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Organizing Camping Gear for Canoe Camping and Kayak Camping
Many checklists that help with organizing camping gear are broken down into categories that don’t necessarily reflect how we live our lives in our homes. For example, a checklist might break the list into paddling clothing, camp clothing, personal gear, group gear and personal items. At a glance, you can’t really tell what you’re bringing. Instead of using broad categories to organize your checklist, narrow your categories and make them reflect rooms in your home. By making them reflect rooms in your home, you instantly can link what’s in each category with what’s typically in that room in your home. Organizing Camping Gear by Category To make your camping checklist…
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Boundary Waters Border Route Trip Report
The Boundary Waters Border Route starts on the western side of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) at Crane Lake in Voyageurs National Park. It follows the Minnesota/Ontario border for about 200 miles until the Grand Portage, a 8.5-mile portage to Lake Superior. Most paddlers can complete the trip in two to three weeks. This fall I joined the Wilderness Classroom to photograph part of their three-year, 12,000-mile trip across North America by canoe, kayak and dog sled. I met them at Crane Lake on the western side of the BWCA and paddled the Boundary Waters Border Route with them. It took us 17 days and included a three-day visit…
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Fall and Early Spring Canoe Camping Checklist – Extend Your Paddling Season
In the late fall, most of the paddlers have put away their canoes and wouldn’t dream on heading to a canoe camping destination where snow, sleet, cold rain and even ice are possible. Yet, these times of the year offer the best time for solitude, reflection and camaraderie. If you want the former, you spend plenty of time alone, see no one and with the short days you’ll have time to think. For the later, the night comes quickly, so you find yourself sitting around a campfire trying to get warm and laughing with friends. With the right gear, it needn’t be a miserable experience. Here’s a fall canoe camping…