Some years back, my Nephew's Boy Scout troupe wanted to take a 50+ mile, multi day float trip down Arkansas' beautiful Buffalo River. I lived in the area at the time so I managed to take a few days off and join them on what proved to be an eventful canoe camping trip.
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My brother and I had just returned from spotting my old pickup truck at the takeout located just below the rustic little community of Gilbert, Arkansas. The round trip took a little over an hour and by the time we had returned to the put in back up river the troupe were loaded up and ready to start their float trip full of anticipation. When I stepped out of the vehicle and walked over to the group, what I saw caused me to gasp internally. Two of the five adults who were making the trip with us, were sitting inside a fifteen foot canoe. That fact alone was not cause for alarm, but how they loaded the canoe was for they were grossly overloaded.
First of all, both men were quite large each pushing upwards toward 220lbs or more. A fifteen foot canoe can handle a lot of weight if properly distributed to avoid it becoming top heavy, however, between them they had stacked at least two ice chests filled to capacity, and other assorted food containers and camping gear. That pile of stuff extended at least eighteen inches to two feet higher than the center gunwales, and stretched almost from bow to stern with barely enough leg room for the two large men to sit. It was so high, the guy in the stern could barely see over the top. Worse yet when they shoved off, that small canoe showed no more than three at most four inches of freeboard and was a disaster waiting to happen.
We were not long in waiting for something to happen. A few yards down stream...and over they went, with nary an obstacle in their way. They were just too grossly overloaded and top heavy. For the next half day, it was one spill after another every few dozen yards. Through most of it I avoided upsetting certain sensitivities and ego's, but the situation was not good. That is when it was suggested (by me) they transfer some of their gear into my canoe, which I was paddling solo and had lots of room to spare, and for them to swap out to a seventeen foot canoe two of the smaller boys were using and let them use the shorter one. After that, we mostly made it down the river with only a few more relatively minor spills. Oddly enough, that four day float trip turned out to be a really good trip...once we got the gear loading situation ironed out.
Canoe camping is an art and there are best practices that should be followed and more importantly, bad practices that should not be followed. I'll concentrate on one of the worst. First of all, my number one canoeing pet peeve is the ice chest. I have seen this bulky contraption toted more times than I want to remember. For some reason, many canoers think they have to take an ice chest stuffed with all kinds of goodies to be comfortable. They are not designed for canoeing. They are cumbersome and heavy. They are actually not watertight, they can cause the canoe to shift out of balance and if you take a spill, it is almost impossible to recover the chest and its contents intact. And, lets not forget should there be any kind of portaging required, carrying an ice chest simply becomes a burdensome bother. Ice chests, therefore, in my book of don't is a big don't. There are much better alternatives.
Canoe camping is not all that much different than backpacking and should be approached as such. Keep it simple, keep it light, keep it low, and keep it tight is a good axiom to follow.
Keep it Simple...less is better, take only the basics required for the conditions you expect to encounter, and this includes camera gear, plus a little extra to carry you through an extended outing should weather interfere.
Keep it Light...it just makes it easier and involves less physical work. That extra edition of War and Peace is probably not needed, nor is that 16" cast iron skillet, and for you photographer types, probably not that 600mm f4 monster of a lens, unless you are a professional wildlife photographer and have good reason to carry it. It's always a good idea to have good insurance on your camera gear.
Keep it Low...Lower the center of gravity by packing your heaviest gear low in the canoe and avoid having the gear extend above the gunwales. This keeps the canoe more stable. If paddling solo, pack your gear toward the front as this adds a measure of weight to the bow allowing for better tracking and handling through the water.
Keep it Tight...water tight that is. There are numerous dry bags available at most sporting goods stores or from places like Amazon or Cabela's and they come in a variety of sizes and configurations. Investing in several of these is well worth the minimal expense. I use three; a smallish one for things like my phone, wallet, keys, things like that. Clipped to a cross thwart it provides a safe and dry container for my small gear. I also use a medium sized one mostly for a change of clothes and other soft things like a towel or rain gear and so on. I also use a large bag mostly for things like my sleeping bag, tent and/or tarp, ground cloth, just for camping gear mostly and I might also keep my food and cooking gear inside as well.
One piece of gear that is becoming more popular are what are known as Canoe Barrels. They are in fact just that. They are shaped like a small barrel and made of tough plastic and are sealed with a watertight lid. They are available in various sizes and prices, and some come with, or have available, a shoulder harness to make portaging easier.
They are large capacity containers and unlike the ice chest, they are specifically designed for canoeing. Most use them to carry their food and cooking gear inside. If on a tight budget, you can make one as a DIY project. I made one out of a heavy duty five gallon plastic bucket sealed using what is known as a Gamma lid, or a Lock-tite lid, a lid with a tight fitting, O-ring sealed rim, where a twist on lid is rotated and locked into place.
These are available at most hardware stores. I also used an old PFD attached to the barrel with a nylon strap as a padded means of carrying it on a portage. It's completely waterproof, easy to transport, and best of all only cost me about $10.00 to make.
My second pet peeve, and only by the smallest of margins, is the Boom Box. Why on earth would you want to carry along a loud, bulky music box and blare away to drown out the sounds of nature? Don't do it. It ruins the whole purpose for getting away. Not everyone in your group may like your choice of music anyway, the noise it makes carries a long ways and spills over into other areas. I have seen this far too often, mostly at public campgrounds, which I never use anymore, but also on more isolated adventures. Here you are, finally away from the grind, camped on a nice gravel bar or on a rustic campsite with a great view of the lake, birds singing, wind whispering through the trees, and water flowing over shoals, and someone brings out the boom box and blasts the sounds of silence into oblivion. Makes a grown man want to cry. I see no problem with someone bringing an acoustical guitar along as long as it can be protected from the elements. Some gentle guitar music around the campfire might be quite a nice thing to experience, but even that can become a problem if taken to an extreme. Leave the boom box at home and as far as that goes, leave the headphones and digital music at home as well. Enjoy the sights, sounds, and moments nature gives to you.
As a photographer, it is too temping to not take along my camera while canoeing. That, however presents a whole other problem. Sometimes I purposely choose to leave all that stuff at home and simply get out and make visual memories instead. Even so, camera gear and water generally do not mix well so caution needs to be taken to protect your gear. The best thing to use is a waterproof container like the ones made by Pelican. They can be a budget buster, but they are really good for camera gear. There are other less expensive brands that serve the same purpose, or you can go the shoe string route. I use a ammo can.
Available at most sporting goods stores, they are inexpensive, O-ring sealed, and close snuggly. For added insurance I will place camera gear inside large zip lock bags and seal them inside the can. I also will place some shipping bubble wrap inside to cushion the camera and lens. The ammo cans provide easy access and relatively safe watertight protection, plus they are small and light weight.
As far as camera gear goes, I generally will go light taking only one camera body, a few extra batteries, and two lenses; a wide angle and a small telephoto. A small lightweight tripod can be useful, but again, caution is the better part of valor here. If used inside the canoe, and they can be, they must be tightly secured to prevent it from tipping over. They are better used on firm ground away from the water. Another option is to use a GoPro camera. They are great and take wonderful high definition video and still photos, plus they are waterproof. GoPro is the industry standard and consequently are somewhat expensive, but there are less expensive after market brands that provide similar features and quality.
Canoeing and photography go well together. For the most part it is easier to approach wildlife from the water with a canoe. I guess they just don't equate danger coming from the water. Slow movements, dull clothing, stealthy approach will often get you quite close. With a small telephoto lens, and you can capture the natural behavior of the wildlife. Get on the water early when there is a mist or light fog and you have the makings of very special light and compositions.
For overnight or multi-day trips, it is important to eat well. Doing so is subject to a wide variety of options and personal tastes. There is always the store bought dehydrated meals. These are very good and light, quick to prepare with little or no cleanup required. They can be a bit pricey depending on brand and the individual meal, but do offer a simple and nutritious solution to your daily meal plans. You can also dehydrate your own food and store them in zip lock bags. With a little practice, complete meals can be dehydrated, just add hot water and in a few minutes you're ready to eat. Having a meal plan worked out in advance makes your overnight outings rewarding and filling. If you are only going to be out for a single overnight trip, a few canned foods can be used for meals, but remember, if you pack it in, you pack it out. Too many times I have seen smashed cans left in a campfire. Not only does this look bad, its just a bad habit to get into. I will put my empty cans in the fire until the residue contents are burned out, then after the cans cool, I smash them and toss them into a zip lock bag to be disposed of later.
Cooking over a campfire is one of camping life's best pleasures. It takes a bit of practice, but can be mastered by almost anyone. One of my favorite and easy meals is to make Bannock quick bread served with scrambled eggs and bacon. Bacon can be frozen and wrapped in butcher paper and by the time its meal time, it will be thawed and still fresh. Free range eggs are best for as long as they have not been washed or refrigerated, they will keep a long time, several days for sure. (Washing them removes a protective layer on the shell that naturally prevents bacteria from entering the egg. Once washed, they must be kept cool.) Regular store bought eggs are good for a few days as long as the weather is not too hot.
Bannock is quick and simple. The basic recipe is one cup of flour mixed with one tablespoon of baking powder and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add enough water to knead it into a bread-like dough. Sprinkle a little extra flour on top to keep it from sticking and spoon a glob into a hot frying pan greased with olive oil or even better...bacon grease. (this makes two or three large biscuit like cakes).
Smash it down to flatten it somewhat and flip it a couple of times until cooked through, it doesn't take long. Cut or fold it to make two halves. Add a little butter, and smother it with scrambled eggs, add a few green onions and/or green peppers, and bacon, maybe a little maple syrup, squeeze together and enjoy...I'm telling you, cooked over a campfire, there ain't no better camping meal around and it will carry you far into an active day.
Canoe camping and photography offers the best of both worlds; a chance to get away and an opportunity to experience and capture nature up close. You'll find you can sneak up on wildlife with a canoe to get those amazing close in shots plus placing yourself in nature opens up more possibilities to capture truly amazing scenic photographs. Canoes are silent and safe when operated within their capabilities. As stated in the beginning, there are more don'ts than there are do's. Just use a common sense approach, keep things simple, and enjoy yourself...and as always, be safe and smart.
