This is a side line to the single trip portage thread.
What is your verdict on taking a break on a portage?
Unless I have to re-tie something or I am in real distress I find it better to walk through the pain and skip the breaks. Taking a break just slows down the trip and makes me want to take another break when I get to the next pain threshold (usually in less time than it took to get to the one that made me want to take the first break)
This is the same idea when paddling. Keep a rythm, paddle through the pain - don't switch sides, get to the "happy place"
Exceptions woould be a planned stop where the entire group stops to admire a view or eat some berries along the path. I would consider this part of the trip and not a break.

I'm the same way. I find the feeling of reaching the end without a break rewarding.

I take breaks if I feel like it. Just depends on how are things are going. I don't mind putting down my gear (just make sure your gear is off the trail) and checking things out in the area, it would be more of the park to see. Thats how I look at it. I even go back and walk over portages without any gear just so I could enjoy the walk and view without carrying anything on my back.

So yeah, I take breaks if I feel like it, I like taking it slow and easy though, thats my tripping style.

Gordie

http://www.solotripping.com/

http://www.abrweb.ca/

The key to being able to portage long distances is balance. Spend the extra time to balance the boat and the packs.

However, having just done a three mile portage (that's 4.8 k for you guys), there is a limit. After a while, I needed to take the boat off and drink some water.

We go rather fast( just doi) and switch every 20 minutes max
or canoe rest that happens to cross our path. Stop is always
at the agreement. You can't choose to carry canoe longer if
the other wants to switch... and this is very true when it's raining
and the canoe is a great umbrella

3-5 minutes if required at the rest and then off we go

Switching helps us break up the task at hand (canoe porter or beast of burden with packs)
and a change is as good as a rest

Rac n

Nothing wrong with taking a break, if it works for you. I fall more in line with Chemist and Ron. I almost always have a canoe on my shoulders, so I just want to keep my feet moving until I get to the next put-in. I've found two reasons not to stop on a portage: 1, the yoke or some other piece of equipment gets shifted and causes me more pain for the rest of the portage, 2, I become a skeeter snack until I start moving again!

We sure are making this camping thing sound like FUN. My son and I switch up our paddling all the time, probably on a 2 mile lake every 300 yards of so, but it is all communicated so no sudden movement in the canoe. As for breaks on Portages that should be at ones discretion. We do not but then the longest portage we have made is only 600 m. Enjoy and take a break when needed, same as fishing, if our backsides get a little on the tender side it is break time, quick snack and stretch and back we go...

I'm on vacation, not on basic training. I take set my pace by my mood at the time.

I'm generally with you, Preacher. I don't like to take breaks on portages that I can complete in 20 minutes or less but on the longer ones I would consider it. It is amazing but there is truth in your words of "walking through the pain". I found it on the Dickson-Bonfield. My neck and shoulders were aching with pain that I would describe as "stabbing". By continuing on and driving myself beyond where I thought I could go it actually eased the discomfort and allowed me to plod on much, much further than I believed I was capable of doing. It sounds kind of hokey, but it was certainly perceived by me.

It goes to show you the power of the mind.

When I do decide to rest it will often be near the halfway mark of a portage and will be for only one or two minutes. Sometimes it's a gear switch with a partner (we'll trade canoe for heavy pack) or just a need to stretch some tired or squished muscles.

Sometimes we stop and, as someone else identified, do stuff that doesn't really qualify as a rest stop...such as take some photos, eat a snack, check out a stream, refill water bottles, etc. I agree that those things are more part of the trip than an interruption or delay.

As far as paddling goes, the bow paddler 90-95% of the time is the motor and the stern person is part motor and part directional. As such, switching sides isn't that big of a deal to me...I just do it when I feel I've had enough of the left or the right. It's funny, I feel quite capable of paddling for hours and hours on end but I couldn't portage endlessly!

A great topic, but as with every other aspect of canoe camping, there are as many different approaches as there are canoeists. So I'm adding my two cents just for the entertainment value. Pain tolerance can definitely be increased by physical conditioning and attitude. We've all seen ourselves, and this is especially true for young people, get out of our heads and go way beyond what we thought was our limit. But with the really young and those of a certain age (such as me at 66) the limit can be reached a lot faster. The really young, such as the little kid bent double under a wanagan and tumpline, can be turned off for life, and the old guy with more will power than brawn can ignore pain and injure himself.

I still carry a large pack plus canoe, though it weighs less than it used to, and as I worry about how much longer I can should do that, I continue to be amazed at the "rush" I get on the first portage of the new year. The load feels way lighter and I feel way younger than I expect it to. I still try to go 900 to 1400 meters, or 20 to 30 minutes, before a break. And when the pain starts to build, I still reward myself with a hard candy, sing a silly song (e.g.,to the tune of Dylan's Memphis Blues: "Oh, mama, can this really be the end, to be stuck inside a Kipawa with no lake around the bend?"), and release the sternum strap so I can shift the weight back and forth from one shoulder to the other. Unlike most people I love my Swifty tumpline, which takes some of the load off my shoulders and hips and at times allows me to walk with my hands at my sides. But that's me. Brother Mark doesn't like a tumpline and has always gone a lot farther before breaking. And my wife, Liz, is a fair bit slower than I am but like the Energizer bunny or Aesop's tortoise gets to the end shortly after I do.

On the water, whether I am in the bow or the stern, I try to stress and build both arms equally by paddling on both sides alternately because it seems a healthier approach. Whoever gets tired first says "switch", we take one more stroke, and quickly and smoothly switch sides without interrupting the beat. If we're fagged and waves are not a problem, we may agree to skip a beat during the crossover. I am left handed and usually paddle with someone not so fortunate, which means that our stronger sides, the ones we revert to in hairy situations, compliment each other.

I've always found it pretty amazing how John manages to carry so much, so far with a tumpline. My neck hurts just thinking about it.

I find it helps me to use a pack that is designed with a good hip pad, which snugged tight helps transfer a good share of the load off my back and onto my hips. When solo canoeing, I also load my pack so the center seat rests on the top of my pack, also helping to shift weight off of my shoulders and onto my hips. When I get that three point balance right, shoulder yoke and pack (which usually takes a couple of portages), I can walk pretty easily with a normal, hands free stride.

Still, there inevitably comes the time when the whole deal comes down to one, excrutiating issue - pain. One of my favorite strategies for dealing with the beast fits with the notion that pain is "all in my head." When the load I am carrying starts to dominate my world and I can think of nothing else (which early in a trip is often way too soon), I try to focus on all the problems I am carrying in my head, issues at work, or in my personal relationships, or the latest teethgrinding political disaster dominating the headlines. I tell myself that these things are weighing me down far more than the physical load I am carrying. Together, they are a burden that I cannot shoulder any longer. That leaves me with the choice of throwing down my pack and canoe and carrying those problems with me, or getting rid of the problems.

So, one by one, I take hold of each issue, take the measure of it as clearly as I can, and then shed it right there on the trail, leaving it behind me. Those problems may or may not be waiting for me later, but there's no way I'm going to solve them now and I refuse to carry them any further. Miraculously, one by one, they do fall away. Sometimes it can take a pretty lengthy portage to get rid of them all, but it is truely remarkable how much I can lighten my load, and how much more quickly I am able to enjoy my "vacation" in the Park.

Mark S.

http://www.ABRweb.ca .. Algonquin Backcountry Recreationalists - Caring for Algonquin's Backcountry

It all depends on a mood, but if at all possible I'd try to make portage as enjoyable as paddling is. After all I'm in the woods, right? And Algonquin portage trails besides being (usually) comfortable are often much more beautiful than one can guess from under a canoe. If I have time I'll stop and may be walk around for few minutes. I like pushing myself sometimes, but going and paddling slowly makes a big difference in how one gets along with the woods and the water.

Hm... somehow my login info was discarded. It's Sergey Stein

If you look at a 2000 meter portage as a series of 4 500 meter portages you get a psychological lift.

I break up ports of 750 m or greater. I find I am refreshed by more rest stops, not a longer single rest stop.

If you are single carrying, disregard.

I think you do need to rehydrate every 20 minutes for best performance regardless of conditioning or age.There are ways to do this on the go if necessary.

If you have to rehoist 40 k every rest though that is something to think about as that is a tremendous expenditure of energy.

Tump Lines? Old school baby! I've been told by some that there is no better way to carry a load, but I'm afraid of breaking my neck.

I can attest that tump lines are very helpful. I don't use them exclusively to carry a load but both with a pack or a canoe they can enhance your stamina and carrying ability so you can go further with less strain or go the same distance while feeling less impact on your shoulder/back muscles.

It's important to get the tump line properly adjusted through trial and error ahead of time and, just as you would physically prepare for a trip through jogging, walking or gym workouts, it's also important to build the muscle groups associated with tump line use. It doesn't take long to get used to it and you can easily adjust the tump so that you increase or decrease the load on your neck/spine to suit your needs and ability.

I heartily recommend trying it...but I like old school, traditional stuff so it suits me to a "T"!

Both with paddling, portaging, foraging etc. I'm not on a schedule, I'm not out to prove anything.

I take my time and enjoy the trip. You can miss a lot of good stuff if you just barge on through. You can see a lot of neat things on a random portage gorp break.

portaging sucks, any way you do it. But I figured out something that makes single carries a bit easier...my wife and I carried the canoe together, each of us under 1 end, halving the weight, and were able to carry packs on our backs also. I might put a yoke at either end of the canoe held on with wing nuts. We did the long portage into Eustache like this, 1 carry no breaks. Also did same going into Nadine lake. It only sucked half as bad.

Portaging a canoe with two people carrying is actually the only way I have portaged a canoe, I have never portaged a canoe solo.

Gordie

http://www.solotripping.com/

http://www.abrweb.ca/

I have tried both, and prefer the single-person carry. If the canoe is balanced properly, and you're not carrying too much gear (for you), it shouldn't be much harder to carry a canoe than to hike with a pack. Two people require communication and coordination, one person can go at his/her own pace.
Gordie, I would recommend that you take a pack and hike the portage trails prior to portagin the canoe. I always have my partner walk in front of me to warn me of steep slopes, mud, rocks, etc. Going solo, you've got to do that yourself, and traversing the trail twice before wearing a canoe sombrero should give you an idea of when to really watch your foot placement. Maybe you've already thought of this, but just in case. What kind of canoe are you renting for your solo?
Ahh yes, another thought: at some point, you may get tired of walking through the woods and want to spend more time on the lakes (I do). AP is a place to explore, and we all go at our own speeds. If I go a little faster and visit more lakes, I can be happy. If you go a little slower and see a lot on a few lakes, you can be happy. As long as we attain the enjoyment we set out to find, right?

I use a kayak.

Gordie

http://www.solotripping.com/

http://www.abrweb.ca/