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Quality Camper Tip - Canoe/Kayak Courtesy
Self-powered water-based sports are one of the fastest growing areas of recreation in the country. That is no surprise in my neck of the woods, the Adirondack Park. Whether it is tandem canoeing, solo canoeing, kayaking, and now stand-up paddling, self-powered boats outnumber motor boats on the lake I live on many days of the summer. The Adirondack Park, like most areas where canoe and kayaking is popular, has lots of canoe carries. In this part of the world they’re called canoe carries where in many others they’re called portages. Whatever you call them you need to follow some basic rules of courtesy to make it easier for those who come to the carry after you or who finish the carry from the opposite direction.

Good canoe carry etiquette is really quite simple and mostly common sense. It means taking up as little space as possible and keeping all your gear close together. Why? Because the put in and take out points of most canoe carries are limited in space. It also prevents gear possibly getting mixed in with some other party’s and ultimately lost. In the picture here you see a canoe blocking the carry itself and the group’s gear spread across the entire carry. I have also seen five canoes all crowded around the take out with no room for anyone else.
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photo credit: Doug Fitzgerald
If I am leading a group I try to get all the canoes out of the water and up the trail out of the way as quickly as possible. It frequently means getting at least four people and perhaps six, if the canoes are really heavily loaded, distributed on both sides of the canoe and lifting (not dragging) the canoe up and out of the water. Once they are up the trail and out of the way campers can take their time unloading them and preparing for getting all their gear to the other end of the carry. It’s that simple. Repeat at the other end.

The canoe/kayak season is winding down in our part of the world but we just had a great paddle over the weekend. Don’t forget to wear your PFD this time of year. The water is cold!

To See Tip #3 click here
To See Tip #5 click here
Adapted from The Camper’s Guide to Outdoor Pursuits by Jack Drury and Eric Holmlund published in 2006 by Sagamore Publishing
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Canoeing this weekend. (Photo by Nancy LaBombard)
 


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