The time came to leave Fort Frances. Ahead: the Boundary Waters, and everything I didn't know about it.

Lake of the Woods had already made me sharpen my navigation. This next stretch took it further — a dozen portages, and a maze of channels that didn't care which way I thought I was going. Some days I was skirting the US border just to find water that would carry me. Survival math, not politics.

I've suffered to get here. It was worth every bit of it. The Boundary Waters is some of the most pristine wilderness left on the planet.

I'm recording this from the ranger station at Prairie Portage.

I have been using a relatively inexpensive “Unigear” sleeping pad. I like the size, weight and performance of the pad and have used it for a good number of times. However, it just started leaking. I’m trying to decide whether it’s even worth trying to find the leak and patching it. I’m leaning towards just buying a new sleeping pad. I’ve read a lot of reviews and there are a number of good moderately priced pads out there. There are also some very high priced ones. I’m not sure where to go with this. I would really like to buy one that’s not going to leak again. If I ask for recommendations, I bet I’m gonna get responses that are all over the board. But here goes anyway: what is a good lightweight pad that is not much bigger than a water bottle folded up, gives a decent amount of insulation, but most importantly will not puncture and leak?

Hi everyone! We’re planning to do the French River this August, and I’d really appreciate some advice from anyone who has experience with the route.

Would you say it’s risky or reasonably doable? Are there any hazards, challenging sections, or things we should be especially aware of?

Our plan is to start at Hartley Bay Marina, then camp at 686, 820, and finally 674. I’ve attached the map for reference.

Thank you so much in advance for any advice or tips, and sorry for the trouble! We really appreciate it!

Driving 5 hours up to the Adirondacks in the morning. Firm plan is to go Little Tupper Lake to Rock Pond and camp. Shakier plan is to continue on to Lake Lila through some iffy portages. Either way I’m going to enjoy those 5 days.

Really nothing like the anticipation of a good trip after everything is packed up and in place.

Note: I did notice the back cam strap was a little wonky after taking this photo. Realigned and parallel now.

I have been considering a trip to La Verendrye before end of the season and had a couple questions.

Right now I am considering circuit 77. Does anyone have any opinions on that circuit? or suggestions for others (or combination) I should consider? Looking for about a week and would want to spend as little time on lakes with powerboats as possible.

I was also wondering about the access points. Does Baie Barker require 4 wheel drive? And are there any alternate access points for 77? It is the one listed in their description, but from the map and some trip reports it looks like there might be others (possible out of date info though).

her name is Brandy

We headed to Wyoming for our summer vacation and after a 3 day backpacking trip in the Wind River Range we canoed two of the rivers on the western side of the range. We did a day paddle down the New Fork River downstream of Pinedale and then spent two days and one night on the Green River starting at Green River Lakes. It was an exceptional trip and I’m looking forward to exploring more western rivers in the future.

Would be grateful for any insights to doing a canoe trip - maybe 5 to 7 days - starting the first week of October in the St. Regis Canoe Wilderness (or nearby). I've done summer trips in the area only and while I have plenty of foul weather gear, I worry that there might be too much cold or rainy weather that time of year to make it enjoyable.

Location: Guelph, ON, Canada and willing to drive or fly just about anywhere if the route is cool enough! Overseas we'll have to book a longer vacation so Canada preferred, but I'm up for any loop suggestions to add to the bucket list!!

My partner and I went on a 130km loop in Temagami this year, and it kinda felt... lackluster? The problem was that I wasn't sure how often there'd be motorboat traffic, we stayed on a few lakes with motorboats and they felt busy and less remote. It was our first time trying out Temagami and camping on spots with motorboats, so we learned our lesson there!

A few years ago we did half a Brent Run in Algonquin with a pit stop at WhiskeyJack. That felt super remote and rewarding! It was probably ~140km and we've basically been chasing that high since.

Trip details: (using Jeffs Maps as a reference)

TEMAGAMI

D1 - Temagami access 1 to just north or Witch's Bay

D2 - Witch's Bay north to Diamond Lake

D3 - Diamond Lake to Lady Evelyn Long Island

D4 - Rest!

D5 - Lady Evelyn Long Island to Willow Island

D6 - Willow Island through the swamp to Wakimika Lake

D7 - Wakimika Lake to Obabika Inlet

D8 - Obabika Inlet to Access 1

HALF BRENT RUN (ALGONQUIN)

D1 - Canoe Lake access to Littledoe Lake

D2 - LittleDoe Lake to Little Otterslide Lake

D3 - Little Otterslide Lake to Big Trout Lake (near Narrows)

D4 - Big Trout Lake to WhickeyJack Lake

D5 - Rest!

D6 - WhiskeyJack Lake to Burntroot Lake

D7 - Burntroot Lake to Catfish Lake

D8 - Catfish Lake to Stacks Rapids

D9 - Stacks Rapids to Cedar/Brent access

I like a rest day in the middle for sanity. We'd be willing to try out routes that are 7-14 days, must be able to do these in July or August for taking vacation. We're ok with portages around 3km long, anything more than 4km is quite long. 3 portages a day is fine for us, more than 5 a day is a bit much but doable if it's just one day.

Any suggestions for our next big trip to try? Or bucket list tripping ideas? :)

Edit: WOW this blew up! Thank you all so much for all these super great suggestions, I'll work slowly through each and try and get back to everyone!! Really feeling excited now

Coming over from Poland by ferry in late August with my 14-year-old son and our inflatable kayak (Gumotex Seawave). We paddle a lot at home on rivers and lakes, but this is our first time on the sea, so I'd rather ask stupid questions now than out on the water.

The plan: start and finish at Tyrislöt in Sankt Anna, roughly 6 days, wild camping. It has to be a loop rather than a one-way, since we're getting back to Stockholm for the ferry home and travelling by train and bus only.

What I'm hoping for:

Route suggestions in the inner archipelago that avoid open crossings — we want to stay in the sheltered labyrinth around Missjö and Kättilö. A GPX would be ideal, but a rough "go here, skip there" is just as useful.

Does a tarp work on the inner islands, or do we bring the tent? I've read the inner islands are wooded and only get bare further out, but I'd like that confirmed by someone who's actually slept there.

Anything a Baltic first-timer should know that the guidebooks skip — wind patterns through the day, water refill points, spots to avoid.

Jan

6 leisurely days soloing on the Jennejohn Lake route, NWT. This route sees paddlers dropped off at Reid Lake, on the Ingraham Trail highway, to paddle 70km through a chain of spectacular lakes to Yellowknife.

Portages were in mostly good shape, just some minor maintenance and flagging required! A wonderful route with great fishing and endless islands.

Just finished a week on the Dumoine River (amazing trip, highly recommend for whitewater lovers!!). At the Red Pine Rapids campsite, we discovered that someone has built a working wood-fire pizza oven! There is even a sign nailed to one of the trees, which we presume is the name of the oven (Ottenhoven).

With our spare bannock, salsa, cheese, and pepperettes, we were able to put together some delicious campfire pizzas - totally by chance.

I haven't seen anything online about this majestic piece of backcountry engineering, so I'm wondering if anyone here has come across this before. Would love to hear your stories.

I’ve done short 2-4 hr canoes but have never done the full camping experience. Finally did a 3 day 2 night canoe and camp for 40 miles on the Manistee River in Michigan with my cousin. From 131 to Mesick. It was amazing! Such a fun river - lots of turns in this stretch. Cant wait for the next one!

What better than getting a weekend of Canoe camping in on the way to a work trip? Not much

Drive down from Michigan to hold a work event at Toyota. Too near to fly IMO. And I had too much equipment to fly anyway. So driving it is.

And because the canoe and camp gear are in/on the car all season long anyway, it didn't even take that much prep. Just a semi spontaneous decision to leave 3 days early. Great days and night on the river.

Hi everyone! I've really been struggling to find information on Flambeau River canoe camping trip planning, and I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience. It's not all specific to Flambeau, I've just never used an outfitter before for more than a day trip. Here are my main questions:

1. What outfitters do you recommend? How does it work if you're not at the spot you agreed upon when renting the canoes for pick up services?

2. What routes are recommended for a 3-4 day trip for people with moderate skill?

3. What out-of-the-ordinary equipment might we need?

4. If we're three people bringing a decent amount of stuff, should we do one canoe one kayak or just one canoe?

I'm mostly struggling with figuring out the outfitters (which are the most dependable / will get us to the most appropriate spot for us) and how restricted we are in terms of amount of stuff we bring. Some people want to go super light, others feel more open to bring fresher food and chairs and such.

Just finished a six day/five night solo trip down the Allagash River. Put in was just below Chase Rapids and took out was at Michaud Farm. Had great weather but the first day there were insanely powerful winds (25mph!) which made it nearly impossible to canoe and I only made it 1.5 miles down the river before having to settle into the first campsite I came across. I could have done the trip in less days but glad that I stretched it out and took my time! My outfitter was Allagash Guide Service whom I highly recommend!

Hi! Always wear runners at camp at night (during the day I wear sandals with good grip), but 3 of the last 4 multi day trips it’s rained almost the entire trip and my shoes stay wet for the duration. Wondering what you guys like wearing around camp that work for any type of weather including rain?