Back country tripping

While paddling and portaging, you need long pants and a long sleeve shirt. Wearing shorts and a t-shirt while paddling all day when it is hot and sunny will almost guarantee you the worst sunburn you have ever had, not to mention brutal bug bites and a fair number of branch scratches while portaging. Both your pants and shirt should be light color and light weight. DO NOT WEAR JEANS ON TRIPS! Like shoes, you can pick up very suitable paddling pants and shirts quite cheaply at Value Village.

WATER: 

You need to drink at least 2-3 litres of water every day, more if it is hot. You will need a refillable water bottle. It should have some method of attaching it to your pack or the boat so you can keep it handy while paddling and portaging (cheap carabiners will do the trick). Water bottles should be either ‘Nalgene’ bottles (wide-mouthed), or Nalgene clones. The water filters we use are designed for this type of bottle and other types are more awkward to fill.

BEARS: 

They don’t want to meet you any more than you want to meet them but you will be travelling in bear country. Don’t carry food in your pack or allow it in your tent unless you want company. Porcupines, raccoons, and skunks have also been known to come into tents looking for snacks

HAND SANITIZER: 

Use it frequently. A good place for you hani-sani is with your toilet paper. Wash your hands with soap and water as often as possible

MEDICATIONS: 

All medications, except inhalers and epi-pens, are to be handed in to the camp first aider at the departure point. Inhalers and epi-pens, must be in water-proof containers and on the person who needs them at all times. The camp and trip first aiders, as well as the Quester's paddling partner and tent mate, need to know the exact location of epi pens. Scouts requiring epi-pens must bring at least 2 of them. All medications, prescribed or over the counter, must be in the original container (with the prescription or label intact) and that container must be in a second, water-proof container. Ziplocs are not acceptable for medication.  Be sure you have an adequate supply for the duration of the camp and some spares.

TENTS: 

Questers need to bring their own tents. For trips, they should be 2 person tents only. Larger ones are welcome at base camp as long as the size of the tent is consistent with the number of people using it (i.e. 4 or 6 person tents cannot be used for only one or 2 people). If desired, Questers can bring 2 tents and leave one set up in base camp while they are tripping. This allows you a place to store any gear you do not intend to trip with. All tents must have flies that go right to the ground and all tents need a ground sheet. A piece of decent quality plastic that is slightly smaller than the floor of the tent will be perfect. If you do not have a suitable tent and can’t borrow one from your scout group, talk to the trip coordinators and we will help you

Section 2 – Comfort

You need a decent, full sized backpack. Try it on before camp to make sure it fits well and all the buckles and straps are in good shape. Pack the gear you want to bring into your pack and make sure it all fits with room to spare. Maybe go for a walk with your full pack on to make sure it feels right. You may have to carry some of the group gear in your personal pack so be sure you don’t over-fill it.

Space in a canoe is limited. Don’t bring anything along unless you can  think of at least 2 reasons to have it. Remember that whatever you bring, you will have to carry over the portage.

There are no outhouses once we leave the base camp. We’ll either make temporary latrines or everybody will have to learn the art of digging scat holes.

A small folding camp chair would be a nice addition if you can fit one in your pack.

Section 3 – Fun Stuff

The lakes we will be travelling in can be fun fishing spots and fishing gear is certainly allowed. We will be in Ontario and Ontario fishing rules apply.

Sponge balls, Frisbees, water guns, and the like are easy to fit in your pack and can be a great reprieve from paddling. Feel free to pack one or two. Add a deck of cards or a travel sized game too if you like but no electronics of any type INCLUDING CELL PHONES. Electronics should be left at home. Any brought to base camp must be left in the care of the base camp staff for the duration of the camp

Bring your camera. We will make a disc of trip pictures and distribute it to all camp participants after we get home

We’ll be keeping a trip log. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for nifty things to include.

Section 4 – Waterproofing your gear

**Note that how to waterproof and pack your gear will be reviewed at pre-camp. Parents will be encouraged to attend that session with their camper**

Remember that you don’t have to dump your canoe or paddle in the rain for your gear to get wet when you are paddling. Splash from the paddle, small leaks in the boat, and all sorts of other things can put water in the boat and into your stuff. So pack as if you plan to dump your gear in the lake

Ziploc bags and garbage bags are perfectly adequate for waterproofing. If you have official dry bags, use them of course. If you are using Ziplocs, get good ones. Cheap ones will break and not keep your stuff dry. Have some spares in your pack in case you need them. Note that jumbo sized Ziplocs intended for carrying sports gear and the like are not water-proof. You need the freezer bag type.

Have one complete set of clothes, including socks and undies, in a Ziploc back in the bottom of your pack. Keep it for an emergency and don’t use it just because your other clothes are dirty. If you do get wet and need to use your spare set of clothes, dry your others as quickly as possible and then replace your spares.

Valuables like your camera should have a case. If the case is not waterproof, put the item in a Ziploc inside the case. You are totally responsible for you own valuables. Don’t bring it if you can’t take care of it or don’t want to risk losing it.

Put everything in your pack into Ziplocs. Not only does this keep things dry, it also, because you can never squeeze out all the air, gives your pack some buoyancy if it does fall in the water. Larger items can be put in garbage bags. Kitchen sized ones are usually perfect. Several smaller bags offer greater protection than one big one. However, it can be easier to fit things into one or two bigger bags. Do your best. Ask for help if you need it.

Compression sacks are strongly recommended for packing sleeping bags. You can get inexpensive ones at Canadian Tire or better, often water-proof ones at camping supply stores. If the the compression sack is not water-proof, line it with a garbage bag and stuff (don’t roll) your sleeping bag into the garbage bag. Squeeze out the air and twist the top of the garbage bag. (Don’t tie a knot in the bag or you’ll likely have to rip the bag when you unwrap it). Then tighten the compression sack. The plastic bag reduces the compressibility of the compression sack but you should still be able to get your sleeping bag into a pretty small ball.

Make sure everything you bring has a place IN your pack. The pack itself also offers a degree of water protection. Plus, having a bunch of loose things or things dangling off the side of your pack makes portaging very cumbersome which makes your trip leaders very miserable.

Have a plastic ground sheet for your tent. Roll the tent, fly, and poles together, then roll the tent in the ground sheet, making sure the ends are tucked in to completely cover the tent. Stuff the whole thing into the tent stuff sack.

Section 4 – Equipment List

see suggested equipment list

Section 5 – Miscellaneous general stuff

When doing portages, we will typically double trip them – which means we will go across with gear, then go back to get the boats. Packing properly reduces the likelihood of needing 3 crossings on a portage.

Expect that each camper on a trip will be responsible for a share of the group equipment in either his or her personal backpack or boat.

Lots of Quest activities qualify as fulfillment of Scout and Venturer program requirements – i.e. badges. We’re not keeping track of it for you but if you want us to sign off on badge requirements, we will happily do so. you might not want to bring your Scout book tripping with you but you can copy relevant pages or bring your book and leave it at base camp.

Remember that canoe tripping is a team sport. The success of the trip will depend on how well the team works together. Be willing to help each other out whenever help is needed. Whining and complaining will bring everybody down and reduce everyone’s fun.

We are not bringing any mind readers on the Quest. If something is not working for you, you have to say so. Be willing to tell your fellow campers if you are not feeling well, you’re scared, you’re tired or hurt, etc. Nobody can help if they don’t know there’s a problem.

As with any team, you have to trust your coaches. Some people have a lot more canoeing and camping experience than others. If you are given suggestions on how to change the way you do something, it’s not because anyone is picking on you, it’s because someone else has already made the mistakes and is passing on what they learned from them

The most important suggestion is that you plan to HAVE FUN. This camp will be a HOOT!