Weights and Measures

When planning to go backcountry canoe camping you select each item you are going to bring based on weight and mass. Tossing this, that and the other thing into your backpack can really add up. Not just in how heavy your bag gets, but how much you can fit into your bag. 

I carry a 75 liter pack - that's the space measurement. I could not carry 75 liters of water in that pack, that would be over 150 pounds, phew! Maybe they fill 75 balloons the same sized as ones filled with a liter of water then fill the pack to measure its capacity. LOL

Loaded and ready to go...

When I first started planning to camp two years ago I was keen and weighed each item I was putting into my pack. This post is a great opportunity for me to update that list as I've certainly altered what goes into my bag.

See here for a description of all the items I carry in my bag.

Every little thing weighs something! (16 grams)

Here goes (all items with an asterisk * vary in weight from trip to trip) sorted from the lightest item to the heaviest:

Item	Weight (grams)
Bear bell	35
Shiny mattress liner	38
Emergency blanket	47
Lighter, firestarter	70
Camp soap	75
Mosquito coils	86
Deck of cards	97
Blue foam kneeling pad	98
Notebook and pen	104
Salt and pepper mill	107
Backpack protective cover	113
Large carabineer	113
Map, clear bag for map	114
Shower	122
Extra filter in plastic bottle	132
Pocketknife	154
Dry bag 10L	155
Bug hat, bug shirt, bag	170
Headlamp, flashlight/lamp	173
Bug spray	190
Stove diffuser with fabric oven	194
Small camera with case	194
Kettle	201
Extra water bag for lake water	203
Dry bag 20L	214
Travel mug with lid	251
Personal towels (1 large, 1 small)	262
Pillow	279
Dish towels, sponge	300
Toilet paper and wipes, mini shovel	380
Platypus water filtration system	405
Bag liner (cold weather only)	443
Toiletries	500
Extra tarp	544
Stove with fuel, lighter, windbreak (empty gas bottle)	591
Sleeping bag	736
Chair	881
Pot set with dish, cozies, lid, handle, measuring cups, utensils, holding case (minus big pot)	1,362
Hammock, fly, snakeskins, hanging straps	1,388
Clothes(varies by days - estimated for 7 days)*	1,565
2 Nalgene bottles filled with water	2,424
Air mattress (in bag)	2,500
Backpack	5,700
Food bag with food (varies by days - estimated for 7 days)*	7,000
TOTAL WEIGHT IN GRAMS	30,710

The total weight of the above list is: 30.710 kg which is equal to 67 pounds and 11 ounces. I have estimated this load based on a trip of 7 days, so that would be the heaviest I would carry. Also because some of my load is food, as the trip progresses, my load lightens by a kilogram a day. 

My new Cabela table is not in that list. I would not be able to fit it in my backpack, and it's too heavy to bring on a long trip. I might not bring my air mattress on a warm weather trip, it's pretty heavy as well.

I have to give a lot of credit to my backpack, it's pretty amazing at distributing the weight and making this load comfortable to carry. I even took it on a 12-km hike to carry my water, lunch and snacks, as I don't like a fanny-pack style waistband cutting into me while hiking. There's a hip band that swivels, I can hike up the backpack higher and my hips take the weight for a change. There's a moveable chest strap holding the shoulder harness tighter in the front, I will put my hands on that to help carry the load also for a break. And I couldn't do any of this carrying without my trusty walking poles!

When I get home from my camping trips, my final carry is three flights of stairs up to my apartment. That's the only time I wish I had an elevator. 

Check, check, check....

Enjoying yourself out in the backcountry happens when you're prepared. You're prepared if you've planned well. And planning requires a checklist.

There are multiple places online where you can download someone's version of their checklist of what they need when they go backcountry canoe camping. It's a good place to start, then you improve it by adding your own gear that you bring and feel is essential to a good trip experience.

Did I forget anything?

I recommend printing out your own checklist and using it when packing. Get a pen and cross those items off the list. Or you might forget something essential. It happens.

Here's a list of each individual item that I usually carry:

• sleeping bag
• pillow
• clothes
• toiletries
• air mattress
• stove
• fuel bottle
• camping oven (really just a special pot cozy cover)
• heat diffuser (for evening out the heat from the stove flame)
• pots, frypan, lid, handle, pot cozies
• my own dishes (plate, mug, knife, fork, spoon)
• 2 one-litre Nalgene bottles
• silicone measuring cup (to add water to dehydrated foods)
• cooking utensils
• kettle
• scrubber/sponge
• dishtowels
• camp soap
• multi-tool (pocket knife)
• water filtration system
• large water bag (to take water from the lake)
• spare filter for water filtration system
• pocket shower
• mosquito coils
• Hennesy Hammock
• extra tarp
• chair
• kneeling pad (I mostly use it as a table surface on the ground)
• bug hat and bug shirt
• gloves
• bug spray and sunscreen
• camera
• notebook and pen
• map
• clear map bag
• sunglasses
• reading glasses (2 pairs)
• toilet paper
• biodegradeable baby wipes
• small shovel (in case there's no thunderbox)
• headlamp
• mini tent lamp/flashlight
• bear bell
• rainjacket
• personal towel (1 small, 1 large)
• dried food bag with food

Here are some of the things that LT carries besides the same personal items that we both need:

• saw
• extra tarp
• compass
• map
• map bag with clear side
• waist bag
• bug shelter
• bug shelter tarp
• extra tent pegs
• sink
• special cord with pulley to hang food away from the bears
• extra paddle
• Thermocell with canisters and inserts

All packed up

Trip log - Cedar Lake to Mink Lake: June 11 to 14, 2016 - Day 4

Tuesday - Laurel Lake back to Brent access point

It was another peaceful night although it got very, very cold. It probably dropped to 5 or less. I have a mini thermometer and by the time I got up around 7:30, it was reading 7 with full sun on the site. Brrr. I hadn't been cold in my hammock on any night but that was dependent on being in my sleeping bag and liner properly and being on top of my mattress (any wandering limbs would immediately know they were off the mattress). LT was also cozy in his hammock. He had a new air mattress he picked up on Friday from MEC.

This morning's most rousing bird was a woodpecker that I swear was on the same tree my hammock was hung on. He didn't hang around long, just enough to wake us both up.

View from inside my hammock

Fake sleeping for the photo op

Cozy feet

Something both of our campsites on this trip had in common was a latrine that was up a very steep hill. I had to use trekking poles to get to the thunderbox on both sites.

It's up there

Here are some pictures of the bug shelter set-up: 

I used my table as my chair for this trip

LT took my chair for a test drive

The bug shelter screen doesn't impede our view

Breakfast today was dehydrated eggs with red peppers, onions, and dried canned ham. And bacon. I added a mozarella cheese string to mine.

We didn't rush today to pack up. We didn't have too far to go. It would be a leisurely paddle and only a single, flat portage.

The last we see of Laurel Lake

Going from Aura Lee into Little Cedar Lake

Back into Cedar Lake

On our last bit of Little Cedar, we were weaving through some small islands when we surprised what I think was a wolf on one island. I didn't see his head, but I saw from the neck down and at first thought it was a fox, but it was the wrong colour and it didn't have a fluffy fox tail. He was a brindle colour, grey and dark brown. The wrong colour for a coyote as well. We quietly spun the canoe around for a better look, but he'd disappeared along the side of the island. We then heard him splash loudly into the lake as he jumped in trying to get away from us.

Our same lunch spot from Saturday but much nicer weather

What a view down Cedar Lake!

I have never seen this lake so calm

Our car, one other car and the ranger's truck

It took about 4 hours to get home, including the requisite stop for poutine in Deep River. We compared bug bites and LT definitely won for both quantity and size. I would prefer to lose this contest anyways. 

      Day 1                                      Day 2                                  Day 3  

Trip log - Cedar Lake to Mink Lake: June 11 to 14, 2016 - Day 3

Monday - a rest day

Last night was very quiet and calm, peaceful and almost silent. However the birds started up very, very early. A crow decided to zig-zag through the woods behind us and caw very loudly for a while. 

We had been able to set up the hammocks first try yesterday. 

My hammock, I could see the trees when lying in it

LT's hammock - he's still sleeping

The very necessary bug shelter

Once LT got up and fetched the food bags for me (sometimes I'm too short, also, I avoided being involved in the hang on this site, so I didn't even know where it was) we had breakfast. Today it was blueberry pancakes with bacon. I have a tube from Nalgene that I put the butter in and the first job of the morning, after making tea, is to soften the butter enough to get it out of the tube. 

My mouth waters just looking at this deliciousness!

The following are some shots of the lake from our campsite:

Nice shoreline

Today's schedule? Nada. We decided to paddle over to the island to check out the site in case we might use it in the future. Here are the island pictures:

Bathroom with a view

 

It's a nice site, lots of room to put tents, not as much for hammocks. The trees were mostly hanging off the top of the cliff into the water. A bit dicey in the dark getting in and out of the hammock tied on those trees.

We paddled back to our site and I had a nap. After that I started on dinner. We had lasagna with savoury biscuits. 

Dessert was a new recipe, Banana Cream Puffs. It was made with rehydrated bananas, banana pudding and dried angel food cake, YUM!

Tonight bedtime was 10 p.m.

Moon picture taken from inside my hammock

             Day 1                           Day 2                    Day 4

Trip log - Cedar Lake to Mink Lake: June 11 to 14, 2016 - Day 2

Sunday - Little Cauchon Lake to Laurel Lake

It had been a very blustery night. The winds sounded so strong, I was worried that we'd get blown away overnight. I didn't sleep very well with the noise waking me up every half an hour or so.

It wasn't raining, but the wind was still blowing....in our faces. It would be a tough slog to pack up and head into it to get to Mink Lake today. We've been on Mink Lake before and with the wind coming in this direction, it would be blowing directly down that lake too. 

We were staying put for the moment anyways. It didn't look like a good idea to venture out on the water.

Breakfast was made, fresh eggs with bacon and hash browns. I also made our lunch for the day in the thermoses, a new menu item. Tortilla soup with dehydrated chicken in it. 

Not a lot of flat spaces here

Not too wavy, but pretty windy still

Something pretty on the site

Shortly after 2 p.m. we made a decision. We would not press forward to Mink Lake, we would turn back and head to Laurel Lake, find a spot there, and just sit pretty for a couple of days. We did not have reservations on that lake, we were scheduled for Mink Lake for tonight and Little Cauchon again for tomorrow night. We had not encountered a single canoeist on this trip so far and tonight was Sunday. We would not be putting any other canoeists off their reserved lakes, no one else seems to be crazy enough to travel into the park when the bugs are so bad. 

Once the decision was made, we tore down and packed our gear and headed out on the lake to take advantage of the breeze that would push us down the lake. We were on the water around 3. It took very little time to be portaging back into Laurel Lake.

Coming up to the bridge

Close-up of the bridge

Loon picture

Getting ready for the short up and over portage

We checked out the first campsite, it was high up, facing the portage we were coming out of. There didn't seem to be much space and the access to it was poor. Next. At least this was a small enough lake that if we got out and inspected each spot, not happy with the last one, we could double back and go to the best spot.

We checked out the second campsite. It didn't have enough room, we could tell from the shoreline.

We checked out the third campsite. We landed and walked around it. It was nice enough, but we couldn't figure out where to place the bug shelter. The bug shelter is essential to travel in June, but it presents its own problems. We can't place it too close to the firepit if we're having a fire, it needs a relatively flat spot as we're cooking on stoves inside the shelter and we spend most of our time there when not sleeping, and we need two good trees to support it (no poles with this baby).

Next. We checked out the fourth campsite and decided to take it. There is also an island campsite, but with our experience of the wind from the previous night and possibly extending into tonight, we chose to stay out of the direct line of it. We'd covered about 6.5 km today. 

Our day's route from Little Cauchon to Laurel (source: Jeff's Maps)

Tonight we'd be having the steak dinner cooked on the fire. Once the bug shelter and hammocks were set up it would be time to get the fire going. Having a fire is a lot more work. 

The fire pit

LT built a fire after sourcing some wood in the nearby forest. Once the logs had burnt down into coals, he put on the steak and and potatoes both wrapped in foil. We were so hungry, I forgot to take a picture. Considering I had dropped my steak on the last trip, my main concern was to hold onto this one and devour it as quickly as possible. It was even more delicious than the steaks he'd made in May. Last time he let the butcher season the steaks and he'd been a bit heavy-handed. 

However, I do have pictures of the birthday cake I baked on the stove. It was a tad burnt on the bottom, but I heaped on chocolate icing I had whipped up at home to distract from the burnt part.

I'm not sure what he wished for....

Tonight was looking much better than last night. I was eager to climb into my hammock, but we didn't check in until 11 p.m. 

      Day 1                                      Day 3                                  Day 4