An Abrupt Break

Many adventurers note the abrupt break between the craziness of preparation and the moment the trip begins. On my larger trips after I finish packing everything, I experience a great relief. Everything is finished, and I just need to get to the starting point. Aldo Leopold writes in A Sand County Almanac that “recreation is valuable in proportion to the intensity of its experiences, and to the degree to which it differs from and contrasts with workaday life.” The contrast between planning and packing for a five-month expedition or even a weeklong trip and attempting that trip is great. So great that believing the two are somehow related becomes difficult. Once on the expedition, it’s hard to believe that the planning even happened.

Cleansing Rituals

Religious cleansing rituals emphasize breaking for our past and leaving it behind. I recently took a class with adventurer John Turk. He demonstrated some of the rituals he learned from a Koryak shaman, and that he wrote about in The Raven’s Gift: A Scientist, a Shaman, and Their Remarkable Journey Through the Siberian Wilderness. John started the class by cutting of lock of everyone’s hair and burning it. Then we burnt sage and sweet grass. The ritual, a smudging ceremony, assumes that sage cleanses the bad energy, and sweet grass brings in new positive energy. The cutting and burning of hair removed the stories that we tell about ourselves. In my case, the burning of my hair took away the stories I tell myself and others, that I’m a paddler, photographer and writer. After the ceremony, we moved on to the main part of the class with a clean slate and open to whatever came our way.

Ceremonies

We celebrate important changes in life with rite of passage ceremonies. In my life, I’ve attended several transitional ceremonies as I moved from one point of my life to another. My first big ceremony was my high school graduation ceremony and then my college graduation. During both, I stood in front of my peers and family and accepted a handshake that congratulated my past achievements and kicked me into the next stage of my life. Lots of little ceremonies occur in our lives. We mark birthdays, the New Year, initiations, like confirmations or a bar mitzvahs, marriages, retirements and deaths with a ceremony that acknowledges a distinct change in someone’s life.

Bringing It Together

So, why not bring it all together at the start of a trip? If contrast between an expedition or trip and workaday life creates value in the trip, and the contrast couldn’t be greater between tripping and planning, and because trips are an important feature of our life – a vacation that we look forward to all year – then we should celebrate with a rite of passage. The trip was planned for and paid for; we should congratulate ourselves for pulling it off, but understand that we are just beginning a new adventure. The lines drawn on maps and the checklists full of gear and food, now become the paths we travel and the load on our backs. We’re moving into a new point of our life. As we go forward, leaving the old stories behinds allows us to live in the present and experience the trip fully. It breaks with our workaday past. By celebrating with a cleaning ritual that helps us understand we’re leaving the past behind, cleansing ourselves and allowing the positive in, then we approach the trip with a clean slate. I know that starting with a clean slate is exactly how I want to start a trip, because then only what I do minute to minute on the trip matters. If a short ritual helps my mind achieve that state, it’s a worthwhile ceremony.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Adding Ritual to Paddling Trips

A couple of examples:

Ryan Jordan writes on his blog about Wilderness Simplicity, Flexibility, and Power:

I love Brent Simmon’s recent post about flexibility and power in the context of iOS Apps, and especially, his brilliant observation that

…flexibility is just a tool to use exceedingly sparingly, only when it substantially increases power.

There’s a lot of meat in this statement, with direct relevance to trekking, and trekking gear.

Now, it depends on how one might define power. Traditional definitions might equate power to speed, or distance. A more thoughtful person might consider that efficiency reflects power while on an expedition.

I’d propose that these superficial manifestations of power be completely discarded in lieu of discovering what emotional and mental power is all about, which is simplicity, and the freedom from having to fiddle, choose, and think about stuff that isn’t really that important.

Justine Lichter writes about simplicity on AtlasOmega:

The ultralight or lightweight movement is all about simplicity. Simplicity comes in three main ways: 1) minimizing what you are carrying to only what you really need, 2) having the gear you need be functional and generally without a lot of bells and whistles, so that it is lighter in weight, and 3) carrying less lets you move faster, farther, and more comfortably therefore possibly allowing you to enjoy your wilderness experience even more.

In Nessmuking: A Return to Simple in 2004 before I started my first website, I wrote:

Simplicity dictates only taking what is needed and nothing more … Remember, simplicity starts with simplicity, but sometimes simplicity isn’t simple at all.

In an anonymous letter to the director of Aspen Achievement Academy:

… who am I in all this mess? The wilderness does not answer this question for us; the wilderness reflects silently, simple back to us our own truth, and suddenly, almost as if by process of elimination, we find our lives different suddenly one small taste of the truth about ourselves sours anything less.

Douglas Durham writes in The Original Ultralight Hikers: Seeking Wilderness Simplicity from Modern Day Nomads:

By reducing one’s possessions and comforts — leaving home and going into homelessness — one begins the process of observing the mind responding to external situations and wishing that things were other than they are. Thus if one is wet, one may wish to be dry. In their case they simply accept being wet. By setting out on such a journey with so little, either one learns to control the mental responses or one returns to home.

Harry Drabik, another Minnesotan living on the northshore, wrote in Spirit of Canoe Camping:

This book holds most of what I know of wilderness canoeing. The secret is simplicity, and simplicity is the joy.

The Wilderness Program at Earlham includes Simplicity as one of its wilderness program core principles:

Simplicity and simple living is comprised of two parts: inward simplicity and outward simplicity. The two are, of course, connected. Inward simplicity can be defined by the priorities and goals that you have in your life and how you make decisions about them. Outward simplicity is how you manifest those priorities and goals to the world. This course is all about simple living — both inwardly and outwardly. You will carry everything you need on your back or in your canoe. You will eat simply but heartily. You will have a minimum of possessions and “modern” distractions. This outward simplicity, we hope, will encourage inward simplicity — allowing you to reflect on what is truly important to you and how you want to go about “walking joyfully on this earth” as George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends” once famously said.

On course, you can practice outward simplicity by minimizing your reliance on “extraneous” things such as watches, fancy gear and gizmos, and expensive possessions. You can also practice inward simplicity by narrowing your focus and attention to the things that are most important and of value to you. Learn how to perform the perfect “J-Stroke” or for baking bread. Slow down. Take your time. Make sure that whatever you do, you do it well (what we call in “good style”). Practicing these skills of simplicity can help you re-calibrate what you spend your time on and what is most important to you.

In my lightweight paddling philosophy, I make this observation:

Simplicity is easy to build upon, and complexity is harder to manage. When things are simple, they stay out-of-the-way and using them allows you to concentrate on your journey instead of the piece of gear. Complexity requires a higher level of concentration that subtracts attention from the journey. A more rewarding journey comes from keeping things simple. Gear should only do what it needs to do and nothing more; skills make up for everything it lacks.

When looking at these example — a few among endless more — it seems to me that when we talk about simplicity in the wilderness, we approach it from two directions:

1. Our gear choices by taking less, using lighter gear and reducing the gear’s reach to its primary function.
2. Simplicity allows us to connect to something greater such as joy, the journey, what’s truly important and mindfulness.

The two directions seem somewhat unrelated, but I don’t think they are. When Aldo Leopold argued that outdoor recreation is valuable directly proportional to the experience’s intensity and “to the degree to which it differs from and contrasts with workaday life” he gave us an initial argument that leads us to the crossroads tying these two directions together. (See Experiential Values in Lightweight Canoe and Kayak Travel) Because we reduce what we carry, we experience the wilderness more directly, which increases the intensity. Because a wilderness trip reduces daily life’s complexity to a routine with limited choices — less if we carry less — we experience simplicity, which breaks from our “workaday” life and focuses us on the wilderness experience, which further increases the intensity. Because we have less gear to fulfill our desires, we can begin to accept the wilderness on its own terms, which both increases the intensity and breaks us from “workaday” life.

If we accept this argument, it seems to me that the power in simplicity is directly proportional to how directly it allows us to experience the wilderness. It’s a deep subject that I don’t have all the answers for, but I’m glad that lots of people try to understand.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Simplicity in Wilderness Travel

Image from the National Maritime Museum, Reproduction ID: G4267, Maker: Captain Edward Augustus Inglefield, Date: 1854

In A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold argues cultural values make and feed a healthy culture. For outdoor sports, he outlines three types of experiential values that provide nutrition to the sporting culture. These values apply to the modern lightweight movement as well as they do to the hook-and-bullet sports he writes about. Awareness and practice of these values enhances our experiences while traveling light.

The three cultural values that Leopold defines are:

• Experiences that remind of us of our distinctive origins and evolution. He calls this “split-rail” values presumably after split-rail fences that personify the American pioneer homestead and the frontier spirit.
• Experiences that remind us of our dependency on the soil-plant-animal-human food chain — a human-earth dependency.
• Experiences that show ethical restraint in the form of “sportsmanship.” Defined as the deliberate choice and use of skills over gear.

Leopold eloquently illustrates his points through examples applicable to the hook-and-bullet crowd. Perhaps the easiest way to describe his points in a wilderness travel context is through a campfire. Building a campfire provides a link to our “split-rail” origins by connecting us to all the pioneers who sat around a fire, to those who used it to heat their cabins, tepees, yurts and other homes before the modern convenience of furnaces. It also connects us to other wilderness travelers who went before us and sat around a campfire. The act of talking around a fire connects us to the storytelling traditions of the past. The warmth derived from the campfire shows us how we are dependent upon the earth for heat — in our modern houses, the propane truck removes us from the connection — because the warmth is derived from the burning of wood we gathered from the forest. His third value comes from our choice of fire starter. The choice of a match over a lighter, a flint and steel over a match, or a bow-drill over flint and steel helps us experience sportsmanship over the convenience of tools — even if we enjoy a fire lit by lighter the same as that lit by bow-drill.

The modern lightweight movement reflects Leopold’s “split-rail” value by connecting us directly to Leopold’s view of the American pioneer. He writes the “split-rail” value derives from two pioneer ideas: the “go-light” idea and the “one-bullet-one-buck” idea. He writes that these came about of necessity, because the pioneer lacked transportation and wealth. The American culture made a virtue of that necessity. That virtue later became sportsmanship reflecting the American traditions of self-reliance, hardihood and woodcraft. The basic tenets of the lightweight philosophy include all three traditions.

Among many other “split-rail” values that we can connect with include the histories of canoeing and kayaking. Luckily, in the U.S. and Canada, the governments preserved large patches of the traditional canoe country as wilderness or parks. By venturing into these areas with a canoe — a uniquely North American tool — we experience what native American cultures and fur traders felt while paddling. Generally, there was little personal gear to leave room for cargo on these trips — the Voyagers slept on the ground under their canoes. They traveled light. For kayaking, by learning about the traditional skin-on-frame designs of the arctic we can understand how our sport connects to that history. There’s deeper value in paddling a plastic tub on a river when you know the history that brought you that tub.

By choosing to travel lightly, we bring less gear with us and depend more on skills, which brings us closer to the earth. Leopold argued that outdoor recreation is valuable directly proportional to the experience’s intensity, and “to the degree to which it differs from and contrasts with workaday life.” By traveling light, we leave behind the modern conveniences, like the propane truck in the campfire illustration, and replace those conveniences with our self-reliance, hardihood and woodcraft. We build stronger connections between the earth when fewer conveniences separate us from it. By becoming closer to the earth, we intensify our understanding of our earth dependency. For example, by using a tarp instead of a tent, we spend more time analyzing the ground and woods to find a place to pitch our tarp. This makes us realize — even if just subconsciously — that a good-nights-rest depends on the earth and our interpretation of it. Modern life is full of gadgets and gear. By leaving it home in favor of minimal, lightweight gear, we automatically build-in a contrast between the woods and our homes. This in turn helps us experience the human-earth dependency.

To practice sportsmanship, we make artificial restraints or choices in the weight and types of gear we bring into the woods. If we select gear that enhances our skills instead of gear that functions as substitutes for our skills, we practice our sport in a more sporting fashion. For example, using a map and compass instead of a GPS unit, enhances our navigation skills, because we can practice finding ranges, fixes and locating our position in relation to the shoreline. With a GPS, we don’t need to practice those skills, because a GPS shows us exactly where we are. When using a GPS our journey becomes less sporting.

When traveling light, we benefit by connecting to our “go-light” past; by living our earth dependency more deeply because fewer conveniences separate us from it; and by practicing sportsmanship when selecting tools that enhance our skills instead of substitute for them. These experiences will feed our lightweight paddling culture and help the sport grow as a result.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Experiential Values in Lightweight Canoe and Kayak Travel

The temptation is to buy this or that bit of indispensable camp kit has been too strong and we have gone to the blessed woods handicapped with a load fit for a pack mule. That is not how to do it. -Nessmuk

The more you know, the less you carry. -Mors Kochanski

Go light; the lighter the better, so that you have the simplest material for health, comfort and enjoyment. – Nessmuk

I viewed Nessmuking as a living philosophy open to new ideas, and I wrote this viewpoint into the philosophy under the skill “Flexibility of Thought.” Since then, I’ve changed my ideas based on new experiences from tripping, lessons learned while guiding, new instruction and ideas learned from others. Based on the new ideas, I’ve decided that my lightweight paddling philosophy needed an update. This update concentrates less on trying to convince you to travel light and more upon the reasons I travel this way and the philosophy’s tenets. I’ve kept this as generic as possible, so it applies to backpacking as easily as it does to paddling.

Why Lightweight Canoe and Kayak Travel

These are the reasons for traveling lightweight that are most compelling for me.

• For comfort, health and enjoyment: Nessmuk wrote that “we have gone to the blessed woods, handicapped with a load fit for a pack-mule.” He suggested that we travel with only enough for “comfort, health and enjoyment” because it would increase enjoyment of the wilderness.
• More agile: A lightly loaded canoe or kayak feels more responsive and agile when on the water. It’s easier to pull ashore, transport across portages, control in waves, wind and surf. It’s more efficient, which can mean the boat is faster or that it requires less work to paddle the same distance.
• Less stress: Less weight means less stress on your body. Bringing less gear, means less stress on the mind when organizing, setting up camp and packing everything away; there’s less to remember.
• Simplicity: Simplicity is easy to build upon, and complexity is harder to manage. When things are simple, they stay out-of-the-way and using them allows you to concentrate on your journey instead of the piece of gear. Complexity requires a higher level of concentration that subtracts attention from the journey. A more rewarding journey comes from keeping things simple. Gear should only do what it needs to do and nothing more; skills make up for everything it lacks. Further reading: The Laws of Simplicity.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. – Leonardo da Vinci

• Flexibility: Less and lighter gear won’t necessarily provide flexibility.  My argument is skills trumps gear, and those refined skills offer more flexibility. For example, if you’re trained to launch and land through surf, you can break camp on wavy days. Or if you know multiple tarp set-ups, you can create a shelter to give you the most comfort for the weather and place.
• Connection: Traveling light connects us to the pioneers who traveled in a “go-light” fashion out of necessity. It connects us to fur traders and the original native travels who also went lightly.
• Human-Earth Dependency: We depend on this earth for survival, and by traveling light with less, we have less modern conveniences to serve to separate us from experiencing that dependency directly.
• Sportsmanship: Utilizing skills over gadgets is more sporting. And choosing gear that enhances our skills instead of replacing them makes our journey more sporting.

Lightweight Tenets

I divide my lightweight paddling philosophy into a triangle with each corner representing an equally important aspect. The aspects are skills, fitness and connection. Each of these aspect breakdown into further points.

Skills

This is a skill based philosophy and to show that, the skill section breaks down into two types: general skills and mental skills. Both are equally important.

• Shelter Construction: The ability to build a protective shelter out of the materials on hand. Sometimes, this is a bushcraft skill, but, during other times, its knowing where, why and how to erect your shelter system.
• Fire Starting in All Conditions: In Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival, Mors Kochanski writes, “When all else fails, fire is the simplest means of providing comfort and warmth against cold and wet in the Northern Forests.” Paddlers almost always face the risk of immersion in cold water.
• Map Reading & Navigation: Knowing how to located yourself on a map and plot your destination.
• Wilderness First Aid: When you’re away from the hospital system, you need the skills to handle medical issues.
• Safe Terrain Negotiation: Having the knowledge and skills to safely travel across the terrain you expect to encounter. For example, if you’re paddling a whitewater river, you need to know the skill required to get down the stream. Those skills are different from someone paddling in canoe country with flat water and portages.
• Food, Water, Living: Knowing how to live in the wilderness, prepare or gather food (if needed) and have the skills to set-up a comfortable camp.
• Crafts: The skill of creation, repair and modification of gear to your needs.

Mental Skills

• Risk Management and Assessment: Some risk is desired and facing that risk is rewarding. This is the skill to assess those risks accurately and manage them to a level that avoids accidents
• Mental Fortitude (Self-trust, self-belief, self-will, self-motivation, manage anxiety, manage emotions): Develop the mental prowess to succeed under stress. Further reading: Nine Mental Skills of Successful Athletes.
• Flexibility of Thought: Keeping the mind open for new directions, solutions and ideas.
• Critical Thinking: Examine, evaluate and conclude.
• Trip Planning: Being able to plan a trip within a selected group’s skill level that provides the desired rewards.

Fitness

• Fitness: Maintain a level of fitness that allows the accomplishment of goals without injury. Increase the fitness level when required by trip planning.
• Training: Learn proper paddling and traveling skills into muscle memory. Use the training to learn skills that help minimize injury. Learn safe, effective and efficient ways to move your boat.
• Practice: Make the skills permanent and instant through continued practice.

Connection

• Meaningful: Learn what is meaningful to you during your travels and focus on those points to increase your enjoyment.
• Wilderness: Experience the wilderness, its natural rhythms, what it means to travel through it and create a bond with the areas that you visit.

People protect what they love. -Jacques Yves Cousteau

• People: Build deep connections through shared experiences either while on a journey or with those that experienced something similar. Share experiences with others to enrich everyone’s lives.
• Yourself: Connect with yourself and experience what you’re capable of.

I’m open to ideas. Did I miss anything that you believe is important? Would you do anything differently? Why do you travel light?

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Lightweight Paddling Philosophy

Resistance Explained

The force behind this secret is called resistance. As a canoe or kayak moves through the water, the water opposes the craft’s movement. And this opposition is represented as resistance, which breaks down into two types: frictional and residual. Frictional resistance is the energy lost due to friction between a layer of water that attaches to the hull and the layer of water that the hull passes through. Residual resistance is made up of all other resistances and these include pressure drag, eddy-making drag, and wave-making drag. The main force of residual resistance is wave-making drag. When moving through water, the kayak or canoe creates waves and the energy used in making these waves is a loss in energy used to propel the craft and a gain in resistance.

Boat designers are concerned with resistance because they can use it as a tool to create a more efficient boat. In larger ship designs this could equal a huge amount of savings in fuel expended and thus result in a lower cost of operating the boat, but even in small craft like kayaks and canoes, resistance plays an important role. Less resistance means less work for the paddler to go the same distance or the same speed. Even small decreases in resistance equate large gains in efficiency. For example, a 2% gain in efficiency at 4 knots means that the paddler will gain two minutes on an hour. (Winters, John, The Shape of the Canoe, Second Edition, page 66) Over an eight-hour day, the paddler with the more efficient boat will arrive at camp 16 minutes before his friend who paddles a 2% less efficient boat. Over 10 days, the more efficient paddler will have gained 160 extra minutes for the same amount of work and energy expended. If this paddler stays on the water the full eight hours, then over the 10 days, she will have paddled approximately an additional 12 miles during the same time. It’s not hard to imagine, as will be shown, a 4% or even 8% gain in efficiency, which would result in 24 or 48 miles, respectively.

Measuring Resistance

For canoes and kayaks, John Winter’s KAPER drag prediction program has become the main way to measure resistance, and Sea Kayaker Magazine has adopted it as one of the results used for performance prediction. If numbers that are more accurate are needed a tank test can be preformed, but this is impractical and expensive for most paddlers. Michlet, another drag prediction program, is also available and it uses the whole hull shape to predict drag and may be slightly more accurate than other methods, but for comparison purposes, using only one of these methods will be accurate as long as it is consistent internally. Here, the original KAPER as integrated into Delftship Professional (Opens in New Window) is used. It is important to remember that moving water interacting with wind and waves and current is an environment that can be hard to predict, and because of that, the formulas in these cited programs should not be considered absolute, but they are the best we have.

Extra Pounds Equal Extra Work

Sea Kayaker Magazine states that the average kayaker can maintain three pounds of drag over a long period of time, and this seems to be slightly conservative, so for this test four knots of speed was selected as a speed to predict resistance. This speed was selected because for most kayaks at most weights, three pounds of resistance occurs near four knots. For these results, three kayaks were selected: the Siskiwit Bay, Intrepidation, and Igdlorssuit. These three boats represent kayaks ranging from 16.5 to 18 feet, and also represent a broad spectrum of kayak types, from a modern touring kayak, to a coastal playboat and finally a traditional Greenland boat, respectively. Even though these boats represent a wide range of crafts, they all could be used as touring kayaks, and an increase in efficiency would result in major gains in speed and or distance over a typical day spent touring. Almost any canoe or kayak and speed could be used and the results would be similar. As is shown in the following chart, Displacement vs. Resistance, resistance at four knots is plotted against displacement. Resistance was calculated using KAPER at every 25 pounds of displacement from 150 pounds to 350 pounds.

As the chart clearly shows, resistance increases as more weight is added to the kayak. When the three boats are averaged and the resistance increase between each 25-pound step is averaged it is shown that for each 25 pounds extra carried in the kayak, resistance increases 4.56%, or .0114% per ounce. The reverse of which is that if you carry 25 pounds less, a paddler will gain at four knots over four minutes on an hour or she’ll arrive at camp about a half an hour earlier traveling the same distance over an eight hour day. (It should be noted that the increase in resistance is greater at the ends of this displacement range than it is in the middle. The following chart, Average Increase in Resistance as Displacement Increases Per 25 Pounds, shows the percent increase at each 25-pound step.) So, what is happening? Adding weight to a boat increases the wetted surface, and for the most part, it is this extra wetted surface, which increases frictional resistance, that is causing the extra drag.

Real Life Examples

As the first chart dramatically shows, gaining efficiency is as easy as losing weight. Losing 25 pounds is much easier than it sounds, but it does require some slight change in the gear carried. For this example, the paddler is paddling a 45 pound boat, carrying 35 pounds of camping gear (average for traditional camping methods), with rescue gear, vest, and paddles, he weight 205 pounds. He is also carrying ten days of food at two pounds a day or 20 pounds in food. So, his weight is 305 pounds. On the chart above, he is generating about 3.56 pounds of resistance at this weight. Now, if he were only to drop his camping gear weight to that equal with this list, he would drop 21 pounds out of his kayak and he would be generating around 3.45 pounds of drag. This simple change in camping technique gains the paddler about a 4.4% increase in efficiency. That’s 24 extra miles paddled in ten days paddling the same eight hours a day. On a 360-mile trip, that finishes the trip almost a day earlier than planned.

Taking the example further, the paddler could lose five pounds by buying two carbon fiber paddles, build or buy a kayak that is lighter at 38 pounds (Lightweight Cedar Strip Building) he could adopt Ultralight camping methods and drop his camping gear to eight pounds. This would lose him 39 pounds and gain 7.11% in efficiency, and it’s not hard to imagine that the paddler, himself could lose 20 pounds, use infused carbon fiber to drop the weight of his kayak to 30 pounds (many Kevlar solo canoes weigh this now,) go radical with his camping gear to a five pound level, and drop 70 pounds of weight. In this final example, the paddler gains an increase of 12.7%. This would allow the paddler to finish the above trip two days quicker, which would allow him to drop two days of food for four pounds and would thus increase the efficiency to 13.6%. Over one day, going the same mileage as before, by losing this weight, the kayaker using the same energy will arrive at camp 1 hour and 40 minutes earlier. That’s a lot of extra camp time for exploring, taking pictures, relaxing, etc…

The above efficiency gains, shown in increased miles, decreased paddling time, etc… can be mixed up any way a paddler chooses. For example, if the paddler gains four minutes a mile, that’s 24 minutes to play in waves, fish, relax under the sun, explore, do anything imaginable and still arrive at camp without any extra work other than that expended during the chosen activity. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Of course, saying that in all sea conditions, with all boats, and all circumstances, these gains will be realized would be over simplification of the issue.

Other Advantages

In addition to the advantages mentioned above, an increase of efficiency results in several other advantages. Some of which include: having a more nimble kayak or canoe which accelerates faster, is easier to turn and move quickly in dangerous situations, and it could be argued that because the paddler is able to cover more ground quicker, she’ll be exposed to dangers for a shorter duration of time and thus will be safer. Also, lighter weights equal easier carries on and off the beach and easier portages.

The Trade-offs

There are some trade-offs and the main one is that more skills are required to use lighter weight gear, but these skills are basic and should be mastered by all outdoor travelers anyway. Also, in some situations, there may be an advantage to carrying extra weight, like when extra stability is needed. Like in storm ravaged seas. This can be addressed on the water by filling extra water containers to increase stability. This solution allows the paddler to take advantage of the gain in efficiency in the normal conditions that occur most of the time, and still be able to gain the extra stability when needed.

Also remember: In order to maximize the advantages of efficiency gains, it’s important to paddle a canoe or kayak properly sized and designed for you and your gear and the conditions you expect to be traveling in, respectively.

Anecdotes Against

There are some anecdotes that can be made where the advantages gained by decreasing weight in your load would seem to be overcome by disadvantages of doing so. For example, in this outragous and often cited example, if a 125 pound person is paddling a kayak designed 300 pounds, some added weight may help the person keep the kayak tracking better, add extra stability, and that in and of itself may get the kayaker to camp sooner. But just because one can come up with anecdotal imaginings where extra weight may be helpful, it doesn’t discount the facts stated in this article. It’s like saying that because one smoker lived to be 100, that smoking isn’t a health problem.

Tracking and Less Weight

Most paddlers switching from traditional camping methods to lightweight methods usually save around 25 pound, which in the boats listed above changes the waterline by about 5/16″ of an inch. One could imagine that this decrease in waterline in the extreme examples (i.e. 70 pounds of dropped weight) above may decrease tracking enough to reduce the benefits of efficiency gains somewhat. This may be the case (As far as this author knows, no study exists for this), but it is doubtful that they would reduce them significantly particularly in the real life weight reductions that occur when switching from traditional equipment to light-weight equipment.

The Momentum Argument

I understand the momentum argument, but there’s a point at which the momentum that carries speed between paddle strokes and the increased resistance meet. At this point, the increase in weight drowns out the gain from more momentum. Based on rough preliminary calculations for a lean and efficient paddler with no extra fat, the dead weight (including boat, gear, paddles, etc.) should weigh around 20% of the person’s body weight–anything more just slows the paddler down.

Advantages, Advantages, Advantages

Given the study, it is clear that a reduction in weight carried while paddling results in positive results. With the shown on average 4.56% gains in efficiency per dropped 25 pounds or .0114% per ounce, it’s clear that traveling lighter not only has advantages off the water when the gear is on your back, but also on the water when the gear is stowed in the boat. And that’s the secret. Now get out and paddle. Give it a try to see what you think.

Additional Resources

• Effects of Weight in Rowing

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: The Lightweight Secret

SealLine Boundary 35 Day Pack

Why the 35 Day Challenge? Simple. The 35 Day Challenge is engineered to challenge your perceptions as what is possible when traveling by canoe. A small waterproof pack, like the Sealline 35 Day Pack can be used to carry everything you need for a backcountry trip. And you’ll still be comfortable while doing it. The pure pleasure of reaching the other side of the portage without having to go back for a second trip and not feeling strained under a pack and canoe is more than worth giving it a try.

Rules

• Must have a shelter, and sleep system.
• Must have a cook system and water purifying system.
• Must have clothing to cover temperatures from 32°F to 80°F. Must handle conditions from sun to rain, sleet, hail, and snow.
• Must have a compass.
• Must have 5 days and 4 nights of food. A menu is a must.
• Must have a bear proof food storage system.
• Must fit into a Sealline Boundary 35 Day pack.

You can assume the following: Your canoe is stocked with a seat pad, two 30 foot painters, two paddles (one bent, one straight), and a life vest.

Sample List

Bell Magic solo canoe on Brule Lake in the BWCA.

The following list is the gear that I used on an overnight trip on the Vern River Route in the Boundary Waters. I had planned on a two night trip, but decided to cut out early the second day. There was enough room in the pack for three more days of meals, but not much else. I also carried a tripod inside the 35HD pack which isn’t included in the gear list below. My camera was carried separately in a Sealline 10HD. I carried a Nikon D70 and two lenses plus a couple of filters, memory cards, and an extra battery. When doing portages, I strapped both spare paddles into the canoe, threw the pack on my back, hoisted the 32 pound Bell Magic on my shoulders, and carried the 10HD in my hand. This made for fast single carry portages, which was a real plus while bush whacking and on the 240 rod portage.

Integral Design 8x10 tarp set-up to provide a basic shelter.

This list itself is slightly heavy. There are several places where I could improve it, and these include a reduction in weight in clothing by probably a pound by upgrading to newer and lighter and warmer items. The shelter and bag system could also probably be reduced in weight. By switching to a lighter new and hightech tarp bivy sack system I could shave a pound off, and another half pound could come off of the bag. I went a little heavy in the kitchen also on this trip, because I didn’t feel like using a pop can stove. All in all, I could probably easily drop 3 to 4 pounds out of my pack, and if I was really trying, I could drop it down to 8.5 to 9 pounds before consumables.

A few other items of interest are my canoe and paddles. I use a ZRE Lightweight Carbon Bent Shaft which comes in a 8.5 ounces, a wood paddle which is 1.5 pounds, my Bell Magic outfitted with the seatcover, painters and bungies is 32 pounds, and my lifevest is a Stohlquist Brik, which doesn’t weigh very much at all.

All in all, this is a pretty plush and all around kit for early spring and late fall travel. In the above picture, you can see everything that I carried, except the camera and 10HD bag it was carried in. The picture below is a tarp set-up that I’ve been using lately. It’s easy to set-up, weather proof, and only requires 4 stakes.

Clothing Worn

Marmot Dri-Clime Windshirt - 11 oz
Sierra Designs Ultra Pants – 11 oz
Terramar Body Sensor Tee - 5 oz
Thorlo Light Hikers – 3 oz
Steger Mocs 24.60 - 1 lb 9 oz
Tingley Rubber Overboots - 1 lb 8 oz
Outdoor Research 20th Anv Sun Ball Cap – 1 oz
Subtotal: 5 lb 1 oz

Other Items Worn / Carried

Brunton 7 – 1 oz
McKenzie Map - 2 oz
Whistle - 0.30oz
Subtotal: 4 oz

Other Clothing

Lifa Polypro Long bottoms - 5 oz
Marmot Dri-Clime Longsleave Zip Neck - 9 oz
TNF Fleece Vest - 10 oz
Swix Fleece Ski Hat - 1 oz
Fleece Campsocks - 3 oz
Black Thin Gloves - 2 oz
Marmot Precip Jacket - 12 oz
Marmot Precip Pant - 7 oz
Subtotal: 2 lb 10 oz

Sleep System

Tyvek House Wrap – One Person – 6 oz
Integral Designs SilTarp (8×10) - 1 lb 0 oz
GoLite Y – Stake 6 – 3 oz
Kelty Triptease Cord 25 - 1 oz
Mountian Smith Wisp - 1 lb 5 oz
Thermarest Prolite 3 – Short - 13 oz
Subtotal: 3 lb 12 oz

Packing

Sealline Boundary Day 35 HD - 2 lb 1 oz
Granite Gear Compression Sack - 5 oz
Granite Gear Air Bag #4 2 - 1 oz
Subtotal: 2 lb 7 oz

Cooking and Water

Platypus Water Bottle – 1L - 1 oz
Nalgene – 1 Quart - 6 oz
Outdoor Research Water Bottle Parka – 5 oz
MiniWorks w/tubes, sack, cleaning pad – 1 lb 2 oz
Markill Hot Shot – 8 oz
Snow Peak Giga Power 110g fuel canister (empty) – 4 oz
MSR Titanium Spoon – 1 oz
Snow Peak – 16 oz pot with lid – 5 oz
Bear Bag Rope – 50′ plus ‘biner – 5 oz
Syderco Folder – 2 oz
Small Bic Ligher – 1 oz
Subtotal: 3 lb 6 oz

Other Essentials

Moleskine, G2, replacement ink – 2 oz
Paperback Book – 6 oz
First Aide Kit – Bryan Style – 9 oz
Assorted Toiletries, DermaGel, Tooth, Dr. B, Floss – 6 oz
TP – 4 oz
Princeton Tec Aurora – 1 oz
Subtotal: 1 lb 13 oz

Consumables

1 lb 8 oz (0.68 kg) / day ( * – from Menu ) 2.5 – 3 lb 12 oz
Quart – 2 lb 0 oz
Snow Peak Giga Power, 110g – 4 oz
Subtotal: 6 lb 0 oz

Summary

5 lb 5 oz (2.40 kg) 84.60 (1) Total Weight Worn or Carried
13 lb 15 oz (6.33 kg) 223.35 (2) Total Base Pack Weight
6 lb 0 oz (2.72 kg) 96.03 (3) Total Weight of Consumables
19 lb 15 oz (9.05 kg) 319.37 (4) Total Initial Pack Weight (2) + (3)
25 lb 4 oz (11.45 kg) 403.97 (5) Full Skin Out Weight (1) + (2) + (3)

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: 35 Day Challenge

This article will set out to put you on the right path to losing extra-unneeded weight. First, I’ll define a few terms in the lightweight paddling movement, and then I’ll layout a system you can use to realistically evaluate your current gear and then reduce the weight of your gear quickly. Here and there, I’ll throw in some humor and antidotes from my conversion from heavy weight backpacker to lightweight paddler.

Lightweight Terms

If you’ve walked into any outdoor equipment retailer lately, you’ve probably noticed the terms light, lightweight, Ultralight written on everything from pots and pans, plastic kayaks and canoes, sleeping pads, to packs. It seems like everything is now lightweight.

But wait. If everything is lightweight, then one just needs to replace old gear with something labeled lightweight. Well, we’re not as stupid as the marketing geniuses believe. Lately, the outdoor industry has embraced one aspect of the lightweight movement and that is the term “light.”

So, let’s define a few terms that appear in the lightweight movement, so we can understand the difference between the marketing hype and the movement. The terms are: Traditional, Lightweight, Ultralight, and Superultralight. I’ll also define a few terms that are useful when talking about gear lists, because that’s where we’re heading next.

Lightweight Movement

A ground level movement of wilderness travel trying to reduce the weight of the equipment the practitioners carry for any number of reasons, including but not limited to the following reasons: Easier on your body, go faster, go further easier, environmental responsibility, develops important wilderness skills, simplifies your life by requiring less equipment, good for cottage industry, good for bringing your other heavy hobbies with you.

Traditional

Traditional refers to traditional backpacking or paddling equipment that without food or water will result in a pack weight when hung on a scale of around 30 to 40 pounds.

Lightweight

Lightweight refers to using traditional equipment that is lighter to arrive at pack weights without food or water that range from 15 to 25 pounds.

Ultralight

Ultralight refers to using lightweight gear and techniques to utilize that gear to fullest to arrive at pack weights without food and water that are equal to or less than 12 pounds. There is a little play around this weight, but over 15 pounds certainly moves you to Lightweight and out of Ultralight.

Superultralight

Superultralight is the cutting edge of the lightweight movement. It refers to using techniques and gear to have a pack weight of five pounds or under without food or water.

Total Weight Worn or Carried

A measure of the clothing that you are wearing and items that you are carrying that are not in your pack. For example, the watch on your wrist and the shorts on your legs or the boots on your feet.

Base Pack Weight

The weight of everything in your pack and of the pack itself without food or water. Base Pack Weight is used to determine what category of weight you fall into: Traditional, Lightweight, Ultralight, or Superultralight.

Weight of Consumables

This is the weight of items that will be consumed during the trip, such as daily water carried, a measure of food in pounds per day, and the fuel for a stove.

Initial Pack Weight

The weight of your pack at the start of a trip including the consumables.

Full Skin Out Weight

The initial pack weight plus the weight of Total Weight Worn or Carried

Paddling Gear Weight

The total weight of your canoe or kayak, paddles, paddling specific rescue gear, pfd, and anything that is attached to your watercraft.

Sample Lightweight Gear List

A sample lightweight gear list can be found in the 35Day Challenge.

Reducing Weight – A System

Now that we’ve gotten through the tough stuff – the definitions – let’s talk about the fun stuff – the gear. That’s right; we get to be gearheads for a while. First let’s break down a gear list into several sections. We do this for two reasons: 1. To make a gear list more readable and more usable for our purposes, and 2. To redefine some Traditional wilderness travel concepts. We must redefine these Traditional concepts to be able to move into the territory of Ultralight.

We’re going to breakdown the lists into the following sections: Clothing Worn, Items Carried, Other Clothing, Sleep System, Packing Gear, Cooking System, Other Essentials, and Consumables. As far as the concepts, let’s talk a little about systems. Systems are a combination of skills and equipment that we’re going to use to help us reduce weight by combining the functionality of several pieces of gear and a few skills to arrive at a more functional piece of gear.

The systems breakdown into Clothing System, Sleep System, Packing System, and Cooking System. In addition, you could add a First Aid System.

Another way to think about systems is that instead of buying an individual piece of gear, like a sleeping bag, think about buy a full set of items that compliment the rest of your gear. So, in the sleeping bag example, you also need to consider the type of shelter, sleeping pad, warm clothing, in addition to the conditions you’ll be traveling in, and in addition to just the sleeping bag that you want.

Here’s a little bit about the different systems.

Clothing System

A clothing system is a pretty easy concept for most people who have been exposed to the layering technique that is preached consistently in the outdoor education community. This layering technique tells us to use multiple layers of clothing starting with a base layer that wicks moisture from the body and transfers that moisture to an insulation layer, which in turn passes the moisture to a waterproof but breathable outer layer. By removing and adding layers of clothing, we can adjust the amount of clothing we need to stay warm and avoid overheating in a variety of weather conditions.

For our purposes, we need to understand that you want the smallest number of clothing items you can carry and because of that, the items that you carry must be extremely versatile. For example, instead of carrying a windbreaker and rain jacket, use the rain jacket as a windbreaker. Or use the windbreaker as insulation. In addition, parts of your insulation in your clothing system may be used in your sleep system. It’s important to think in terms of a whole system when selecting gear.

Sleep System

A sleep system includes everything needed to comfortably sleep in the outdoors in the conditions that you’re going to be in. Most often, this system will include a sleeping bag, a shelter, something to insulate you from the ground. Sometimes it may include clothing from your clothing system as extra insulation that you pack as extra protection. It may contain a bivy, a hammock, and many other items that when combined together arrive at the lightest possible kit to satisfy the users needs.

Packing System

Packing systems are going to differ between watercraft. In a canoe, most often some sort of backpack or portage pack will be required to carry the other bags that gear is pack into. In a kayak, often all that is needed is some sort of stuff sack – waterproof or not – to keep your gear from moving around inside the hull. The packing system is also going to include the small bags that you use to organize your gear.

Cooking System

A cooking system includes all the items that you will require to cook and purify water. Many lightweight proponents will use pop can stoves and alcohol, because it is one of the lighter weight stove alternatives. Often a pot cozy is included in the system. A pot cozy is something that you wrap around your pan and it helps reduce fuel usage, which in turn lightens your load over the long run.

A Way to Light Weight Travel

So, now that we know about lightweight systems, it’s time to realistically look at your gear list and start downsizing. The best way to do this is build a spreadsheet that can track your gear and its weight.

To build your gear list, use Excel or if you don’t want to spend the money download the equally great, Open Office. In the spread sheet, list the above systems and start entering the gear you currently have and what it weighs.

As you are doing this, see if you can reduce any weight by removing items from your packing list that are redundant between multiple systems. For example, if you bring a down coat and a 20 F bag, you should be able to drop down to a 30 to 40 degree F bag and use the down coat as extra insulation. This will save you a pound or more.

Once you eliminate redundant gear, start to evaluate the gear you usually bring for items that you usually don’t use. If you don’t use it, don’t carry it. There are some exceptions for the usual safety gear, like paddle floats, sat phone, first aid kits, but even those should be evaluated for redundancy.

When you’re satisfied that you have reduced the weight of your gear by eliminating redundant items and dropping out items you don’t use. It’s time to go shopping. Really start to look at the items you carry, compare them to other people’s lists, and go shopping online to try and find items that weigh less than what you’re carrying. List these items, weights, and cost in a new column corresponding to your current equipment.

The key is to slowly replace items that are heavy with items that are light. Try to make your first replacements the ones that offer the biggest weight savings. Usually, these will occur in the big three: packs, tents, sleeping bags. These three items usually weigh the most and if you are coming from a Traditional system, switching to lightweight gear can often save around seven to ten pounds right at the start.

Then work toward reducing the weight in your pack with the smaller items. Often too many cloths are brought because items aren’t versatile enough. So, make sure that new clothing items are lighter and more versatile, so that you can eliminate any extra items that you have to carry.

This simple spreadsheet system is key if you seriously want to lessen the weight in your pack or carried in your hatches.

Lightweight Mind

After you start to look at your gear as systems instead of individual items and once you evaluate your gear list, you’ll have taken the first step to traveling lighter. After your first trip with new lightweight gear, you may find that you want to make your loads even lighter. I know I did.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Getting Light Weight

Risk Assessment and Stress Management: Often misunderstood, explained too complicatedly, and ignored by many paddlers, here is the basis of safe wilderness travel.

Shelter Construction: If you can make a shelter, you can survive in any weather.

Fire Starting in All Conditions: A warm fire can save the day and make you a happy camper.

First Aid: Sure you know how to treat a small cut, but what would you do if your friend broke a leg 100 miles from nowhere. Learn it here.

Self Trust, Self Belief and Self Will: Learn how to count on yourself in the wilds, how to rebound from set backs, and will yourself through the most stressful situations.

Critical Thinking and Flexibility of Thought: Often adventures get locked into one mode of thought and that leads to danger. Learn how to avoid this pitfall of the mind.

Safe Terrain Negotiation: Every type of terrain requires different types of skills. This set of articles teaches everything from navigating in the fog to running white water.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Future Nessmuking Articles

Bryan Hansel relaxes on Lake Alice in the BWCA

Every philosophy, even those grounded in skills, like Nessmuking, must evaluate the gear that they utilize. Even Nessmuk produced a core list, evaluated gear, and added up the weights. For most philosophies, this is where you are left. As stated before the Nessmuking philosophy doesn’t start and end with the discussing of the merits of this and that gear, but as with every pursuit that requires equipment, the right gear can make wilderness travel easier. The following gear list has been tried and tested using the lightweight Nessmuking philosophy on over 1200 miles of paddling and hiking trips in a multitude of locations, including the Black Hills, the Smoky Mountains, and the Boundary Waters. Each item of gear has been reduced to its minimum for a reasonable level of comfort before the gear level becomes roughing it. There are lighter weight kits out there, but they should be reserved strictly to those who have a perfect mastery of the core skills of wilderness travel and survival as outlined in Nessmuking. So, let’s delve into the list of all lists.

Tally Ho

This gear list is split into seven sections: Cook System, Packing System, Sleep System, Shelter, Clothing System, Others, and Luxuries. Each section will discuss the merits of choosing the outlined system. In some cases, when there is a disadvantage in using the outlined gear, it will be stated. Remember, all this gear has been used successfully in a multitude of conditions, including snow, rain, cold, and heat. If you have ever been on an expedition with me, you know next time to plan your trip before or after mine, because I attracted the worst conditions.

The Breakfast Club – A Cooking System

The most basic of cooking systems would be not to have a cooking system. One can plan an entire trip with food that you don’t have to cook, but on most trips, a hot meal at the start or end of the day can restart your engine. Also, in conditions that could produce hypothermia the skill of starting a fire and the ability to warm up liquid is important in helping to treat a person either suffering or on the verge of suffering from hypothermia. This cooking system also includes a way to treat water other than by boiling it.

To these ends, this cooking system is based around an alcohol-burning stove. This particular stove is simple to build from two soda cans, inexpensive, and functions well. It will boil a quart of water depending on the conditions in around 6 or 7 minutes on one ounce of fuel. The windscreen is also the pot supporter. A quart is generally all the water needed for a meal for two, and if you need to boil more you can always start a small cooking fire.
The pot and lid combo is one part of a Titanium Snowpeak set. This is one of the lightest most durable pot sets available. The second pot can be added for less than 4 ounces more. The Ti Spoon is light and easy to eat off of.
The windscreen rolls up and fits inside the pot set, which also holds the stove, and lighter. All of this can be stored inside the Pot Cozy, which was built out of an old Thermarest Link Rest to fit the pot perfectly. This cozy protects the pan from the inevitable jarring that result from storing packs in the bottom of a canoe. It also is an important part of the cooking system. Using one and a half ounces of fuel to cook a meal allows you to boil one quart of water then place the pot with water inside the cozy. This will keep the meal cooking or the water hot while you continue to heat half a quart of water in another pan over the remaining fuel for use in a hot drink. The water in the second pan won’t boil, but it will be warm enough for a good cup of hot cocoa.

A controversial choice for water treatment for lightweight travelers is the Miox Water Purifier by MSR. It operates by using salt-water and electrical current to produce a mixed oxidant, which is what many municipal water treatment plants produce. This mixed oxidant is poured into the water to be treated and 20 minutes later, you have water ready to drink. It does take four hours to destroy crypto, but a good system is all you need to make this work. Fill two quarts per person before you go to bed and by morning, you will have two quarts ready to drink. Drink one in the morning and fill up again. Drink the second quart from the night before by lunch, and then the quart you filled in the morning will be ready to drink. Fill up by noon, etc… This may not seem like the simplest choice, but it weighs only 4 ounces and when combined with a Pristine or Aqua-Mira backup you have an 8 ounces water purification system that is easy to use and dependable.
Platy water bottles are the lightest most durable containers out there. The new ergonomical shape fits perfectly into your hand and is easy to drink out of.

The only disadvantage of this system is the requirement of the use of batteries, and the Red Bull Can Power Stove doesn’t have an adjustable flame. If you are a gourmet cook, then you may want to consider a canister stove and pay a slight penalty in weight. If cooking for four or more people, a canister stove is the lightest option. White gas stoves are best when cooking for groups of 6 or more – pack two stoves, so everyone’s meals can be cooked at once. It may not be light, but you will save yourself some hassle.

• COOKING SYSTEM Weight (oz.)
• Pot support/windscreen 1
• Snowpeak 1 quart pot/lid 5.7
• Red Bull Can Power Stove 0.6
• Ti Spoon 0.7
• Pot Cozy 2.7
• 16 oz fuel bottle 0.9
• MSR Miox 4
• 8 matches 0.1
• Bic Lighter 0.8
• Pristine Two-Part Backup 3
• Towel (1/2) 1.4
• Food Stuff Sacks 0.6
• 2 Platys 1 liter 2
• Total 23.5

A Little Canvas, A Brass Tack, and Some Leather

There are lighter packs available, but a canvas and leather Duluth Pack reeks with tradition and fits perfectly into the bottom of a canoe. The Northwoods style with a custom waist belt is large enough for all the gear on this list and 15 to 20 days of food. The custom waist belt replaces the tumpline, a strap that rides slightly above your forehead to take weight off of your back. Some canoeists still swear by the tumpline by claiming that a properly carried pack will ride without pain, but a waist belt takes less skill, and carries a load as comfortably as a tumpline.
The trick to loading a Duluth pack is building a frame into it by rolling your semi-inflated Thermarest or sleeping pad and inserting it into the pack. Then load all your gear into the pack inside the sleeping pad. The sleeping pad becomes the frame of the pack and also extra protection for your gear against the loading and unloading of the pack for portages.
A custom made Northwoods pack built with Sil Nylon and padded straps would make an excellent pack for someone with the ambition and knowledge to sew one, and it would be much lighter than the three pound canvas and leather pack.

Although the Northwoods pack is about the best pack for canoe trips, it does suffer from not being waterproof, which on a canoe trip is important. The best way to waterproof this pack is to line the pack with a contractor’s trash bag. After the pack is loaded twist the top five or six times, double the twisted section over and secure it with an extra large rubber band. Some canoeists avoid all this waterproofing by leaving the canvas packs in the past; they use Seal Line waterproof Boundary Packs. These packs carry less comfortably than the Northwoods pack, and are not as durable.

This Bed Is Too Soft, and This Bed Is Just Right

The Mountain Smith Wisp sleeping bag is rated for 35-degree temperatures, but when used in combination with a fleece worn to bed, it is fine for temperatures down to around 25 degrees. This sleeping bag packs small and doesn’t take up much room in the pack. Using a bag that packs this small in combination with a fleece, that you would bring along anyway, or a Marmot DriClime Windshirt when the temperature drops, leaves extra room for more food. This extra room allows for longer trips into the wilderness without having to bring a second pack.
For a sleeping pad that complements the Wisp, choose the Thermarest Ultra Light or the new Prolite 3 model. These pads are comfortable and when partially inflated they make a great frame for the pack. As you can see with this system, parts from different categories work together in providing comfort without sacrificing light weights.

• SLEEP SYSTEM Weight (oz.)
• Thermarest Prolite 3 Short 13
• Mountain Smith Wisp 21
• Stuff Sack .9
• Total 34.9

I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff and Your Tarp Is Made of Brick

There is nothing revolutionary about using a tarp as a shelter. In fact, many Boy Scouts are sent out into the woods every year with nothing more and told to survive for the night. When used properly the Integral Designs 8 x 10 SilTarp is one the most weatherproof and strong shelters out there. A simple rectangular tarp can be configured in countless ways to become a shelter. I prefer to set it up in three different ways depending on the expected weather. If it is warm and humid set it up as a lean-to with the front and two sides open. This is airy and protects against the surprise rain. If the weather is incremental run a line down the center of the tarp and secure it to two paddles; one at each end, stake out the four corners. Then using two guy lines anchored to the center of each side of the tarp pull the sides out for extra headroom. I sleep wall to wall in this configuration. The third way to set up the tarp is when the weather is looking terrible. Paddles are too long for this one, so you have to find one stick about 3 feet tall. Stake out three corners of the tarp, and then force the center of the tarp up using the 3-foot stick. This will make the tarp look like a tepee. Take a paddle and use it to lift an opening in the front of the tarp along the ridgeline. Then stake out the last corner and use a guy line running from the paddle to the ground. This final configuration provides a storm proof shelter with a single door.
A Neatsheet rounds out the package by serving duty as a ground cloth. This sheet works great as a picnic blanket for lunch also.
If you expect mosquitoes and black flies, make sure that you bring some type of bug netting to protect you during the night from countless bites.

• SHELTER SYSTEM Weight (oz.)
• Integral Design SilTarp 8×10 15.9
• Stuff sack 0.4
• Stakes (6) 3.7
• Extra Guy Line 1
• Neatsheet 9.9
• Total 30.9

There, Doctor, a Little Gauze, Please

The other items that you shouldn’t be without during a trip are DermaGel Hand Sanitizer, a flashlight, a knife, a med kit, and a compass. Of these additional items, the DermaGel Hand Sanitizer is probably the most important in helping to prevent illness. Most stomach illnesses in the wilderness result from fecal contamination of food. This results from the lack of sanitizing hand after going to the bathroom. Use the DermaGel after every bathroom trip and before cooking or eating. Make sure that if anyone else is doing the cooking, they all use the sanitizer. A second use of the DermaGel is as an emergency fire starter. It burns great.
A simple compass is the best. The Brunton 3DLU Nexus Expedition Compass is a classic. It has all the important USGS scales on it, and it has a declination scale. If you are expecting difficult map reading take the Brunton Eclipse Compass, which is by far one of the finest compasses on the market.
To round out the easy extras, the Princeton Tec Aurora Headlight is bright, gets long battery life, and is light. A Spyderco Knife is light, and stays sharp on an expedition. An inch and a half to two inches is the perfect blade size.
One of the hardest choices for a trip is what to bring in a first aid kit. There are many off the shelf options available, but I find them often over stocked. If you have proper first aide training, you will be able to get by with less, as long as you are willing to sacrifice clothing as necessary for bandages.

• OTHER
• TP 3.8
• DermaGel Sanitizer 2.6
• Compass 0.9
• Toothbrush 0.6
• Toothpaste 0.9
• Dr. Bronner’s 1.7
• Glide Floss 0.4
• Stuff Sack 0.8
• Sewing Kit 0.6
• —–Thread, tweezers, 2 safety pins 0.6
• —–needles, 2 pins
• Duct Tape (3/4 wide) 1.1
• Medical Kit 0.9
• —–Diarrhea Medicine
• —–Tylenol tablets (2)
• —–3 Antiseptic wipes
• —–2 2×2 in gauze
• —–3 Band-Aids
• —–2 knuckle bandage
• —–1 2×3 in moleskin
• —–1 Anti Ointment
• Ripstop repair tape (2inch wide) 0.3
• Stuff Sack 0.8
• Princeton Tec Aurora 3
• Knife 1.5
• Trowel
• Total 19.9

You Look Absolutely Fabulous

A clothing system should be lightweight, simple, but versatile. To these ends, I wear The North Face zip off convertible pants and wear The North Face Vapor Wick T-shirt. Then I supplement by layering additional clothing over the base as dictated by the weather. Marmot’s Precip Jackets and Pants are among the lightest and most breathable waterproof suits out there. They perform consistently in all temperatures and all kinds of precipitation. A Marmot DriClime Windshirt is the best jacket on the market bar none. It can be used as a shell in scattered showers, a base layer, a mid-weight layer, and as extra insulation. On most of my trips during the fall and spring, this jacket gets used 24 hours a day as a coat during the day and as a pillow at night. If there is only one item for wilderness travel you buy this year, the Marmot DriClime Windshirt should be it. During winter travels or in cold conditions, I also pack a Sierra Designs Black Ice Jacket. This is one of the new soft shells coming on the market. It often only gets used in camp as an extra layer of warmth.

• CLOTHING CARRIED
• Marmot Precip Jkt 12.3
• Marmot Precip Pant 7.4
• Marmot DriClime Windshirt 11.1
• Fleece Camp Socks 2.6
• Lifa long undies 5.1
• Driclime Long Slv T zip neck 9
• Fleece Hat 1.4
• Wxtec Dry Bag 3.6
• NRS Neoprene Gloves 4
• Black Wicking Gloves 2
• Total 58.5

Something’s Got To Give

All this lightweight gear cuts out the plush items that many travelers are used to, but that doesn’t mean you have to skimp on everything. I always bring a book, a notebook to journal write in, and a pen. After all, if you love to read, like I do, why give that up when you’re in the woods?

• EXTRA
• Book 7.4
• Glasses and Case 2.1
• Notebook 5
• Pen 0.4
• Total 14.9

All Competitors Must Weight In

This system of gear weighs a total of about 14.5 pounds, which is pretty darn light. Figure an additional 1.5 to 2 pounds a day for food. On a ten-day trip, you will be carrying only 34 pounds in your portage pack. This makes it easy to carry your 30 to 40 pound Kevlar canoe and all your gear across the portages in a single trip, and if you travel with a friend, they can carry the pack and you can carry the canoe. The two of you will have less than 100 pounds of gear, including life vests, paddles, the canoe, and camping gear. Although, not as light as Nessmuk’s list, it is a significant improvement in weight over the kits that you normally see being used. Try it, you may find that you like a simple lightweight trip better.

• Item — Weight (oz.)
• Cooking system 23.5
• Pack 48
• Sleep System 34.9
• Shelter 30.9
• Clothing System 58.5
• Others 19.9
• Luxuries 14.9
• Total — 14.41 pounds

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Much Ado About Nothing or Very Little at Least – Gear Lists

“I know exactly where we are; I’ve been lost here before.”

-A guide on Mount Rainer

“The little steamer that plies on the Upper Saranac makes the different landings in a
zig-zag manner that knocks the compass points endwise. Only by staying where you can
watch every turn of the prow can you retain a definite notion of north and south. And
that is how it happened that, being unobservant of turns, I found the sun setting in
the east–a vexatious thing to a woodsman.”

-Nessmuk, Cruise of the Sairy Gamp, 5, Forest and Stream, Sept. 13, 1883

On one of my early trips to the Boundary Waters, the four of us awoke early one fall
morning and shoved off onto Cherokee Lake. The yellow and red fall foliage jumped off
the trees at us, distracting me from my duties. For some reason, maybe because I
purchased all the maps, my duty was navigator on the trip. I strapped my compass to
the bungee cord that ran across my thwart, looked at the map, located our campsite,
look at the compass, deduced that we could get to Omega Lake by heading through
several other lakes in a generally easterly direction, and then I set off down the
lake.

Ten minutes later, the shoreline looked nothing like the map, and while I tried to
figure out where we were on the map by comparing my two compasses and my compass on
my watch – just to make sure that it wasn’t a mechanical failure – two canoeist with
only one Duluth pack between them buzzed by in a perfectly restored canvas and cedar
Old Town OTCA. They knew where they were going. They were going there fast. Normally,
in a city, I would have switched into Zen method of navigation mode and followed
them, because if you follow someone that looks like they know where they are going,
chances are that you’ll get there too. This time I just looked at my paddling
partners shrugged my shoulders and put my tail between my legs and headed back to the
campsite to get my bearings.

I learned a valuable lesson that day, and it was all about navigation. If you want to
learn navigation and avoid the pitfalls I experienced that day, you’ll learn not only
to use a compass, but also good map reading before you venture into the wilds of the
northern woods or the wilds of the woods anywhere.

Do the Declination and Spin Your Needle
Around

Most people are shocked when learning the north on the map they are studying may not
be the same north that their compass is pointing at. That’s because most of the maps
that we use to navigate the wilderness with are orientated to True North, or to the
true North Pole. Our compasses, on the other hand, point towards what is commonly
referred to as the magnetic north pole. (This is actually a slight misunderstanding
of where the compass points to. There is no giant location of magnetic rock that
draws the points of our needles; the earth generates magnetic signatures that vary in
strength and direction. The compass needle is affected by the interaction of these
different fields and points to the average of the fields in your current location.)
This slightly shocking concept, luckily, is easy to compensate for, because our
mapmakers have taken the time to figure out the declination for you. Declination is
simply the difference between True North and the direction that your compass is
pointing, or magnetic north. On most maps, a declination diagram that shows True
North and then a second arrow representing magnetic north will point either to the
east or the west. Then with some simple math, you add or subtract based on the
degrees west or east declination, respectively, to arrive at a bearing to use on your
compass. While, this is the cheapest way to adjust for declination, if you spend
slightly more on a compass, you will get a compass that is able to account for
declination by adjusting it as needed. This method of set and forget is often the
simplest way of adjusting for declination. One of the nice things about canoeing in
the Boundary Waters is that declination is so close to zero degrees that I often just
ignore it there, but elsewhere you shouldnt ignore declination, or you are likely to
get lost.

Okay Wise-Guy, My Map Doesn’t List Declination

Some maps fail to list the declination. In cases such as these, you will need to
figure the declination out on your own. The easiest way to do this is to come to a
known point on the map and take several field readings of known landmarks represented
also on the map. Compare your field reading to the reading on the map and the
difference between the two is the declination.

A Field What? How Do I Read My Map?

Taking a compass field reading, which a reading from where you are at to a landmark
in the distance, is actually easier than you think. What you need to do is grab your
compass and hold it out an arm length in front of you. Point the bearing arrow on the
front on the compass towards the landmark that you want a reading for, and then
rotate the Azimuth ring until the red arrow, that turns with the Azimuth ring, lines
up with the floating red magnetic arrow. Then you have your reading and can take it
from the Azimuth ring at the point where the ring crosses the bearing arrow.
Compasses with mirrors make this process much easier; they often have lines that you
use like the sites on a gun, and the mirror when angled at 45 degrees allows you to
see the Azimuth ring, red arrow, and magnetic arrow while you line them up. This
results in a much more accurate reading. To translate this reading to a map you need
to add or subtract based on your east or west declination, respectively. Or just use
a compass that allows you to set and forget the declination.

And How Do I Read My Map?

To read a map, you may have to set your compasses declination back to zero, so make
sure that you check your compasses manual before you start to do this. When you are
looking at a map there may be a number of different lines on it, these may or may not
be orientated to True North, but the edge of a map will be orientated to True North.
What you want to do to get a map bearing, is to place your compass on the map with
its edge lined up from your current location to the landmark that you want to arrive
at. Then turn the Azimuth ring until North on the Azimuth ring is lined up with True
North on the map. The reading at the bearing arrow will be the bearing from your
location to the landmark you took the reading for. Apply the declination to this
reading and you will have a bearing that you can follow in the field.

We’ll Just Follow the Breadcrumbs Home

To be able to follow this to the landmark you are shooting for you make sure that the
correct bearing reading is set on the Azimuth ring at the bearing arrow. Hold the
compass an arm length out in front of you, and spin around in a circle until the red
arrow lines up with the floating red arrow. You are now on the correct course. You
could spend all day holding the compass out in front of you, but it is much easier to
look and see if any unique features line up with your reading. If they do, you can
just head towards that feature and when you arrive take another reading.

Why Should I Go to the Right?

When traveling off of a bearing, it is helpful to aim slightly to the left or right
of your destination. This way when you get close, like to a shoreline, you know that
you must turn to the right or left to get to your destination. If you don’t do this
and you somehow miss your destination, you wont know whether or not you must turn to
the right or left to get where you want to go.

Fence Yourself In

It is also helpful when navigating to practice the so-called fence yourself in
maneuver. Look at the map, and your destination on the map, and make a couple of
notes about any features that run in a line on each side of you and ahead of you,
then if you get lost, you know that you just have to head in the direction of one of
these features. When you arrive you’ll know at least that you are at one of your
fences. Great fence features are rivers, roads, big lakes, etc&

And Now the Hard Part

Most of the time, when traveling in wilderness, you will be able to see a great deal
of distance around you. If this is the case, you can almost always get your bearings
by navigating off of landmarks. More often than not, a simple glance at your compass,
and an understanding of what you are looking at is enough for you to navigate by. If
you happen to be stuck inside a heavily wooded area or on a calm lake covered by fog,
you may not be able to use the following techniques, but the again how often does
that happen?

So, That’s What a Cove Looks Like

The first thing you need to do is start to understand what you are looking at on a
map. How do the depictions of features on the map relate to the actual terrain
features that you are encountering? Most often in a canoe or kayak, the following
features will be encountered: a shoreline, coves, peninsulas, islands, streams, bays,
portage trails, and rivers.

The Shoreline

When traveling along the shore you will see that the shoreline often jets in and out,
turns into a bay here, and a cove there, it will have small peninsulas here and
there. You just need to understand what is what. The easiest way to learn this is on
your first day out. Paddle the shoreline, and while doing so watch the map closely.
Try to visualize the shore that you are seeing from above and compare that to what

you see on the map. As you practice this, you will find that just by looking at the
shore, you will be able to locate the feature you are looking at easily because of
the practice of visualization.

Coves

On a map, a cove looks like a small lobe of the lake that goes away at an angle from
the main lake. When you are looking at a cove, you will often see the shore of the
lake look like it is pinching together. There will be an opening and you may not be
able to see further down it.

Peninsulas

Peninsulas are sometimes deceiving when looking at them; they can actually look like
the shore line if they are big enough, but the smaller ones that are not as wide are
easy to recognize. The trees will have light coming through them. Also, as your eye
follows the peninsula along its distance, you will see an end of the shore as it
rounds the corner. Sometimes these features can blend in, so if you expect to
encounter this, make sure you are closely watching the map.

Islands

Islands are one of the most confusing features to encounter when paddling. Its not
so bad when you have a big lake with just one on it, but when you paddle into an area
with many different islands, it becomes very confusing to tell them all apart and be
able to tell where one island ends and the other begins. The easiest way to navigate
through this is to island hop. Before you get to the island, figure out on the map,
which is closest to you. Head for this island. Pick a shore to follow. Follow the
island around this shoreline; watch your map, and when you run out of shore going the
direction that you want, pick the next island on the map. Play this game until you
navigate successfully through the bunch of them. If you are coming up on a group of
islands, and you know you just want to pass through, it can sometimes be easiest if
you take a compass bearing from the map and follow that bearing as closely as you can
while heading through the islands. If your bearing leads you to the center of an
island, turn and retake your bearing from the map when you get to the end of the
island.

Streams

When traveling on a lake or river you will often see small stream emptying into them
on the map, by aware of these great reference points. Be on the look out for a small
‘V’ shape that leads away from the shoreline. When you see this, you may want to
investigate closer, streams can be fun to explore. After you’re done exploring, look
at the map and when you see where the stream is on the map, you will know where you
are.

Bays

Bays can be quite confusing when they are large. Often it will just look as if the
shore continues off into the bay and there is no indication that you are traveling
into a bay. This is fine if you dont mind traveling extra distance around the bay,
but if you are trying to get point to point and want to avoid bays, be on the look
out for a shoreline that goes away from you and looks to be round. In the distance,
you can often see a shore that is straight across from your location. This is where
you want to head.

Portage Trails

It’s inevitable that finding a hard portage trail will baffle even the best
navigators. The best way to look for a portage trail is to aim right or left of where
you think it will be and then head along the shoreline until you see it. Be on the
look out for an opening in the woods, trampled grass, rocks arranged in the water as
a dock, or a sign of humanity. You will occasionally end up heading down a moose
trail, so if the portage trail is suspect head on down it with your pack first and
come back for the canoe later.

Rivers

Rivers are often the hardest water feature to navigate, and sometimes the most
dangerous. If you don’t know exactly where you are on the river at all times, you may
end up on the wrong side of the river before difficult rapids or even if you are
completely unlucky find yourself looking over the edge of a waterfall. The best way
to navigate a river is to have one eye on the map and one on the river at all times.
Work off of river turns, if the river is turning right or left, you should be able to
follow this turn on the map. Always watch the map and know what kind of turn in ahead
of you. Then when you go around it, check it off and be ready for the next turn.

Map, Shamap, I Own a GPS

Global Positioning Systems are gaining in popularity for good reason; you can look at
the screen, especially those with maps, and know exactly where you are. Then with
this knowledge you can look at your paper map figure out where you want to go, plot
this in the GPS, and it will tell you where to turn, which way to go, how fast you
are going, and how long it will take you to get the your destination. For these
reasons, Global Positioning Systems are a wonderful tool to bring into the woods with
you. Make sure you bring leave your map and compass though, because I’ve seen
waterproof GPSes stop working after taking a swim, and what if your batteries go
dead?

Kick Back, Relax, You Found the Campsite

If you follow these few tips, practice map reading as often as you can, always have a
map in front of you when you are canoeing or kayaking, you will find yourself not
getting lost as often as before. Still, when I, occasionally, get lost, I find myself
thinking back to those two canoeists in the Old Town OTCA and one portage pack
between them going like fire on a compass course, and I get motivated to figure out
where I am and not get lost again, because the person with the best navigation skills
always seems to arrive at the camp earlier. And more time to relax is the best time
to relax. Happy Map Reading.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Map Reading and Navigation