but if you want to cover a longer distance, cutting food weight makes a lot of sense.
Safety is always important as well, and with last year's high water in the spring, I was explicit with my friend group to speak up if they felt uncomfortable and consider any risky waters as a group before proceeding. Thankfully we didn't have anything too sketchy that first week of June, but there were some pretty quick-moving rapids to cut across, and we did assist in the rescue of a Boy Scout canoe that tipped trying to skirt upstream near rapids that we chose to portage around. There's reason people say "Safety first!".
Thanks for watching Brian!
Surprised you didn't mention best time of year to visit BWCA. The first couple trips my brother and I did in the early 90's - in June \ July - the mosquitoes were horrific. For a native Minnesotan it wasn't surprising but it was a bloodbath. Every trip since we did in mid-September to first week in Oct. It's the perfect time. Yes it can get chilly, but the fall colors and complete lack of bugs is amazing compared to the 4th of July.
That is a pretty obvious omission now that you say it! I always go in June (good fishing, long days) and Sept (low bugs, mild temps, colors), but I know there are merits to the summer months like warmer water for swimming and ripe berries to eat. I love my spring trips for fishing and the long days that make every day feel like two, but I love my fall trips for the low bugs and crisp weather with a more moody atmosphere. I would highly recommend a late August to mid September trip to anyone who wants to experience the BWCA at its best, without excessive bugs or heat - that right there is a comfort tip if I've ever seen one! Thanks for watching and for your comment!!
Oh CRAP!!! I am going to the boundary waters over the Fourth of July for my first time. Hope the mosquitoes are not as bad as you say.
We do have had nuts and have soaked our clothes in permethrin and have permethrin spray for our dogs.
@@cvweekendercvweekender4005 Perhaps we were just unlucky. Lot's of things influence how bad mosquitoes get any given year. Just roll with it. Going to be amazing.
I don’t mind the mosquitoes since early in summer they are slow and easy to kill, but the biting flies are the worst
A pair of binoculars so you can see where campsites and portages are thus saving time! Also for wildlife viewing. Forgot mine on my last trip and i was pretty bummed because it would've been so handy.
My wife and I camp together and have traveled the BWCA for over 40 years, starting with a cheap tent and no pad, moving to a foam pad, then a self inflating pad until we finally moved to luxury, an airbed. We usually base camp so fill the airbed once and we're good. Before you get a barrel and carrier, try to help another camper by carrying their barrel. I won't get one, the do not fit my back. We have tried different tents over the years but a few years ago we splurged on a more expensive one. No more leaks. Grocery stores have lots of dehydrated food options and many are quite cheap. You can get the luxury food when you get home.
Good video. I brought a chair to the BWCA for the first time last year, and it was a life changer. My 44 yo butt just couldn't take the hard ground anymore. One tip on the saw is to make sure you have a dry wood blade. There are blades for dry wood and wet wood. Won't need the wet blade for anything in the BWCA.
Good tips! Especially the chair. Big A is expensive but probably worth it.
Interesting to see the differences in what is needed in different parts of the country. When paddling the Everglades it’s all about water. Every drop is carried in the canoe. So the gear and food goes ultralight to make room for water weight. Good thing is, sleep systems and insulation can be lighter because of warm climate. And we eat fish so that knocks down on food weight a bit. A 1week trip takes 100-120lbs of water. We don’t have to portage it , but we do have to float it and paddle it around.
These are great recommendations! Obviously an experienced woodsman ;)
I used to be a BWCA canoe guide and these tips are great!
Nothing to complain about, all great advice. Only thing i would add as comfort items is an extra pair of dry socks/underwear. And a bug net if you want to stay up and watch the stars
After 60 years of going to Quetico and BWCA that is the best advise ever. I am sorry it took me so long to learn, and I still learned from your video. Thank you. We are leaving Saturday!
I'm so glad you got something from it after going for 60 years!! This was my 5th year, in a row as well, and I hope for decades more.
My tips from experience:
1. Coat your tent and rain fly with silicone waterproofing spray before the trip. It may rain the entire time you are out there. You don't want to get wet.
2. Always bring a full GORETEX rain suit, including a waterproof breathable rain hat. If you get wet all day from never ending rain, you won't be having fun, hiding in the tent. A hoodie blocks your hearing and vision. A rain hat is better.
3. Yes to the camp chair. Never go without one. Even a light weigh beach chair works if you don't have $9,000.00 to by a Helix chair.
4. Use a headlamp instead of a flash light so your hands are free.
5. Yes to the Kevlar canoe.
6. A canoe seat with a back rest. For the same reason you have a camp chair. Never go without one.
7. Moleskin - if you get a blister, or want to prevent one, you'll be every grateful for it.
8. A G-Shock GW-M5610U wrist watch. A durable best value MacGyver watch.
9. Fire steel fire starting kit. Always keep it on you. Never go anywhere without it, just like your knife.
10. Never travel alone or leave the group to go by yourself. Travel in pairs at least.
11. GoPro or equivalent. Record that experience. It will bring back great memories later.
12. Record a daily journal and detail everything. Each day up there is better than any day back home. Later it will bring you joy to remember.
13. Always know where you are on the map and make sure someone else does too. Don't be a single point of failure if you die up there.
14. Leave the brainwashing technology at home and don't use it up there in heaven. No smart phones or stupid iPads.
15. Metamucil. Take a Ziplock bag of it. You may not poop regularly out there, and if you aren't, this will activate it. Works like a blessing. A healthy person should poop at least once a day but I had been out there and hadn't popped for over five days and I was eating regularly. I just didn't have to go. A few large tablespoons of Metamucil spread over my dinner activated my bowels the next morning like clockwork. It was taught to me by an older, wise friend.
16. Leather "fire" gloves - to pull off hot pots and pans and to protect hands during sawing and cutting.
17. Fully decked out First Aid kit.
18. LED Lantern for Table and tent.
19. Gas stove - to quickly heat up water for coffee without having to start a wood camp fire.
20. Large contractor-grade trash bags - used as backpack waterproof covers, trash bags, waterproof other gear inside backpack, and makeshift poncho, or a sail in the canoe. Multiple uses.
Awesome recommendations here! I definitely agree that a head lamp is a MUST - most things you do out there require both hands, so holding a flashlight is just not practical. I also like the moleskin recommendation, though in the past I've used Leukotape which is a soft cloth tape that is SUPER sticky, so it doubles as moleskin for hot spots on your feet, as well as an adhesive in case you need to attach two items together. Works better than duct tape in my experience. Thanks for your wise tips!!
Thanks for all the tips man! Any knife recommendations? I’m just getting into hiking/backpacking/ type stuff so I would like any recommendations I can get, thanks!
@@c.eastonnn A lot of people like Mora knives and they seem to be fairly good blades for the money. The Garberg is a good bushcrafter option with a full tang blade so you can really beat on it, when batoning wood for example, and I like mine though I need to spend some time sharpening it. As for a smaller blade, I don't have any great options. I carry a Victorinox Swiss army knife even though I know the metal isn't the strongest or sharpest, because of all of the tools. I've heard Leathermans have better steel but I just like my Swiss army knives I guess. Figure out if you actually want a big belt knife or if all you need is something smaller that can fit in a pocket/big pocket. I realized on most of my trips I don't always need a ~5-6 inch blade at the ready, so if I do bring a bigger knife, it's in a pouch/pocket of a bag, and not on my belt. Belt-mounted stuff can get in the way when backpacking, portaging, and I did accidentally hook the handle of a knife on a canoe seat once and nearly dumped the canoe right at shore. So, figure out what you think might actually be necessary for your situation, to figure out the blade size/form factor you're trying to fit in, and what you need the knife to do. If you're not batoning wood, you probably don't need a full tang knife, which will save on weight and bulk. Anyway, hope this helps!
@@c.eastonnn I only buy Busse Combat knives. Made in Ohio, lifetime guarantee, and they appreciate in value like gold. Of course, those are "combat knives," not camping knives. As far as camping knives, there are so many good ones. It's hard to beat an Esse, not because it's the best, but because they are easy to field sharpen, and they have a lifetime warranty,and they honor it, as Busse does. Busse Combat Knives has the best customer treatment I've ever experienced.
# 16 A firearm !
Great tips! One of my favorites tips is four color mesh bags. I put the breakfast in a Blue, lunch in red, and supper in yellow. Easy to pull out of pack and you can see what’s in there. Good ears!
I do: Purple for food, each bag marked b'fast, lunch, dinner. Orange for clothes. Blue for Tent. Green for cooking. etc. Much easier to toss the orange bags to the tent area and the purple and green to the kitchen area but only unpack the green.
Good call. Organizing food in barrels is tough and everyone hates having to dump out half the barrel to find their stuff. Due to the food storage requirement changes this year, I ended up going the Ursack route with my friends and it was nice when you have your own bag with everything in it, so you never have to look far for your meals and snacks. The colored bag trick will definitely get used by me if we end up using barrels again outside the BWCA, so thanks for that tip!
@@TechnicallyRugged I was able to buy a bunch of these 8-liter bags for cheap. Then I used silicon spray to waterproof the inside and outside of the bag because you cannot trust cheap.
I never even thought of the chair 🤯 thanks man I’ll make sure to bring one up there this summer
The chair is a must!! You will thank yourself.
You sir know what you're doing!
Another great tip is to always wear you PFD fully connected - all professionals should wear them on video that way too :) We've had too many drown because their PFD came off and people don't realize how cold/deep the water is.
I hear ya. I need to fully zip mine more often, but I've also had many low risk scenarios where it's nicer to get the ventilation with the bottom clip only. My rule is that if you're in the canoe, it's always on, and clipped at the very least.
Great job. Had my first trip last week and used an outfitter. Loved the Kevlar canoe ❤️ also, Minnesota is flippin awesome!
I like idea of buying made in US vs China when I can
Camp Chow from Trail Center on the GFT is awesome freeze-dried food!
I've been meaning to try Camp Chow!! Saw it at Trail Center on my way back from East Bearskin last year but didn't pick any up. Maybe I'll snag a few this year. Thanks for the recommendation!
Good stuff! Thanks!
I am glad you go to the woods. There is a popular saying on the Appalachian Trail in the east. "hike Your Own Hike" Your tip#1 I really agree strongly with Kevlar canoes.
Tip 2 I am an old school grocery store food guy. Your opinion is correct but so is mine. Tip 3 cost/ I still hang packs.
Tip 4 I agree wholeheartedly. CCS yes definitely go with portage packs.
Tip 5 map and compass and back up, yes, yes, yes.
Tip 6 portable chair. Yes
Tip 7 inflatable sleeping pads, yes. Tip 8 saw and ax is an optional item for me. Tip 9 tarp yes, I am a CCS 10'x14' guy.
Tip 10 check
I'm glad I'm not too far out there with my suggestions! I definitely encourage people to find what works best for them. I've been meaning to buy a larger group tarp which I still don't own (since my friends do) and I'm keeping CCS at the forefront for my search. I'm not ready to buy one yet but I'm sure I will soon. Oh and don't think we don't eat plenty of grocery store food for snacks and breakfasts, it's just nice to have dehydrated dinners that are super quick and easy to make and clean up. I spend most of my time out and about doing fun wilderness things so if I'm not going to spend time filleting and cooking fish, I want to boil some water and chow! Thanks so much for watching and commenting!!
@@TechnicallyRugged get one used from Piragus, It will be one or two seasons old.
@@hotdraank698 Not a bad idea! I am probably a little more specific about used gear and how abused it may have been in the past (I want it to be reliable) but I will genuinely consider that. I was hoping to buy a used Kevlar canoe from an outfitter this season but all of the ones I've seen were far more well-used than I'd like (patches and all). Maybe over the winter...
Don't forget your whiskey. I recommend a 45 proof rye.
Good job.
Dehydrated/Freeze-dried are the way to go for most of your wilderness foods. I recommend that groups eat as much fresh food in the first day, as possible. They're just better for you, overall.
The blue barrels are not bear-safe. The BearVault and Ursack are both good options.
I've got 2 Ursacks (AllMitey and Major XL) but they're not meant for actually carrying food, and for a group of 4 we'd probably need 5 Major XLs which would get quite expensive, not to mention you then need another $150-250 portage pack to carry them in. I saw Ursack makes a large 30L bag, but we'd still need 2 of those (at $240 each) and a portage pack to put them in. No matter how you break it down, a bunch of BV500s or Ursacks is much more expensive and much less ergonomic than carrying a 60L barrel in a harness. It's a shame that _literally no one_ makes an IGBC-approved 60L barrel.
good advice. also, Don't! bring too much fishing tackle.
we stop at a state park in the UP on the way home. you can get a good cheep shower without staying the night.
Hey bud! Hope to see your summer adventure up here soon, how’d it go? My latest trick - leave some cold drinks and a few snacks with a full block or bag of ice in the cooler in the car. Even after 6-9 days they’ll be cold when you get back to your car. And nothing helps when hauling all your crap back than a cold beer...and a cold beer while taking a shower at the outfitter is heaven. Cheers guy!
It was great!! I'll try to get the trips up sooner than last year's :) I love your suggestion. I just might have to try that for my next big trip. Thanks as always Scott!
Nice video man! Thanks for sharing
Thank you! You're very welcome :) feel free to share any tips you have!
I always bring a chair when kayak and canoeing!!
Well done sir! All great tips for beginners- good reminders for the experienced. One thing we've learned is that we are usually out fishing or exploring or putting the miles behind us during the lunch hour and not willing/able to have a group lunch. We each bring our own 'snacks' and eat when convenient. Patiently waiting for tips 11-20!
Thanks Andrew!! I always do the same thing... I rarely have time or want to dedicate the time to lunch because I'm doing stuff! I practically live on snacks out there, lol. It is just so much more convenient - but we do make our lunches pretty easy with meat/cheese/PB&J/tuna and tortillas, so you could make some lunch in the canoe quickly and easily. Good tip for sure!
A Tarp can keep you warm!
Me and my brother fell asleep on the river on a trip. Woke up no paddles getting dark and miles away from a camp site. We were in a big group and only had certain gear on us.
The lord blessed us with both our paddles sitting in the weed line not to far from us. We couldn’t make it in the dark on rapids so decided to stop and make do, we had one wet sleeping bag and no food or fire. Best believe we made it work, sleeping bag for mat and tarp to wrap up in. It worked and we caught up to our group the end of the next day because our other brother wouldn’t move with out us!
It was a godsend at that point, we were both spent and loosing faith that we would ever catch up to the group.
“Gotta have faith”
And yes, we messed up bad
🍻
Glad you made it out of that one! I've never paddled at night but I can imagine it getting risky if you've been going all day. Thank goodness your paddles were nearby.
@@TechnicallyRugged haha, yeah me too!
Learned a lot on that trip, camaraderie and trust... and lay off the vodka!
🍻
I think I will get a chair ! Thanks.
Any suggestions for footwear? Heading there in early august. Usually hike in trail runners, but looks like things can get mucky so was gonna bring one pair for wet stuff. Keens? Thanks for the info!
I would steer you away from sandals, even if enclosed, as they just don't seem to have grippy insoles and if you start getting into mud/muck, you already need to worry about slipping on the outsole. Slipping inside the shoe is not something you want to deal with. Personally I love my NRS Boundary Boots for cold water, but in August you won't need them unless you just don't want to get wet. For wetfooting I use my Astral Mesh trail runners which drain and dry quickly, and have a fantastic grippy outsole. I find them quite comfortable with a good amount of cushion, and the toebox is wider than most so it'll be comfortable if you have wide feet like me. Their customer service is great as well so if you're unsure about sizing, send them an email - they had no problem with me buying two sizes and sending one of them back after figuring out which one fit me best.
@@TechnicallyRugged Thanks for the quick reply! Much appreciated. Oh, do people do trekking poles or are your hands otherwise occupied securing the canoe?
@@chadfavre You definitely won't have hands free for poles while carrying a canoe, but people generally don't use them while portaging. Some folks with bad knees do, but portages are usually short enough that you won't need them. I'd skip them unless you're at risk of repetitive injury or something, in which case you still won't be carrying the canoe since you'd need to be using the poles.
Regarding #9. What do you recommended for light weight tarps?
The lightest weight tarps made of DCF are quite spendy but you do save a ton of weight. They aren't the most durable though so they're mostly popular with backpackers who are trying to save as much weight as possible. I'd recommend something made of silnylon or silpoly. You can get something cheaper than my Warbonnet Cloudburst or Thunderfly, but they are great tarps and right around a pound, maybe a shade more, for decent coverage. For a larger group tarp there are lots of options and I'm not sure what the lightest weight would be. I would focus more on durability for that use case because you might be setting it up in an open area where it can get stressed by wind, and you'll want it to hold up under those conditions. Cooke Custom Sewing makes great tarps for a bit of a steep price but they seem well-loved. There are some ideas for you, hopefully I got you pointed in the right direction.
What brand is your footwear you were wearing in the scene where you were putting your chairs together? NRS?
Yes! Those are the NRS Boundary Boot. Not much for overall foot support, so I wouldn't want to walk a long distance on super technical terrain, but for typical 50-200 rod portages, they're fine, and reasonably priced too!
I saw that you were wearing the NRS Boundary Boots in your video. I am going on a trip to the BWCA in July for the first time and am struggling to find a good pair of boots to bring for portaging. I know I want ankle support, but don't know if it is better to get something like the NRS boot or something that can shed water quickly. Any advice?
I will say that the Boundary Boot is not super stiff, so it will only provide mild ankle support. Certainly more than a quick-draining/drying trail runner, which I love (I wear Astral TR1 Mesh shoes for that), but nowhere near a proper boot. That said, most proper boots will not dry remotely quickly.
The water won't be cold in July. If you want something that will work for all seasons, the Boundary Boot is awesome, but it will overheat your feet on hot days. I wore them the first week of June in 2021 when we hit record highs, like 94F, and my feet were roasting. I should have switched to my trail runners but didn't.
So, for July, I'd probably want a quick drying boot. Astral has their TR1 Merge boots which my buddy had for a season and liked them a lot, but they got stolen at his last rental, sadly. I like Astral because they focus on grip; the outsoles are quite grippy. The prices have gone up quite a bit unfortunately, but they are a good company with good customer support, if that helps.
Camp on a very small island ! Makes life easier. I catch my own fish ' for food.And brit few spuds.
What do you like about small islands?
4.16.22. “ Less Bears”🐻™️
@@stevensapyak7971 Not necessarily,. Bears are known to get on an island and once there not want to leave. If that's the case then your almost guaranteed a visit by the bear to your site.
@@TechnicallyRugged On the B.W.C.A. Less chance's of an encounter with a nosy bear ! Or Cat . Or any wild life .
@@NitroBoarder17
I'm talking about a 50 by 12 foot island . Or less . Not worth their time . To much noise in to little of a space.
Go tips I run a Kevlar fusion Swift Prospector 30lbs and a 65 L black canyon Seal line portage pack never more than 32 lbs for a 5 day trip. I PCT hang my food. Slack line bears don’t stand a chance.
Thanks
Is the CCS guide pack waterproof/rain proof?
It's not - while the material is fairly thick, you'll want to use a pack liner to keep things dry (inside the main compartment). You can get these at REI for something like 5 bucks.
BUGS: Wear oversized (baggy) white businessman dress shirts (tight weave) with super long sleeves (the cuffs should reach your knuckles)...use athletic wristbands or cut the elastic off running socks to keep the sleeves from collapsing on your arm while doing things...eat dinner early and prepare camp for bed early so all you have to do when you come back from an evening paddle/fish is get in the tent....for the men: have a designated PISS BOTTLE (wide mouth Nalgene) for peeing in the tent at night....for the gals: you know what to do....
Swim before you get to the take out.😊
#11 - Hire a sherpa.
Gloves for mosquitoes
those blue barrels ARE NOT even bear resistant . get bear vault or counter assault bear keg , ursack bear bag . In boundary waters finding a single branch to hang bear bags , next to impossible . When I need to , I use two trees with a pulley centered and a second line to hoist food bag . The rest of your tips are good . 20 + years tripping there.
I've begged BearVault to make a large 60L size so I can carry it in a harness. Sticking a bunch of small barrels or Ursacks into a larger pack sounds uncomfortable and it also makes them harder to access. Until then, though, it looks like we'll have to start hanging our barrel :(
I disagree. Bear barrels are great because they are resistant enough to keep bears out of food packs in short intervals like portaging. Bears can rip into food bags at portages super quick. I do hang my blue barrel and find that easier than hanging a pack. Also keeps mice out. Definitely improvement possibility if there are bear proof containers that are as large as these barrels. But as already mentioned, packing a bunch of small bear proof containers is impractical. I’ve always found a place to hang barrels, just have to wander farther from camp sometimes.
Anderson Anna Davis Kimberly Perez Elizabeth
A foam sleeping pad is preferable than an inflatable one. A foam pad will float and keep your pack buoyant; it will also never deflate so it will never fail. They are not heavy nor cumbersome to carry. Food barrels however and an extreme pain to carry because they are heavy and have an odd shape to carry while portaging. Best to avoid bears and other creatures being a nuisance is to put your food on a wet proof bag hang your food in some tree away from your camp. Remember to please clean after yourself.
You are right that foam pads can't deflate, but they ARE much larger than an inflatable pad when folded or rolled, if you want a pad thicker than 3/4 of an inch (hardly better than sleeping on the bare ground in terms of comfort and warmth). Also, I think a sleeping pad isn't going to keep a 40-60lb pack buoyant. Use a pack liner to keep stuff from getting wet and it should hold enough air, along with all of the other buoyant stuff in your pack, that the pack itself will float. As for the food bag, finding a GOOD tree to hang it from and going through the process of hanging it is not something most people want to do, so they hang it on a small branch where a bear could easy get to it or break it down. Use a barrel harness like I showed in this video and you'll realize it's not that uncomfortable at all! Keeping a clean camp is always important though regardless of whether you hang your food or not - I definitely agree there.
One cubic foot of foam floats around 50 lbs. it just might
No camp chair, no axe, mist dehydrated food can be bought at normal stores cheaper (noodles, rice, soup mixes for cooking base, mac and cheese with it's own cheese container like craft ...and so on). No fresh food what so ever, even on short trips...BEARS can smell for MILES. Most meals if planned can be liggt weight and cheep if you do a little cooking research. I use a liq fuel camp stove, and very SMALL fires in the pit. Koolaid type power, mixed with a shoot lor two of 100 proof vodka or good rum....and a nalgene container of the booze can go two weeks or better. Also....everyone carries their own 12oz insulated gas station type cup with a lid. A good water filter too....... hay, lov the video. It helps people. Been going into the B-dub and other remote wilderness canoe areas since 1962. I've guided, and enjoyed turning people onto a true experiance. I'm now 72 and slowing down to only a few trips a year, including winter. Living next to the B-dub wilderness is a rush to say the least. Keep up the your good vids. Peace.
Moore Edward Thompson Robert Hernandez David