I've made over 40 canoe trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, just across the border from Quetico, but I wouldn't kayak there except on the largest, most accessible lakes. The main reason is that sea kayaks are much harder to portage than canoes. First, you have to portage two kayaks instead of one canoe. Second, they are heavier than a good lightweight fiberglass or Kevlar canoe (my foam core, skin coat, fiberglass Jensen 18 weighs about 52 pounds; Kevlar versions weigh about 20 pounds less). Third, it takes two people to carry one Sealution versus one person to carry one canoe for two people. Fourth, tight turns and steep hills on some portages made it more awkward to carry a kayak from the ends than a canoe from the middle. As for carrying them with one person on either side, forget it; many portages are too narrow for that. Fifth, many portages are rocky, rooted, or slippery; when two carry a boat, falls and twisted ankles are more likely if the people move out of sync, which is likely on rough ground. Sixth, food and gear must be stowed in small packages in kayaks versus two or three large packs in a canoe. This means a lot of time unpacking and repacking on each portage (I don't recommend carrying a loaded kayak). I used to portage my internal frame pack and canoe while my partner portaged her pack and the food pack, so we never had to make more than one trip over a portage. With two kayaks and lots of little packages, I can imagine you making as many as seven trips over each portage, including return trips. Remember, my experience is with the BWCAW, which is much more heavily traveled than Quetico. From what I have heard, most BWCAW portage trails are highways compared to many Quetico portage trails. I recommend that you rent a lightweight Kevlar canoe and leave your kayaks at home. Chuck Holst Former Sealution owner -----Original Message----- From: Dominique Berube [mailto:dberube_at_vdsagax.ca] Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 1998 3:25 PM To: PaddleWise Subject: [Paddlewise] Quetico Provicial Park in Hi We are planning a three week trip to Quetico P.P. in northwestern Ontario at the end of september with our two sea kayaks(Fiberglass Sealutions). We are prepared for portages with a set of padded straps but we would like to see if anybody else has ever travel in this park with sea kayaks. Is there any rough rapids? too rough for sea kayak? Anybody with good advice on carrying sea kayak in portage trails, or any other advice on the park is welcome. Thanks Dominique *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Jul 14 1998 - 15:04:11 PDT
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