Gear Lists

Gear List: Cole Lake Canoe Trip

I have vivid memories of packing everything but the kitchen sink on these trips, so a key objective of this trip was to pack as light as possible! For example, swapping out the old bulky dual burner Coleman propane stove for a single burner backpacking stove. This was a tough task and I envisioned everything fitting in my backpack and quickly found out that wasn’t happening!!   

There were 6 portages on this trip and my overall goal was to double carry or walk the portage 3 times (ie. Move gear to one end and walk back to get the canoe and walk back again).  Below is my list (with as many links as I could find) and some post trip notes that I will consider when planning out my gear for this years solo trip!

GEAR LIST

  1. Backpack: The North Face Terra 50; was on clearance and fit with my budget. 
  2. Canoe: Clipper Packer solo canoe, life jacket, two aluminum paddles, hybrid heaving line/bailer bag.
  3. Shelter:  Teton Sports XXL solo tent with MSR ground hogs, Blue 9 x 12 tarp, 4×6 tarp for tent footprint, and Poly rope 100 ft, various lengths of para cord.
  4. Food/Water: Katadyn Vario Water filtration with MSR DromLite Water Reservoir, 6 x Cliff bars, sour soothers, 1x instant noodles, 1 pack Starbucks VIA instant coffee, small Pam cooking spray (for fish). sunflower seeds, Backpackers Pantry Freeze dried food – 5 mains, 2 breakfast and 1 dessert.
  5. Safety/Survival: SPOT Gen 3, Magellan Triton 200 GPS, Counter Assault Bear Spray with holster, 6 inch Fixed Blade Hunting Knife, First aid/Survival kit – matches, lighter, various sized water proof bandages, Advil, Benadryl allergy tabs, tums, Pepto Bismol tabs, scissors, tweezers, emergency blanket, Aspirin, Nexcare Steri Strips, Halls throat lozenges, Imodium, mini folding knife, Instafire starter, 6ft of duct tape folded onto itself to keep compact, Ball pin compass, LifeStraw Water Filter.
  6. Cookware: MSR Pocket Rocket Stove and two fuel canisters, mini spatula, folding spork, long handle spoon, Aluminum Camping Cook Sett (two mini Pots, mini fry pan), GSI Infinity Backpackers Mug, small plastic cutting board.
  7. Sleep: Norsens Lightweight Sleeping bag, Therm-a-Rest Trail Scout Sleeping Pad, Sea to Summit Ultralight inflatable Pillow.
  8. Entertainment: Deck of cards, movie on iphone (Shawshank Redemption).
  9. Clothing/Footwear: Columbia Convertible Pants, extra pair of shorts, 2 shirts, 2 socks, 3 x underwear, zip up sweater, hat, Helly Hansen rain jacket, rain- poncho, Columbia hiking shoes, sandals and Cabelas water/boat shoes, Sleepwear – long underwear, merino wool shirt and toque.
  10. Tools/Camp Gear: Cabelas Tripod Stool, SOG Mini folding hand saw, two folding knives, garbage bag, large zip lock bags.
  11. Lighting/Tech: Pelican 1290 Pocket flashlight, Petzl Tikkina 250 Headlamp, Kelty Flashback lantern,  iPhone XR phone + charging cable, KobraTech Cell Phone Tripod , Soul 20000mAh Power Bank.
  12. Toiletries/Personal Care: Pre-folded toilet paper, tooth brush/paste, Sea to Summit Wilderness Wash Soap, wet wipes, mini towel, eye glasses, contact lenses, sunglasses, glasses safety strap, bug spray.
  13. Fishing Equipment: filleting Knife, fishing license, 2 x fishing rods/reels in hard body case, fishing tackle (in a small compact case), small Fishing net.

IMPROVEMENTS AND CHANGES

In general, there were no major gear issues that affected the outcome of the trip. This will be a continual journey year after year, and I am sure there will be many more improvements and changes to my gear as I get more experience with solo tripping.

  1. Backpack: Wish it had a few more exterior attachment points. Will upgrade to a larger and more suitable pack for canoeing.
  2. Tent/Shelter: The solo tent created a challenge when changing clothes, wish it had more room! Look to upgrade to a 2-person. The blue utility tarp was a bit bulky, would look to replace with a lighter weight option.
  3. Cookware: Did not use spatula, small fry pan or pot, only used large pot for boiling water for food/coffee, look for a smaller pot with measuring lines that can double as a cup for coffee.
  4. Rain Wear: Did not need both a rain jacket and rain poncho, will keep rain jacket and need to buy rain pants.
  5. Lighting: Didn’t need lantern. Head lamp and small light was enough.
  6. Clothing: Eliminate extra t-shirts, 2 pairs of extra underwear.
  7. Fishing rod: Would look for a telescopic or folding rod to eliminate the hard case or secure rods to canoe so that there is one less thing to carry on portages.
  8. Footwear: Hiking shoes were hard to pack and boat shoes did not give proper support for portaging. Would look for a fast drying hiking shoe/sandal and maybe camp shoes such as crocks or other light weight/packable shoe.
  9. Knives: I had at least 5 knives, would stick to my larger hunting knife, filleting knife and one small folding knife.
  10. Rope: Had a 100 ft poly rope which was a good amount but would want smaller diameter.