View topic - Going out alone.

It would be nice to hear back from you GUEST. Did you learn anything? Have we been helpful? Are you going alone? Did we scare you off?

I have only gone canoeing about 7 times and went on my first 4 day solo trip last year. I didn't have much trouble and that was on Canoe Lake with strong winds. I found the portages not hard if under 1k. Planing my next 5 day solo trip for the end of September. The Fall Colors should be at their best. " Just Do It"

Well, I got the route from this site, to say nothing of the advice and intelligence of this community here, so it seems only fair to complete the loop, as it were.

oops!

(Chris and I belong to the Ottawa Y canoe club)

Fantastic report Chris, I'm laughing out loud! You have a real gift for writing. Yes, you did fail the Jay Morrison lightweight tripping school by taking a Blackberry but if that helps to get your thoughts down when they are hot, it was well worth it. You are going to have to take a compass though, or maybe take Nigel's map and compass course this winter. It's one thing to get "temporarily confused" on a big lake (happens to all of us) but hilarious adventures will keep happening unles you get a firm grip on the difference betwen north and south (Catfish). I'm pleased that you were so respectful of the club's new Osprey. I didn't know we had installed that dire warning laminated inside the bow (see Chris' photo page). BTW, you almost got screwed on the use of the boat, if a boat is not reserved for a club trip as of Tuesday night when the shed closes, it's available for a private trip, no take-backs

Also BTW, I demand credit or blame for suggesting the route or did you forget our conversation on Bank St. in front of Subway. I think that you ARE ready for a solo in Temagami. It will make excellent reading. Jay

Palm Pilot. Please. No phones. I'm not that much of a wimp.

I didn't get lost on Catfish -- what? Besides, I had a GPS with a digital compass. I just didn't use it at the appropriate moment.
Credit given, but Frank's description was not only more detailed but also easier to hyperlink.

Blackberry, raspberry, hell, I obviously don't know the difference. Beam me up, Scotty! Jay

Chris - I enjoyed your trip report very much. Your writing style makes it a pleasure to read, the phots are good, and the presentation was very well done. Would enjoy seeing more, when available.
Jon

going back for a moment to the 'going out alone,soloing and so on'.

one of the other topics here recently also dealt with this and the degrees of risk taking..(the whitewater lines-painters -with knots in them thread.i think)

both made me think of this that i'd read. it's a favorite and maybe you've not seen it.some of the board posters said essentially the same thing. and they stated it very well too.

in colin fletcher's" the complete walker" he has a couple of paragraphs "walking alone".
it is beautiful! and captures my feeling on the subject and half of the participants in the discussion. it's under "housekeeping and other matters ",page 310.
i'd do it here for you but isn't in my capability but it's worth looking up. you'll enjoy it!
bubba

Here is an Amazon.com page.

Looks interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.

cmkl

Nice stuff. Are you a web designer by trade? I've never seen such a well-done website for a 4 day canoe trip! Very impressed.

When you solo, do you paddle from the stern? If not, which of the 'other' ways do you use?

Yes, I do that.


Soloing I don't paddle from the stern. I paddle in the middle. If it's actually a solo canoe, then there's a seat/saddle/kneeling thwart positionned ideally.

If I'm paddling a tandem canoe, I sit facing the stern, kneeling with my butt on the bow seat in the middle or slightly heeled to my paddling side.

That's for long distances. If I'm doing ballet stuff I kneel flat on the floor, butt on heels, knees as far under the midthwart as possible, boat heeled over to my paddling side, as far as possible.

cmkl

Anyone who has not soloed at least once for a minimum of a long weekend but should be at lease a week long trip should not call themselves a canoeist. Soloing is a real experience. It makes you respect the wildness of the land and you will be a better canoeist for it. All you have to do is be very careful and make sure you use more common sence than when you are tandam. Remember two heads are better than one and when soloing you only have one head.
Bill

Hey Bill.

What kind of elitist bull is that! "If you have not soloed you should not call yourself a canoist."

Pure garbage. Not everyone wants to solo trip or feels comfortable doing it. If you paddle a canoe, you're a canoist.

Please register so that I can be sure from which orifice your future words of wisdom come from.


James.

You tell him James. Whatsamatter with these soloists? Can't they find a friend to go with them? Take a stranger canoing, make a friend for life..

_________________
Hell is other goats.

Jean-Paul Satyr