Planning for Canoe trip

[Outdoordude]

Me and my good mate will be going on a canoe trip in Sweden in august.Its for my 16th birthday! Its going to be a lot of fun and i cant wait.
We'll be traveling on lake baven and the surrounding lakes and rivers in a canoe.
We'll be going for 6-7 days. We have yet to plan meals and a route however my mates coming over on sunday to discuss such matters.

So i just wanted a few bits of advice:

1. How much food should i dehydrate and bring with me and how much should i buy out there. (i plan on dehydrating whole meals in one go and then bring some with me)

2. How should i pack, can i just use my normal rucksack or are the better alternatives such as a very large dry bag with smaller dry bags inside it.

3. how many KM should i aim to do each day (i want this to be a very relaxed trip)

And any other tips you can give me if youve done this kind of thing before.

Heres where ill be hiring the canoe from - http://www.skebocanoe.se/company.htm

Thanks
Jacob

 

[Riven]

Hi Jacob sounds like you are going to have a great time.
First food, buy fresh food from local stores as living off dehydrated gets boring pretty quickly. Let alone might block you up.
If in a canoe weight will not be a problem.
I use a rucksack with dry bags or binliners inside to keep stuff dry. Tied to canoe should you capsize. Then if you decide to hike for a while you can go comfortably.
As for distance, just enjoy as you go, no rush your still young.
Mossie head net, water tablets, fishing kit and good waterproofs would be useful.
The canoe centers are usually very good and will help you with any local info. Camping kit, trangias etc can usually be hired from them saving you the weight getting there.
Goodluck, Riven.

 

[Niels]

You lucky guy! Good luck planning and have fun

 

[jackcbr]

Don't worry about km's, just enjoy what comes your way. We did a canoe trip to Canada last September. There was a plan to get to this campsite and that campsite, but then we just found our own pace. Even drifting for a while in the sun casting a line for our supper. Don't forget a camera.

as for a bag. Well personally I would invest in a large dry bag with rucksack straps on it. Then have another dry bag for sleeping bag and more for other bits that I really don't want to get wet. Having sailed for a number of years, it only takes one time of not sealing it properly and you end up having a very bad day. As for tying your bag to the boat, well there is a lot of discussion about it. Some say do, some say don't, some say it depends on the water you are on (fast flowing or still lake). I'm sure much more experienced canoers will be along shortly to give you better advice.

I also have an Alpkit 25l waterproof day sack. In that I have a ditch kit, just in case things go really wrong. So spare clothes, day rations, means of making fire, cutting tools maybe a tarp, water, maps, compass, head torch. Where I go, it goes. Sounds a litte extreme, but to be honest once you get use to it, it becomes second nature.

 

[John Fenna]

I would advocate using either a waterproof drybag with shoulder straps or a rucksack of your choice with everything you want to stay in drybags - double drybagged in the case of supremely valuable items (passport, electronics etc). Remember to take a camera and remember to put it in a drybag between shots! Las everything in - it adds buoyancy to the boat if you capsize, stops it floating away on rivers too.... As to food - I recall Scandinavia as being expensive for everything - but then so is excess baggage on flights to Scandinavia ...take what you can within your weight allowance without sacrificing other needed kit! Do not plan on covering more ground in a day than you could comfortably walk - if you get head winds that will be more than enough! Remember to paddle within your capabilities - if the waves get up on lakes then stay on shore and make up the distance when the wind has dropped. Things will get wet in a boat even if you do not capsize (paddle drip, wet feet etc) so be sure that everything you want to keep dry is in a drybag! Have a great time and take loads of photos! A "ditch kit" as mentioned above is a great idea...

 

[Outdoordude]

Hi Jacob sounds like you are going to have a great time.
First food, buy fresh food from local stores as living off dehydrated gets boring pretty quickly. Let alone might block you up.
If in a canoe weight will not be a problem.
I use a rucksack with dry bags or binliners inside to keep stuff dry. Tied to canoe should you capsize. Then if you decide to hike for a while you can go comfortably.
As for distance, just enjoy as you go, no rush your still young.
Mossie head net, water tablets, fishing kit and good waterproofs would be useful.
The canoe centers are usually very good and will help you with any local info. Camping kit, trangias etc can usually be hired from them saving you the weight getting there.
Goodluck, Riven.

Thanks mate, Im going to be dehydrating myself and have done so in the past. Im going to mix and match on the food front with a bit of fresh and a bit of dehydrated! Im going to be canoeing and not hiking however there are a few land crossings, so it will be an advantage to have it in a rucksack. Yeh i mean theres plenty of places to camp so ill go at my own pace! Yes mossie nets musnt forget those!
Ive been to the canoe center and they are very good although ive already booked the flight so have 15kg allowance. I have my own trangia that i love so im going to bring that but will have to hire the canoe and a land trolley for the land crossings
Thanks for your help!

 

[Outdoordude]

You lucky guy! Good luck planning and have fun

Yeh cant wait!

 

[Outdoordude]

Don't worry about km's, just enjoy what comes your way. We did a canoe trip to Canada last September. There was a plan to get to this campsite and that campsite, but then we just found our own pace. Even drifting for a while in the sun casting a line for our supper. Don't forget a camera.

as for a bag. Well personally I would invest in a large dry bag with rucksack straps on it. Then have another dry bag for sleeping bag and more for other bits that I really don't want to get wet. Having sailed for a number of years, it only takes one time of not sealing it properly and you end up having a very bad day. As for tying your bag to the boat, well there is a lot of discussion about it. Some say do, some say don't, some say it depends on the water you are on (fast flowing or still lake). I'm sure much more experienced canoers will be along shortly to give you better advice.

I also have an Alpkit 25l waterproof day sack. In that I have a ditch kit, just in case things go really wrong. So spare clothes, day rations, means of making fire, cutting tools maybe a tarp, water, maps, compass, head torch. Where I go, it goes. Sounds a litte extreme, but to be honest once you get use to it, it becomes second nature.

Yeh that might be what happens, although we have a week and need to do the round circuit in that time to get back in time.
I want it to be very relaxed. Ive decide apon this as my dry bag - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gul-Litre-r...8&qid=1365526392&sr=8-10&keywords=gul+dry+bag

Then ill pack smaller dry bags into this. I dont think ill need a ditch kit as my grandparent live 5 mins away from where ill be doing the canoeing and its not too remote. Ill probably tie my beg to the boat.
Thanks for your help i really appreciate it!

 

[Outdoordude]

I would advocate using either a waterproof drybag with shoulder straps or a rucksack of your choice with everything you want to stay in drybags - double drybagged in the case of supremely valuable items (passport, electronics etc). Remember to take a camera and remember to put it in a drybag between shots! Las everything in - it adds buoyancy to the boat if you capsize, stops it floating away on rivers too.... As to food - I recall Scandinavia as being expensive for everything - but then so is excess baggage on flights to Scandinavia ...take what you can within your weight allowance without sacrificing other needed kit! Do not plan on covering more ground in a day than you could comfortably walk - if you get head winds that will be more than enough! Remember to paddle within your capabilities - if the waves get up on lakes then stay on shore and make up the distance when the wind has dropped. Things will get wet in a boat even if you do not capsize (paddle drip, wet feet etc) so be sure that everything you want to keep dry is in a drybag! Have a great time and take loads of photos! A "ditch kit" as mentioned above is a great idea...

Thanks John. I am going to have a 100l dry bag for my rucksack. Thanks for the tip about double bagging my camera and that. I am going to take some food and then dehydrate some i think. I like the swedish food and have grown up with it because my gradparents live out there. I want it to be very chilled out trip so i will take it easy and just go with the flow . I cant wait and will take so many pics.
Thanks for your help John!