canoe camping advise

VAspeedgoat

VAspeedgoat

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So I finally bought the second canoe and with my wife now driving a truck too, we are wanting to do a camping trip with our canoes. It was a great idea until the other night when I had the realization that I hadn't thought through the logistics. I am planning on getting each of us a dry bag for some clothes and our backpacking bag and sleeping pad. I also assume we need dry bags for food items and cooking stuff along with a cooler. I was curious what experiences some of you may have doing this. I don't mind learning the hard way but I'd rather not. Thanks in advance.
 
How big is your canoe?

Personally, I put everything in dry bags.

One cooler (Only if necessary) and I keep that to a minimum weight.

Center the weight in the canoe slightly toward the rear.

Dont bring what you dont need. Travel light. Its the whole point in using a canoe.

DONT OVERLOAD IT.
 
Dry bags for clothes and sleep system is a must, but for other things it's not totally necessary. You will see more Duluth Packs in the BWCA than anything else, and they are not waterproof. You can bring more luxuries than backpacking, especially if you won't be making a lot of portages. You won't need a cooler unless you want fresh food and cold drinks. Canoes can transport a lot of weight pretty easily. Don't overthink it. Throw your gear in and have fun!
 
What type of canoe camping are you going to be doing? Launch at a boat access and paddle to your camping spot or are you needing to portage you gear and canoes? I have canoed and camped in the BWCAW quite a few times where some of the longer portages I've been on have been over a mile long, there's no way you're going to carry a cooler. What I always did for 2 people was have one canoe, one pack for equipment (tent, 2-tarps, 1-fry pan, rope and any other essentials), one pack for food (all food we brought in was dehydrated, outside of oil and syrup for pancakes) then one pack for both of our cloths. Usually we can make the portage in one trip, with me taking the food pack and the canoe and my wife taking the equipment pack and cloths bag (one on the front and one on the back).

Edit: NoWiser beat me to it.
 
Logistics definitely depend on what you are doing and the body of water like no wiser and Broth82 said... for instance I have floated the green river in Utah a bunch of times and that is definitely a glamping trip, we bring multiple coolers, the big coleman stoves, tables, chairs, big tents, and we throw all our clothes and gear into rubbermaid cargo boxes. That is a flat river, no rapids and no portages... I have also done trips with rough water and portages where everything is in a dry bag and our food is in yeti hoppers, and we try minimize weight as much as possible.
 
Sorry, should have included those things. We have two canoes, one old coleman 17', and one newer old town 16'9". With kids at 6, 9, and 13 we are not quite up to portage trips but bwca is on my bucket list. For now it will be a length of river with a tuck on each end stopping along the banks on nat forest for camping.

Any recomendations on dry bag size or manufacurer. I found some cheap 60L bags on sportsmans guide but worry about quality.
 
Northwest River Supply will not you down, but like everything you get what you pay for. https://www.nrs.com/
The need for dry bags depends entirely on the kind of water you're paddling and what the consequences are of getting wet and needing dry gear immediately. Most of my "family style" trips, I use dry bags for sleeping bags and clothing and maybe the tent. Other gear goes into grub boxes and coolers. But a wilderness river trip with more whitewater and colder water might require something more formidable.
 
I would only use dry bags for cloths, sleeping bag, and food that can't get wet. I've resorted to thick contractor garbage bags several times. But you can pick up dry bags on the cheap on both amazon and ebay.
 
NoWiser said:
Don't overthink it. Throw your gear in and have fun!
Click to expand...

This is what came to mind when I first read this post. And from the sounds of what you describe as your intended float, i think its the best advice. The more severe the circumstances the better gear you will need. But basic dry bags and rubber totes will get you along ways for the typical family friendly adventure.
 
I've done the boundary waters twice and loved both trips. Go to some of the boundary water outfitters site to get an idea about gear. Also might want to check out or post to the message board at bwca.com
 
I used to canoe/camp & hunt in the Sierras & at some Coastal lakes.
Cabella's dry bags are great.I have one huge pack/bag that holds more than everything & never had a leak or a tear. A small cooler,Coleman or PB stove, tent. Paddled 2 bucks back to my truck in the Sierras.
I might get another Wenona Fisherman.Damn good stable canoe. There are several lakes nearby to fish too.
 
Another thought on drybags. Dry bags are great and necessary gear. I've got drybags full of drybags. But for a lot of family trips, they may be overkill for some of the less-crucial gear. I've got by with contractor-grade garbage bags with a good twist-tie on a lot of canoe trips. Especially if the real risk is just getting splashed a bit, getting rained on, or getting dropped in the water while hauling gear to camp.
 
I've done (and still do) many trips with just contractor bags. That said, the Cabelas Boundary Waters drybags are great.
 
Look up the Ifish forum, in the hunting section find the thread "Montana deer, Missouri river Breaks Mule deer advice" it's on page three. Look for the post from 84Toyota, posted 2_24_18. There is a lot of information on canoe hunting and gear in his posts, even a short video on gear arraignment.
 
A dry bag does wonders but isn't needed. I do a lot of boundary waters canoe area wilderness trips throughout the summer and we typically don't use a large dry bag but do use some small dry bags for certain goods. We also use Duluth Packs, they are wider and are more built for canoeing than any hiking pack. This isn't a must but are nice to have because they distribute their weight better in the canoe itself. We also use like to use a bear barrel pack for our foods but again this is a wilderness trip with many portages. Coolers are not really conducive to this type of wilderness travel but if you are not portaging, then yeah id take a cooler any day. Get a synthetic sleeping bag and not a down. Yes down is better insulation but you do not want it to get wet at all. You can keep it pretty dry in a dry bag but using it near any water and you will notice it picks up some moisture no matter what you do. If you want any more information, feel free to ask me directly. I love back country canoeing and any kind of tips I can give anyone is a thrill for me!
 
Thanks for all the help. I appreciate the idea of don't over think it, but with a forum with this much experience I would feel stupid not to ask. Thanks again.
 
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