Most paddlers would sit up and listen when told they could actually travel the same distance without working any harder in less time. They’d lean in much closer when told that there was a secret that could allow them to travel an additional 24 miles in a ten day trip without any additional hours on the water, and most would be surprised to learn the secret is actually simple. Simply, traveling with less and lighter equipment allows a paddler to go significantly further or faster with no additional time or work. Or perhaps more intriguing, this also means that traveling the same distance requires less work.

Resistance Explained

The force behind this secret is called resistance. As a canoe or kayak moves through the water, the water opposes the craft’s movement. And this opposition is represented as resistance, which breaks down into two types: frictional and residual. Frictional resistance is the energy lost due to friction between a layer of water that attaches to the hull and the layer of water that the hull passes through. Residual resistance is made up of all other resistances and these include pressure drag, eddy-making drag, and wave-making drag. The main force of residual resistance is wave-making drag. When moving through water, the kayak or canoe creates waves and the energy used in making these waves is a loss in energy used to propel the craft and a gain in resistance.

Boat designers are concerned with resistance because they can use it as a tool to create a more efficient boat. In larger ship designs this could equal a huge amount of savings in fuel expended and thus result in a lower cost of operating the boat, but even in small craft like kayaks and canoes, resistance plays an important role. Less resistance means less work for the paddler to go the same distance or the same speed. Even small decreases in resistance equate large gains in efficiency. For example, a 2% gain in efficiency at 4 knots means that the paddler will gain two minutes on an hour. (Winters, John, The Shape of the Canoe, Second Edition, page 66) Over an eight-hour day, the paddler with the more efficient boat will arrive at camp 16 minutes before his friend who paddles a 2% less efficient boat. Over 10 days, the more efficient paddler will have gained 160 extra minutes for the same amount of work and energy expended. If this paddler stays on the water the full eight hours, then over the 10 days, she will have paddled approximately an additional 12 miles during the same time. It’s not hard to imagine, as will be shown, a 4% or even 8% gain in efficiency, which would result in 24 or 48 miles, respectively.

Measuring Resistance

For canoes and kayaks, John Winter’s KAPER drag prediction program has become the main way to measure resistance, and Sea Kayaker Magazine has adopted it as one of the results used for performance prediction. If numbers that are more accurate are needed a tank test can be preformed, but this is impractical and expensive for most paddlers. Michlet, another drag prediction program, is also available and it uses the whole hull shape to predict drag and may be slightly more accurate than other methods, but for comparison purposes, using only one of these methods will be accurate as long as it is consistent internally. Here, the original KAPER as integrated into Delftship Professional (Opens in New Window) is used. It is important to remember that moving water interacting with wind and waves and current is an environment that can be hard to predict, and because of that, the formulas in these cited programs should not be considered absolute, but they are the best we have.

Extra Pounds Equal Extra Work

Sea Kayaker Magazine states that the average kayaker can maintain three pounds of drag over a long period of time, and this seems to be slightly conservative, so for this test four knots of speed was selected as a speed to predict resistance. This speed was selected because for most kayaks at most weights, three pounds of resistance occurs near four knots. For these results, three kayaks were selected: the Siskiwit Bay, Intrepidation, and Igdlorssuit. These three boats represent kayaks ranging from 16.5 to 18 feet, and also represent a broad spectrum of kayak types, from a modern touring kayak, to a coastal playboat and finally a traditional Greenland boat, respectively. Even though these boats represent a wide range of crafts, they all could be used as touring kayaks, and an increase in efficiency would result in major gains in speed and or distance over a typical day spent touring. Almost any canoe or kayak and speed could be used and the results would be similar. As is shown in the following chart, Displacement vs. Resistance, resistance at four knots is plotted against displacement. Resistance was calculated using KAPER at every 25 pounds of displacement from 150 pounds to 350 pounds.

As the chart clearly shows, resistance increases as more weight is added to the kayak. When the three boats are averaged and the resistance increase between each 25-pound step is averaged it is shown that for each 25 pounds extra carried in the kayak, resistance increases 4.56%, or .0114% per ounce. The reverse of which is that if you carry 25 pounds less, a paddler will gain at four knots over four minutes on an hour or she’ll arrive at camp about a half an hour earlier traveling the same distance over an eight hour day. (It should be noted that the increase in resistance is greater at the ends of this displacement range than it is in the middle. The following chart, Average Increase in Resistance as Displacement Increases Per 25 Pounds, shows the percent increase at each 25-pound step.) So, what is happening? Adding weight to a boat increases the wetted surface, and for the most part, it is this extra wetted surface, which increases frictional resistance, that is causing the extra drag.

Real Life Examples

As the first chart dramatically shows, gaining efficiency is as easy as losing weight. Losing 25 pounds is much easier than it sounds, but it does require some slight change in the gear carried. For this example, the paddler is paddling a 45 pound boat, carrying 35 pounds of camping gear (average for traditional camping methods), with rescue gear, vest, and paddles, he weight 205 pounds. He is also carrying ten days of food at two pounds a day or 20 pounds in food. So, his weight is 305 pounds. On the chart above, he is generating about 3.56 pounds of resistance at this weight. Now, if he were only to drop his camping gear weight to that equal with this list, he would drop 21 pounds out of his kayak and he would be generating around 3.45 pounds of drag. This simple change in camping technique gains the paddler about a 4.4% increase in efficiency. That’s 24 extra miles paddled in ten days paddling the same eight hours a day. On a 360-mile trip, that finishes the trip almost a day earlier than planned.

Taking the example further, the paddler could lose five pounds by buying two carbon fiber paddles, build or buy a kayak that is lighter at 38 pounds (Lightweight Cedar Strip Building) he could adopt Ultralight camping methods and drop his camping gear to eight pounds. This would lose him 39 pounds and gain 7.11% in efficiency, and it’s not hard to imagine that the paddler, himself could lose 20 pounds, use infused carbon fiber to drop the weight of his kayak to 30 pounds (many Kevlar solo canoes weigh this now,) go radical with his camping gear to a five pound level, and drop 70 pounds of weight. In this final example, the paddler gains an increase of 12.7%. This would allow the paddler to finish the above trip two days quicker, which would allow him to drop two days of food for four pounds and would thus increase the efficiency to 13.6%. Over one day, going the same mileage as before, by losing this weight, the kayaker using the same energy will arrive at camp 1 hour and 40 minutes earlier. That’s a lot of extra camp time for exploring, taking pictures, relaxing, etc…

The above efficiency gains, shown in increased miles, decreased paddling time, etc… can be mixed up any way a paddler chooses. For example, if the paddler gains four minutes a mile, that’s 24 minutes to play in waves, fish, relax under the sun, explore, do anything imaginable and still arrive at camp without any extra work other than that expended during the chosen activity. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Of course, saying that in all sea conditions, with all boats, and all circumstances, these gains will be realized would be over simplification of the issue.

Other Advantages

In addition to the advantages mentioned above, an increase of efficiency results in several other advantages. Some of which include: having a more nimble kayak or canoe which accelerates faster, is easier to turn and move quickly in dangerous situations, and it could be argued that because the paddler is able to cover more ground quicker, she’ll be exposed to dangers for a shorter duration of time and thus will be safer. Also, lighter weights equal easier carries on and off the beach and easier portages.

The Trade-offs

There are some trade-offs and the main one is that more skills are required to use lighter weight gear, but these skills are basic and should be mastered by all outdoor travelers anyway. Also, in some situations, there may be an advantage to carrying extra weight, like when extra stability is needed. Like in storm ravaged seas. This can be addressed on the water by filling extra water containers to increase stability. This solution allows the paddler to take advantage of the gain in efficiency in the normal conditions that occur most of the time, and still be able to gain the extra stability when needed.

Also remember: In order to maximize the advantages of efficiency gains, it’s important to paddle a canoe or kayak properly sized and designed for you and your gear and the conditions you expect to be traveling in, respectively.

Anecdotes Against

There are some anecdotes that can be made where the advantages gained by decreasing weight in your load would seem to be overcome by disadvantages of doing so. For example, in this outragous and often cited example, if a 125 pound person is paddling a kayak designed 300 pounds, some added weight may help the person keep the kayak tracking better, add extra stability, and that in and of itself may get the kayaker to camp sooner. But just because one can come up with anecdotal imaginings where extra weight may be helpful, it doesn’t discount the facts stated in this article. It’s like saying that because one smoker lived to be 100, that smoking isn’t a health problem.

Tracking and Less Weight

Most paddlers switching from traditional camping methods to lightweight methods usually save around 25 pound, which in the boats listed above changes the waterline by about 5/16″ of an inch. One could imagine that this decrease in waterline in the extreme examples (i.e. 70 pounds of dropped weight) above may decrease tracking enough to reduce the benefits of efficiency gains somewhat. This may be the case (As far as this author knows, no study exists for this), but it is doubtful that they would reduce them significantly particularly in the real life weight reductions that occur when switching from traditional equipment to light-weight equipment.

The Momentum Argument

I understand the momentum argument, but there’s a point at which the momentum that carries speed between paddle strokes and the increased resistance meet. At this point, the increase in weight drowns out the gain from more momentum. Based on rough preliminary calculations for a lean and efficient paddler with no extra fat, the dead weight (including boat, gear, paddles, etc.) should weigh around 20% of the person’s body weight–anything more just slows the paddler down.

Advantages, Advantages, Advantages

Given the study, it is clear that a reduction in weight carried while paddling results in positive results. With the shown on average 4.56% gains in efficiency per dropped 25 pounds or .0114% per ounce, it’s clear that traveling lighter not only has advantages off the water when the gear is on your back, but also on the water when the gear is stowed in the boat. And that’s the secret. Now get out and paddle. Give it a try to see what you think.

Additional Resources

• Effects of Weight in Rowing

Nessmuking.com is home to the famous 35 Day Challenge. The challenge is simple: You must come up with a gear list that meets the following demands:

Sealline 35HD Boundary Waters pack is the perfect pack for ultralight paddling trips.

• Must have a shelter, and sleep system.
• Must have a cook system and water purifying system.
• Must have clothing to cover temperatures from 32°F to 80°F. Must handle conditions from sun to rain, sleet, hail, and snow.
• Must have a compass.
• Must have 5 days and 4 nights of food. A menu is a must.
• Must have a bear proof food storage system.
• Must fit into a Sealline Boundary 35 Day pack.

The challenge is to meet all the above stipulations while maintaining a decent level of comfort. This gear list must consist of items that you would want to take to an area like the Boundary Waters on a late September or early October solo trip.

You can assume the following: Your canoe is stocked with a seat pad, two 30 foot painters, two paddles (one bent, one straight), and a life vest.

Why?

Why the 35 Day Challenge? Simple. The 35 Day Challenge is engineered to challenge your perceptions as what is possible when traveling by canoe. A small waterproof pack, like the Sealline 35 Day Pack can be used to carry everything you need for a backcountry trip. And you’ll still be comfortable while doing it. The pure pleasure of reaching the other side of the portage without having to go back for a second trip and not feeling strained under a pack and canoe is more than worth giving it a try. It’s time you give it a shot. Check out the sample gear lists.

Sample List

Bryan Hansel’s 2007 List

Bryan’s Notes: The following list is the gear that I used recently on an overnight trip on the Vern River Route in the Boundary Waters. I had planned on a two night trip, but decided to cut out early the second day. There was enough room in the pack for three more days of meals, but not much else. I also carried a tripod inside the 35HD pack which isn’t included in the gear list below. My camera was carried separately in a Sealline 10HD. I carried a Nikon D70 and two lenses plus a couple of filters, memory cards, and an extra battery. When doing portages, I strapped both spare paddles into the canoe, threw the pack on my back, hoisted the 32 pound Bell Magic on my shoulders, and carried the 10HD in my hand. This made for fast single carry portages, which was a real plus while bush whacking and on the 240 rod portage.

Bell Magic solo canoe on Brule Lake in the BWCA.

This list itself is slightly heavy. There are several places where I could improve it, and these include a reduction in weight in clothing by probably a pound by upgrading to newer and lighter and warmer items. The shelter and bag system could also probably be reduced in weight. By switching to a lighter new and hightech tarp bivy sack system I could shave a pound off, and another half pound could come off of the bag. I went a little heavy in the kitchen also on this trip, because I didn’t feel like using a pop can stove. All in all, I could probably easily drop 3 to 4 pounds out of my pack, and if I was really trying, I could drop it down to 8.5 to 9 pounds before consumables.

A few other items of interest are my canoe and paddles. I use a ZRE Lightweight Carbon Bent Shaft which comes in a 8.5 ounces, a wood paddle which is 1.5 pounds, my Bell Magic outfitted with the seatcover, painters and bungies is 32 pounds, and my lifevest is a Stohlquist Brik, which doesn’t weigh very much at all.

All in all, this is a pretty plush and all around kit for early spring and late fall travel. In the above picture, you can see everything that I carried, except the camera and 10HD bag it was carried in. The picture below is a tarp set-up that I’ve been using lately. It’s easy to set-up, weather proof, and only requires 4 stakes.

Integral Design 8x10 tarp set-up to provide a basic shelter.

Clothing Worn

Marmot Dri-Clime Windshirt - 11 oz
Sierra Designs Ultra Pants – 11 oz
Terramar Body Sensor Tee - 5 oz
Thorlo Light Hikers – 3 oz
Steger Mocs 24.60 - 1 lb 9 oz
Tingley Rubber Overboots - 1 lb 8 oz
Outdoor Research 20th Anv Sun Ball Cap – 1 oz
Subtotal: 5 lb 1 oz

Other Items Worn / Carried

Brunton 7 – 1 oz
McKenzie Map - 2 oz
Whistle - 0.30oz
Subtotal: 4 oz

Other Clothing

Lifa Polypro Long bottoms - 5 oz
Marmot Dri-Clime Longsleave Zip Neck - 9 oz
TNF Fleece Vest - 10 oz
Swix Fleece Ski Hat - 1 oz
Fleece Campsocks - 3 oz
Black Thin Gloves - 2 oz
Marmot Precip Jacket - 12 oz
Marmot Precip Pant - 7 oz
Subtotal: 2 lb 10 oz

Sleep System

Tyvek House Wrap – One Person – 6 oz
Integral Designs SilTarp (8×10) - 1 lb 0 oz
GoLite Y – Stake 6 – 3 oz
Kelty Triptease Cord 25 - 1 oz
Mountian Smith Wisp - 1 lb 5 oz
Thermarest Prolite 3 – Short - 13 oz
Subtotal: 3 lb 12 oz

Packing

Sealline Boundary Day 35 HD - 2 lb 1 oz
Granite Gear Compression Sack - 5 oz
Granite Gear Air Bag #4 2 - 1 oz
Subtotal: 2 lb 7 oz

Cooking and Water

Platypus Water Bottle – 1L - 1 oz
Nalgene – 1 Quart - 6 oz
Outdoor Research Water Bottle Parka – 5 oz
MiniWorks w/tubes, sack, cleaning pad – 1 lb 2 oz
Markill Hot Shot – 8 oz
Snow Peak Giga Power 110g fuel canister (empty) – 4 oz
MSR Titanium Spoon – 1 oz
Snow Peak – 16 oz pot with lid – 5 oz
Bear Bag Rope – 50′ plus ‘biner – 5 oz
Syderco Folder – 2 oz
Small Bic Ligher – 1 oz
Subtotal: 3 lb 6 oz

Other Essentials

Moleskine, G2, replacement ink – 2 oz
Paperback Book – 6 oz
First Aide Kit – Bryan Style – 9 oz
Assorted Toiletries, DermaGel, Tooth, Dr. B, Floss – 6 oz
TP – 4 oz
Princeton Tec Aurora – 1 oz
Subtotal: 1 lb 13 oz

Consumables

1 lb 8 oz (0.68 kg) / day ( * – from Menu ) 2.5 – 3 lb 12 oz
Quart – 2 lb 0 oz
Snow Peak Giga Power, 110g – 4 oz
Subtotal: 6 lb 0 oz

Summary

5 lb 5 oz (2.40 kg) 84.60 (1) Total Weight Worn or Carried
13 lb 15 oz (6.33 kg) 223.35 (2) Total Base Pack Weight
6 lb 0 oz (2.72 kg) 96.03 (3) Total Weight of Consumables
19 lb 15 oz (9.05 kg) 319.37 (4) Total Initial Pack Weight (2) + (3)
25 lb 4 oz (11.45 kg) 403.97 (5) Full Skin Out Weight (1) + (2) + (3)

Tarptent Double Rainbow in the BWCA.

Easier paddling, quicker camp set-up and takedown, and less strenuous portages are a few of the many reasons to switch to lightweight paddling. With those reasons in mind, it’s time to take the mental leap and figure out how to slim down your pack weight and move into the world of lightweight paddling.

This article will set out to put you on the right path to losing extra-unneeded weight. First, I’ll define a few terms in the lightweight paddling movement, and then I’ll layout a system you can use to realistically evaluate your current gear and then reduce the weight of your gear quickly. Here and there, I’ll throw in some humor and antidotes from my conversion from heavy weight backpacker to lightweight paddler.

Light Weight Terms

If you’ve walked into any outdoor equipment retailer lately, you’ve probably noticed the terms light, lightweight, Ultralight written on everything from pots and pans, plastic kayaks and canoes, sleeping pads, to packs. It seems like everything is now lightweight.

But wait. If everything is lightweight, then one just needs to replace old gear with something labeled lightweight. Well, we’re not as stupid as the marketing geniuses believe. Lately, the outdoor industry has embraced one aspect of the lightweight movement and that is the term “light.”

So, let’s define a few terms that appear in the lightweight movement, so we can understand the difference between the marketing hype and the movement. The terms are: Traditional, Lightweight, Ultralight, and Superultralight. I’ll also define a few terms that are useful when talking about gear lists, because that’s where we’re heading next.

Lightweight Movement

A ground level movement of wilderness travel trying to reduce the weight of the equipment the practitioners carry for any number of reasons, including but not limited to the following reasons: Easier on your body, go faster, go further easier, environmental responsibility, develops important wilderness skills, simplifies your life by requiring less equipment, good for cottage industry, good for bringing your other heavy hobbies with you.

Traditional

Traditional refers to traditional backpacking or paddling equipment that without food or water will result in a pack weight when hung on a scale of around 30 to 40 pounds.

Lightweight

Lightweight refers to using traditional equipment that is lighter to arrive at pack weights without food or water that range from 15 to 25 pounds.

Ultralight

Ultralight refers to using lightweight gear and techniques to utilize that gear to fullest to arrive at pack weights without food and water that are equal to or less than 12 pounds. There is a little play around this weight, but over 15 pounds certainly moves you to Lightweight and out of Ultralight.

Superultralight

Superultralight is the cutting edge of the lightweight movement. It refers to using techniques and gear to have a pack weight of five pounds or under without food or water.

Total Weight Worn or Carried

A measure of the clothing that you are wearing and items that you are carrying that are not in your pack. For example, the watch on your wrist and the shorts on your legs or the boots on your feet.

Base Pack Weight

The weight of everything in your pack and of the pack itself without food or water. Base Pack Weight is used to determine what category of weight you fall into: Traditional, Lightweight, Ultralight, or Superultralight.

Weight of Consumables

This is the weight of items that will be consumed during the trip, such as daily water carried, a measure of food in pounds per day, and the fuel for a stove.

Initial Pack Weight

The weight of your pack at the start of a trip including the consumables.

Full Skin Out Weight

The initial pack weight plus the weight of Total Weight Worn or Carried

Paddling Gear Weight

The total weight of your canoe or kayak, paddles, paddling specific rescue gear, pfd, and anything that is attached to your watercraft.

Sample Lightweight Gear List

A sample lightweight gear list can be found in the 35Day Challenge.

Reducing Weight – A System

Now that we’ve gotten through the tough stuff – the definitions – let’s talk about the fun stuff – the gear. That’s right; we get to be gearheads for a while. First let’s break down a gear list into several sections. We do this for two reasons: 1. To make a gear list more readable and more usable for our purposes, and 2. To redefine some Traditional wilderness travel concepts. We must redefine these Traditional concepts to be able to move into the territory of Ultralight.

We’re going to breakdown the lists into the following sections: Clothing Worn, Items Carried, Other Clothing, Sleep System, Packing Gear, Cooking System, Other Essentials, and Consumables. As far as the concepts, let’s talk a little about systems. Systems are a combination of skills and equipment that we’re going to use to help us reduce weight by combining the functionality of several pieces of gear and a few skills to arrive at a more functional piece of gear.

The systems breakdown into Clothing System, Sleep System, Packing System, and Cooking System. In addition, you could add a First Aid System.

Another way to think about systems is that instead of buying an individual piece of gear, like a sleeping bag, think about buy a full set of items that compliment the rest of your gear. So, in the sleeping bag example, you also need to consider the type of shelter, sleeping pad, warm clothing, in addition to the conditions you’ll be traveling in, and in addition to just the sleeping bag that you want.

Here’s a little bit about the different systems.

Clothing System

A clothing system is a pretty easy concept for most people who have been exposed to the layering technique that is preached consistently in the outdoor education community. This layering technique tells us to use multiple layers of clothing starting with a base layer that wicks moisture from the body and transfers that moisture to an insulation layer, which in turn passes the moisture to a waterproof but breathable outer layer. By removing and adding layers of clothing, we can adjust the amount of clothing we need to stay warm and avoid overheating in a variety of weather conditions.

For our purposes, we need to understand that you want the smallest number of clothing items you can carry and because of that, the items that you carry must be extremely versatile. For example, instead of carrying a windbreaker and rain jacket, use the rain jacket as a windbreaker. Or use the windbreaker as insulation. In addition, parts of your insulation in your clothing system may be used in your sleep system. It’s important to think in terms of a whole system when selecting gear.

Sleep System

A sleep system includes everything needed to comfortably sleep in the outdoors in the conditions that you’re going to be in. Most often, this system will include a sleeping bag, a shelter, something to insulate you from the ground. Sometimes it may include clothing from your clothing system as extra insulation that you pack as extra protection. It may contain a bivy, a hammock, and many other items that when combined together arrive at the lightest possible kit to satisfy the users needs.

Packing System

Packing systems are going to differ between watercraft. In a canoe, most often some sort of backpack or portage pack will be required to carry the other bags that gear is pack into. In a kayak, often all that is needed is some sort of stuff sack – waterproof or not – to keep your gear from moving around inside the hull. The packing system is also going to include the small bags that you use to organize your gear.

Cooking System

A cooking system includes all the items that you will require to cook and purify water. Many lightweight proponents will use pop can stoves and alcohol, because it is one of the lighter weight stove alternatives. Often a pot cozy is included in the system. A pot cozy is something that you wrap around your pan and it helps reduce fuel usage, which in turn lightens your load over the long run.

A Way to Light Weight Travel

So, now that we know about lightweight systems, it’s time to realistically look at your gear list and start downsizing. The best way to do this is build a spreadsheet that can track your gear and its weight.

To build your gear list, use Excel or if you don’t want to spend the money download the equally great, Open Office. In the spread sheet, list the above systems and start entering the gear you currently have and what it weighs.

As you are doing this, see if you can reduce any weight by removing items from your packing list that are redundant between multiple systems. For example, if you bring a down coat and a 20 F bag, you should be able to drop down to a 30 to 40 degree F bag and use the down coat as extra insulation. This will save you a pound or more.

Once you eliminate redundant gear, start to evaluate the gear you usually bring for items that you usually don’t use. If you don’t use it, don’t carry it. There are some exceptions for the usual safety gear, like paddle floats, sat phone, first aid kits, but even those should be evaluated for redundancy.

When you’re satisfied that you have reduced the weight of your gear by eliminating redundant items and dropping out items you don’t use. It’s time to go shopping. Really start to look at the items you carry, compare them to other people’s lists, and go shopping online to try and find items that weigh less than what you’re carrying. List these items, weights, and cost in a new column corresponding to your current equipment.

The key is to slowly replace items that are heavy with items that are light. Try to make your first replacements the ones that offer the biggest weight savings. Usually, these will occur in the big three: packs, tents, sleeping bags. These three items usually weigh the most and if you are coming from a Traditional system, switching to lightweight gear can often save around seven to ten pounds right at the start.

Then work toward reducing the weight in your pack with the smaller items. Often too many cloths are brought because items aren’t versatile enough. So, make sure that new clothing items are lighter and more versatile, so that you can eliminate any extra items that you have to carry.

This simple spreadsheet system is key if you seriously want to lessen the weight in your pack or carried in your hatches.

Lightweight Mind

After you start to look at your gear as systems instead of individual items and once you evaluate your gear list, you’ll have taken the first step to traveling lighter. After your first trip with new lightweight gear, you may find that you want to make your loads even lighter. I know I did.

The light-weight philosophy of Nessmuking stresses a strong skill base that allows the wilderness tripper to travel lighter, faster and safer in more comfort and more simply than with traditional tripping styles. The following articles are planned and form the basis of the movement.

Cedar Strip Freedom 17 canoe on Pine Lake in the BWCA.

Risk Assessment and Stress Management: Often misunderstood, explained too complicatedly, and ignored by many paddlers, here is the basis of safe wilderness travel.

Shelter Construction: If you can make a shelter, you can survive in any weather.

Fire Starting in All Conditions: A warm fire can save the day and make you a happy camper.

First Aid: Sure you know how to treat a small cut, but what would you do if your friend broke a leg 100 miles from nowhere. Learn it here.

Self Trust, Self Belief and Self Will: Learn how to count on yourself in the wilds, how to rebound from set backs, and will yourself through the most stressful situations.

Critical Thinking and Flexibility of Thought: Often adventures get locked into one mode of thought and that leads to danger. Learn how to avoid this pitfall of the mind.

Safe Terrain Negotiation: Every type of terrain requires different types of skills. This set of articles teaches everything from navigating in the fog to running white water.

Bryan Hansel relaxes on Lake Alice in the BWCA

Every philosophy, even those grounded in skills, like Nessmuking, must evaluate the gear that they utilize. Even Nessmuk produced a core list, evaluated gear, and added up the weights. For most philosophies, this is where you are left. As stated before the Nessmuking philosophy doesn’t start and end with the discussing of the merits of this and that gear, but as with every pursuit that requires equipment, the right gear can make wilderness travel easier. The following gear list has been tried and tested using the lightweight Nessmuking philosophy on over 1200 miles of paddling and hiking trips in a multitude of locations, including the Black Hills, the Smoky Mountains, and the Boundary Waters. Each item of gear has been reduced to its minimum for a reasonable level of comfort before the gear level becomes roughing it. There are lighter weight kits out there, but they should be reserved strictly to those who have a perfect mastery of the core skills of wilderness travel and survival as outlined in Nessmuking. So, let’s delve into the list of all lists.

Tally Ho

This gear list is split into seven sections: Cook System, Packing System, Sleep System, Shelter, Clothing System, Others, and Luxuries. Each section will discuss the merits of choosing the outlined system. In some cases, when there is a disadvantage in using the outlined gear, it will be stated. Remember, all this gear has been used successfully in a multitude of conditions, including snow, rain, cold, and heat. If you have ever been on an expedition with me, you know next time to plan your trip before or after mine, because I attracted the worst conditions.

The Breakfast Club – A Cooking System

The most basic of cooking systems would be not to have a cooking system. One can plan an entire trip with food that you don’t have to cook, but on most trips, a hot meal at the start or end of the day can restart your engine. Also, in conditions that could produce hypothermia the skill of starting a fire and the ability to warm up liquid is important in helping to treat a person either suffering or on the verge of suffering from hypothermia. This cooking system also includes a way to treat water other than by boiling it.

To these ends, this cooking system is based around an alcohol-burning stove. This particular stove is simple to build from two soda cans, inexpensive, and functions well. It will boil a quart of water depending on the conditions in around 6 or 7 minutes on one ounce of fuel. The windscreen is also the pot supporter. A quart is generally all the water needed for a meal for two, and if you need to boil more you can always start a small cooking fire.
The pot and lid combo is one part of a Titanium Snowpeak set. This is one of the lightest most durable pot sets available. The second pot can be added for less than 4 ounces more. The Ti Spoon is light and easy to eat off of.
The windscreen rolls up and fits inside the pot set, which also holds the stove, and lighter. All of this can be stored inside the Pot Cozy, which was built out of an old Thermarest Link Rest to fit the pot perfectly. This cozy protects the pan from the inevitable jarring that result from storing packs in the bottom of a canoe. It also is an important part of the cooking system. Using one and a half ounces of fuel to cook a meal allows you to boil one quart of water then place the pot with water inside the cozy. This will keep the meal cooking or the water hot while you continue to heat half a quart of water in another pan over the remaining fuel for use in a hot drink. The water in the second pan won’t boil, but it will be warm enough for a good cup of hot cocoa.

A controversial choice for water treatment for lightweight travelers is the Miox Water Purifier by MSR. It operates by using salt-water and electrical current to produce a mixed oxidant, which is what many municipal water treatment plants produce. This mixed oxidant is poured into the water to be treated and 20 minutes later, you have water ready to drink. It does take four hours to destroy crypto, but a good system is all you need to make this work. Fill two quarts per person before you go to bed and by morning, you will have two quarts ready to drink. Drink one in the morning and fill up again. Drink the second quart from the night before by lunch, and then the quart you filled in the morning will be ready to drink. Fill up by noon, etc… This may not seem like the simplest choice, but it weighs only 4 ounces and when combined with a Pristine or Aqua-Mira backup you have an 8 ounces water purification system that is easy to use and dependable.
Platy water bottles are the lightest most durable containers out there. The new ergonomical shape fits perfectly into your hand and is easy to drink out of.

The only disadvantage of this system is the requirement of the use of batteries, and the Red Bull Can Power Stove doesn’t have an adjustable flame. If you are a gourmet cook, then you may want to consider a canister stove and pay a slight penalty in weight. If cooking for four or more people, a canister stove is the lightest option. White gas stoves are best when cooking for groups of 6 or more – pack two stoves, so everyone’s meals can be cooked at once. It may not be light, but you will save yourself some hassle.

• COOKING SYSTEM Weight (oz.)
• Pot support/windscreen 1
• Snowpeak 1 quart pot/lid 5.7
• Red Bull Can Power Stove 0.6
• Ti Spoon 0.7
• Pot Cozy 2.7
• 16 oz fuel bottle 0.9
• MSR Miox 4
• 8 matches 0.1
• Bic Lighter 0.8
• Pristine Two-Part Backup 3
• Towel (1/2) 1.4
• Food Stuff Sacks 0.6
• 2 Platys 1 liter 2
• Total 23.5

A Little Canvas, A Brass Tack, and Some Leather

There are lighter packs available, but a canvas and leather Duluth Pack reeks with tradition and fits perfectly into the bottom of a canoe. The Northwoods style with a custom waist belt is large enough for all the gear on this list and 15 to 20 days of food. The custom waist belt replaces the tumpline, a strap that rides slightly above your forehead to take weight off of your back. Some canoeists still swear by the tumpline by claiming that a properly carried pack will ride without pain, but a waist belt takes less skill, and carries a load as comfortably as a tumpline.
The trick to loading a Duluth pack is building a frame into it by rolling your semi-inflated Thermarest or sleeping pad and inserting it into the pack. Then load all your gear into the pack inside the sleeping pad. The sleeping pad becomes the frame of the pack and also extra protection for your gear against the loading and unloading of the pack for portages.
A custom made Northwoods pack built with Sil Nylon and padded straps would make an excellent pack for someone with the ambition and knowledge to sew one, and it would be much lighter than the three pound canvas and leather pack.

Although the Northwoods pack is about the best pack for canoe trips, it does suffer from not being waterproof, which on a canoe trip is important. The best way to waterproof this pack is to line the pack with a contractor’s trash bag. After the pack is loaded twist the top five or six times, double the twisted section over and secure it with an extra large rubber band. Some canoeists avoid all this waterproofing by leaving the canvas packs in the past; they use Seal Line waterproof Boundary Packs. These packs carry less comfortably than the Northwoods pack, and are not as durable.

This Bed Is Too Soft, and This Bed Is Just Right

The Mountain Smith Wisp sleeping bag is rated for 35-degree temperatures, but when used in combination with a fleece worn to bed, it is fine for temperatures down to around 25 degrees. This sleeping bag packs small and doesn’t take up much room in the pack. Using a bag that packs this small in combination with a fleece, that you would bring along anyway, or a Marmot DriClime Windshirt when the temperature drops, leaves extra room for more food. This extra room allows for longer trips into the wilderness without having to bring a second pack.
For a sleeping pad that complements the Wisp, choose the Thermarest Ultra Light or the new Prolite 3 model. These pads are comfortable and when partially inflated they make a great frame for the pack. As you can see with this system, parts from different categories work together in providing comfort without sacrificing light weights.

• SLEEP SYSTEM Weight (oz.)
• Thermarest Prolite 3 Short 13
• Mountain Smith Wisp 21
• Stuff Sack .9
• Total 34.9

I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff and Your Tarp Is Made of Brick

There is nothing revolutionary about using a tarp as a shelter. In fact, many Boy Scouts are sent out into the woods every year with nothing more and told to survive for the night. When used properly the Integral Designs 8 x 10 SilTarp is one the most weatherproof and strong shelters out there. A simple rectangular tarp can be configured in countless ways to become a shelter. I prefer to set it up in three different ways depending on the expected weather. If it is warm and humid set it up as a lean-to with the front and two sides open. This is airy and protects against the surprise rain. If the weather is incremental run a line down the center of the tarp and secure it to two paddles; one at each end, stake out the four corners. Then using two guy lines anchored to the center of each side of the tarp pull the sides out for extra headroom. I sleep wall to wall in this configuration. The third way to set up the tarp is when the weather is looking terrible. Paddles are too long for this one, so you have to find one stick about 3 feet tall. Stake out three corners of the tarp, and then force the center of the tarp up using the 3-foot stick. This will make the tarp look like a tepee. Take a paddle and use it to lift an opening in the front of the tarp along the ridgeline. Then stake out the last corner and use a guy line running from the paddle to the ground. This final configuration provides a storm proof shelter with a single door.
A Neatsheet rounds out the package by serving duty as a ground cloth. This sheet works great as a picnic blanket for lunch also.
If you expect mosquitoes and black flies, make sure that you bring some type of bug netting to protect you during the night from countless bites.

• SHELTER SYSTEM Weight (oz.)
• Integral Design SilTarp 8×10 15.9
• Stuff sack 0.4
• Stakes (6) 3.7
• Extra Guy Line 1
• Neatsheet 9.9
• Total 30.9

There, Doctor, a Little Gauze, Please

The other items that you shouldn’t be without during a trip are DermaGel Hand Sanitizer, a flashlight, a knife, a med kit, and a compass. Of these additional items, the DermaGel Hand Sanitizer is probably the most important in helping to prevent illness. Most stomach illnesses in the wilderness result from fecal contamination of food. This results from the lack of sanitizing hand after going to the bathroom. Use the DermaGel after every bathroom trip and before cooking or eating. Make sure that if anyone else is doing the cooking, they all use the sanitizer. A second use of the DermaGel is as an emergency fire starter. It burns great.
A simple compass is the best. The Brunton 3DLU Nexus Expedition Compass is a classic. It has all the important USGS scales on it, and it has a declination scale. If you are expecting difficult map reading take the Brunton Eclipse Compass, which is by far one of the finest compasses on the market.
To round out the easy extras, the Princeton Tec Aurora Headlight is bright, gets long battery life, and is light. A Spyderco Knife is light, and stays sharp on an expedition. An inch and a half to two inches is the perfect blade size.
One of the hardest choices for a trip is what to bring in a first aid kit. There are many off the shelf options available, but I find them often over stocked. If you have proper first aide training, you will be able to get by with less, as long as you are willing to sacrifice clothing as necessary for bandages.

• OTHER
• TP 3.8
• DermaGel Sanitizer 2.6
• Compass 0.9
• Toothbrush 0.6
• Toothpaste 0.9
• Dr. Bronner’s 1.7
• Glide Floss 0.4
• Stuff Sack 0.8
• Sewing Kit 0.6
• —–Thread, tweezers, 2 safety pins 0.6
• —–needles, 2 pins
• Duct Tape (3/4 wide) 1.1
• Medical Kit 0.9
• —–Diarrhea Medicine
• —–Tylenol tablets (2)
• —–3 Antiseptic wipes
• —–2 2×2 in gauze
• —–3 Band-Aids
• —–2 knuckle bandage
• —–1 2×3 in moleskin
• —–1 Anti Ointment
• Ripstop repair tape (2inch wide) 0.3
• Stuff Sack 0.8
• Princeton Tec Aurora 3
• Knife 1.5
• Trowel
• Total 19.9

You Look Absolutely Fabulous

A clothing system should be lightweight, simple, but versatile. To these ends, I wear The North Face zip off convertible pants and wear The North Face Vapor Wick T-shirt. Then I supplement by layering additional clothing over the base as dictated by the weather. Marmot’s Precip Jackets and Pants are among the lightest and most breathable waterproof suits out there. They perform consistently in all temperatures and all kinds of precipitation. A Marmot DriClime Windshirt is the best jacket on the market bar none. It can be used as a shell in scattered showers, a base layer, a mid-weight layer, and as extra insulation. On most of my trips during the fall and spring, this jacket gets used 24 hours a day as a coat during the day and as a pillow at night. If there is only one item for wilderness travel you buy this year, the Marmot DriClime Windshirt should be it. During winter travels or in cold conditions, I also pack a Sierra Designs Black Ice Jacket. This is one of the new soft shells coming on the market. It often only gets used in camp as an extra layer of warmth.

• CLOTHING CARRIED
• Marmot Precip Jkt 12.3
• Marmot Precip Pant 7.4
• Marmot DriClime Windshirt 11.1
• Fleece Camp Socks 2.6
• Lifa long undies 5.1
• Driclime Long Slv T zip neck 9
• Fleece Hat 1.4
• Wxtec Dry Bag 3.6
• NRS Neoprene Gloves 4
• Black Wicking Gloves 2
• Total 58.5

Something’s Got To Give

All this lightweight gear cuts out the plush items that many travelers are used to, but that doesn’t mean you have to skimp on everything. I always bring a book, a notebook to journal write in, and a pen. After all, if you love to read, like I do, why give that up when you’re in the woods?

• EXTRA
• Book 7.4
• Glasses and Case 2.1
• Notebook 5
• Pen 0.4
• Total 14.9

All Competitors Must Weight In

This system of gear weighs a total of about 14.5 pounds, which is pretty darn light. Figure an additional 1.5 to 2 pounds a day for food. On a ten-day trip, you will be carrying only 34 pounds in your portage pack. This makes it easy to carry your 30 to 40 pound Kevlar canoe and all your gear across the portages in a single trip, and if you travel with a friend, they can carry the pack and you can carry the canoe. The two of you will have less than 100 pounds of gear, including life vests, paddles, the canoe, and camping gear. Although, not as light as Nessmuk’s list, it is a significant improvement in weight over the kits that you normally see being used. Try it, you may find that you like a simple lightweight trip better.

• Item — Weight (oz.)
• Cooking system 23.5
• Pack 48
• Sleep System 34.9
• Shelter 30.9
• Clothing System 58.5
• Others 19.9
• Luxuries 14.9
• Total — 14.41 pounds

“I know exactly where we are; I’ve been lost here before.”

-A guide on Mount Rainer

“The little steamer that plies on the Upper Saranac makes the different landings in a
zig-zag manner that knocks the compass points endwise. Only by staying where you can
watch every turn of the prow can you retain a definite notion of north and south. And
that is how it happened that, being unobservant of turns, I found the sun setting in
the east–a vexatious thing to a woodsman.”

-Nessmuk, Cruise of the Sairy Gamp, 5, Forest and Stream, Sept. 13, 1883

On one of my early trips to the Boundary Waters, the four of us awoke early one fall
morning and shoved off onto Cherokee Lake. The yellow and red fall foliage jumped off
the trees at us, distracting me from my duties. For some reason, maybe because I
purchased all the maps, my duty was navigator on the trip. I strapped my compass to
the bungee cord that ran across my thwart, looked at the map, located our campsite,
look at the compass, deduced that we could get to Omega Lake by heading through
several other lakes in a generally easterly direction, and then I set off down the
lake.

Ten minutes later, the shoreline looked nothing like the map, and while I tried to
figure out where we were on the map by comparing my two compasses and my compass on
my watch – just to make sure that it wasn’t a mechanical failure – two canoeist with
only one Duluth pack between them buzzed by in a perfectly restored canvas and cedar
Old Town OTCA. They knew where they were going. They were going there fast. Normally,
in a city, I would have switched into Zen method of navigation mode and followed
them, because if you follow someone that looks like they know where they are going,
chances are that you’ll get there too. This time I just looked at my paddling
partners shrugged my shoulders and put my tail between my legs and headed back to the
campsite to get my bearings.

I learned a valuable lesson that day, and it was all about navigation. If you want to
learn navigation and avoid the pitfalls I experienced that day, you’ll learn not only
to use a compass, but also good map reading before you venture into the wilds of the
northern woods or the wilds of the woods anywhere.

Do the Declination and Spin Your Needle
Around

Most people are shocked when learning the north on the map they are studying may not
be the same north that their compass is pointing at. That’s because most of the maps
that we use to navigate the wilderness with are orientated to True North, or to the
true North Pole. Our compasses, on the other hand, point towards what is commonly
referred to as the magnetic north pole. (This is actually a slight misunderstanding
of where the compass points to. There is no giant location of magnetic rock that
draws the points of our needles; the earth generates magnetic signatures that vary in
strength and direction. The compass needle is affected by the interaction of these
different fields and points to the average of the fields in your current location.)
This slightly shocking concept, luckily, is easy to compensate for, because our
mapmakers have taken the time to figure out the declination for you. Declination is
simply the difference between True North and the direction that your compass is
pointing, or magnetic north. On most maps, a declination diagram that shows True
North and then a second arrow representing magnetic north will point either to the
east or the west. Then with some simple math, you add or subtract based on the
degrees west or east declination, respectively, to arrive at a bearing to use on your
compass. While, this is the cheapest way to adjust for declination, if you spend
slightly more on a compass, you will get a compass that is able to account for
declination by adjusting it as needed. This method of set and forget is often the
simplest way of adjusting for declination. One of the nice things about canoeing in
the Boundary Waters is that declination is so close to zero degrees that I often just
ignore it there, but elsewhere you shouldnt ignore declination, or you are likely to
get lost.

Okay Wise-Guy, My Map Doesn’t List Declination

Some maps fail to list the declination. In cases such as these, you will need to
figure the declination out on your own. The easiest way to do this is to come to a
known point on the map and take several field readings of known landmarks represented
also on the map. Compare your field reading to the reading on the map and the
difference between the two is the declination.

A Field What? How Do I Read My Map?

Taking a compass field reading, which a reading from where you are at to a landmark
in the distance, is actually easier than you think. What you need to do is grab your
compass and hold it out an arm length in front of you. Point the bearing arrow on the
front on the compass towards the landmark that you want a reading for, and then
rotate the Azimuth ring until the red arrow, that turns with the Azimuth ring, lines
up with the floating red magnetic arrow. Then you have your reading and can take it
from the Azimuth ring at the point where the ring crosses the bearing arrow.
Compasses with mirrors make this process much easier; they often have lines that you
use like the sites on a gun, and the mirror when angled at 45 degrees allows you to
see the Azimuth ring, red arrow, and magnetic arrow while you line them up. This
results in a much more accurate reading. To translate this reading to a map you need
to add or subtract based on your east or west declination, respectively. Or just use
a compass that allows you to set and forget the declination.

And How Do I Read My Map?

To read a map, you may have to set your compasses declination back to zero, so make
sure that you check your compasses manual before you start to do this. When you are
looking at a map there may be a number of different lines on it, these may or may not
be orientated to True North, but the edge of a map will be orientated to True North.
What you want to do to get a map bearing, is to place your compass on the map with
its edge lined up from your current location to the landmark that you want to arrive
at. Then turn the Azimuth ring until North on the Azimuth ring is lined up with True
North on the map. The reading at the bearing arrow will be the bearing from your
location to the landmark you took the reading for. Apply the declination to this
reading and you will have a bearing that you can follow in the field.

We’ll Just Follow the Breadcrumbs Home

To be able to follow this to the landmark you are shooting for you make sure that the
correct bearing reading is set on the Azimuth ring at the bearing arrow. Hold the
compass an arm length out in front of you, and spin around in a circle until the red
arrow lines up with the floating red arrow. You are now on the correct course. You
could spend all day holding the compass out in front of you, but it is much easier to
look and see if any unique features line up with your reading. If they do, you can
just head towards that feature and when you arrive take another reading.

Why Should I Go to the Right?

When traveling off of a bearing, it is helpful to aim slightly to the left or right
of your destination. This way when you get close, like to a shoreline, you know that
you must turn to the right or left to get to your destination. If you don’t do this
and you somehow miss your destination, you wont know whether or not you must turn to
the right or left to get where you want to go.

Fence Yourself In

It is also helpful when navigating to practice the so-called fence yourself in
maneuver. Look at the map, and your destination on the map, and make a couple of
notes about any features that run in a line on each side of you and ahead of you,
then if you get lost, you know that you just have to head in the direction of one of
these features. When you arrive you’ll know at least that you are at one of your
fences. Great fence features are rivers, roads, big lakes, etc&

And Now the Hard Part

Most of the time, when traveling in wilderness, you will be able to see a great deal
of distance around you. If this is the case, you can almost always get your bearings
by navigating off of landmarks. More often than not, a simple glance at your compass,
and an understanding of what you are looking at is enough for you to navigate by. If
you happen to be stuck inside a heavily wooded area or on a calm lake covered by fog,
you may not be able to use the following techniques, but the again how often does
that happen?

So, That’s What a Cove Looks Like

The first thing you need to do is start to understand what you are looking at on a
map. How do the depictions of features on the map relate to the actual terrain
features that you are encountering? Most often in a canoe or kayak, the following
features will be encountered: a shoreline, coves, peninsulas, islands, streams, bays,
portage trails, and rivers.

The Shoreline

When traveling along the shore you will see that the shoreline often jets in and out,
turns into a bay here, and a cove there, it will have small peninsulas here and
there. You just need to understand what is what. The easiest way to learn this is on
your first day out. Paddle the shoreline, and while doing so watch the map closely.
Try to visualize the shore that you are seeing from above and compare that to what

you see on the map. As you practice this, you will find that just by looking at the
shore, you will be able to locate the feature you are looking at easily because of
the practice of visualization.

Coves

On a map, a cove looks like a small lobe of the lake that goes away at an angle from
the main lake. When you are looking at a cove, you will often see the shore of the
lake look like it is pinching together. There will be an opening and you may not be
able to see further down it.

Peninsulas

Peninsulas are sometimes deceiving when looking at them; they can actually look like
the shore line if they are big enough, but the smaller ones that are not as wide are
easy to recognize. The trees will have light coming through them. Also, as your eye
follows the peninsula along its distance, you will see an end of the shore as it
rounds the corner. Sometimes these features can blend in, so if you expect to
encounter this, make sure you are closely watching the map.

Islands

Islands are one of the most confusing features to encounter when paddling. Its not
so bad when you have a big lake with just one on it, but when you paddle into an area
with many different islands, it becomes very confusing to tell them all apart and be
able to tell where one island ends and the other begins. The easiest way to navigate
through this is to island hop. Before you get to the island, figure out on the map,
which is closest to you. Head for this island. Pick a shore to follow. Follow the
island around this shoreline; watch your map, and when you run out of shore going the
direction that you want, pick the next island on the map. Play this game until you
navigate successfully through the bunch of them. If you are coming up on a group of
islands, and you know you just want to pass through, it can sometimes be easiest if
you take a compass bearing from the map and follow that bearing as closely as you can
while heading through the islands. If your bearing leads you to the center of an
island, turn and retake your bearing from the map when you get to the end of the
island.

Streams

When traveling on a lake or river you will often see small stream emptying into them
on the map, by aware of these great reference points. Be on the look out for a small
‘V’ shape that leads away from the shoreline. When you see this, you may want to
investigate closer, streams can be fun to explore. After you’re done exploring, look
at the map and when you see where the stream is on the map, you will know where you
are.

Bays

Bays can be quite confusing when they are large. Often it will just look as if the
shore continues off into the bay and there is no indication that you are traveling
into a bay. This is fine if you dont mind traveling extra distance around the bay,
but if you are trying to get point to point and want to avoid bays, be on the look
out for a shoreline that goes away from you and looks to be round. In the distance,
you can often see a shore that is straight across from your location. This is where
you want to head.

Portage Trails

It’s inevitable that finding a hard portage trail will baffle even the best
navigators. The best way to look for a portage trail is to aim right or left of where
you think it will be and then head along the shoreline until you see it. Be on the
look out for an opening in the woods, trampled grass, rocks arranged in the water as
a dock, or a sign of humanity. You will occasionally end up heading down a moose
trail, so if the portage trail is suspect head on down it with your pack first and
come back for the canoe later.

Rivers

Rivers are often the hardest water feature to navigate, and sometimes the most
dangerous. If you don’t know exactly where you are on the river at all times, you may
end up on the wrong side of the river before difficult rapids or even if you are
completely unlucky find yourself looking over the edge of a waterfall. The best way
to navigate a river is to have one eye on the map and one on the river at all times.
Work off of river turns, if the river is turning right or left, you should be able to
follow this turn on the map. Always watch the map and know what kind of turn in ahead
of you. Then when you go around it, check it off and be ready for the next turn.

Map, Shamap, I Own a GPS

Global Positioning Systems are gaining in popularity for good reason; you can look at
the screen, especially those with maps, and know exactly where you are. Then with
this knowledge you can look at your paper map figure out where you want to go, plot
this in the GPS, and it will tell you where to turn, which way to go, how fast you
are going, and how long it will take you to get the your destination. For these
reasons, Global Positioning Systems are a wonderful tool to bring into the woods with
you. Make sure you bring leave your map and compass though, because I’ve seen
waterproof GPSes stop working after taking a swim, and what if your batteries go
dead?

Kick Back, Relax, You Found the Campsite

If you follow these few tips, practice map reading as often as you can, always have a
map in front of you when you are canoeing or kayaking, you will find yourself not
getting lost as often as before. Still, when I, occasionally, get lost, I find myself
thinking back to those two canoeists in the Old Town OTCA and one portage pack
between them going like fire on a compass course, and I get motivated to figure out
where I am and not get lost again, because the person with the best navigation skills
always seems to arrive at the camp earlier. And more time to relax is the best time
to relax. Happy Map Reading.

On a trip this summer, I had the chance to paddle a good portion of the Mississippi River over a 15-day period with someone that I had known for several years and someone that I had paddled with on many short trips. It had been his dream to paddle home to Dubuque, IA on the Mississippi River, and I had always wanted to paddle the entire river, so when he offered a chance to join him on this expedition, I figured I should throw in with him.

Necky Chatham 16 ready to launch

The original plan was to take three weeks, and paddle from Lake Itasca, the source of the river, to Dubuque. As it turned out, the plan changed when a reduction of time forced us to change our put-in, so we paddled from Jacobson, MN 560 miles to Dubuque, IA. With 15 days to complete the trip, we would have to paddle 37 miles per day with no rest days, and at least one resupply grocery-shopping day taking a half-day. Much to my surprise, a week before the trip, I found out that he hadnt done any planning for this trip. I scrambled to get maps and information, and the night before the trip we got together to try and plan, but we didnt get much done.

During the trip, we ended up having a fall out in the fog one morning. It started over a simple disagreement over navigation, but cumulated in a shouting match that cut through the fog. For ten minutes, we argued back and forth, paddled past bass boats filled with fishermen looking at us strangely, and finally split up. He quit and got a ride home from Winona, which was only a few miles downriver from where we had our argument. I went on alone for the next four days and finished in Dubuque. At the time, not only did this taint my memory of the whole trip, but also for my friend, he failed at a trip he had been dreaming about for the last six years.

This trip ending fight could have been prevented by extra planning and carefully determining if we were actually compatible expedition partners. By taking the steps outlined here, many of the bad things that happened on my Mississippi River trip could have been avoided, and these steps can help out your next trip.

A Mission Statement

Most major expeditions should have some sort of mission statement, which helps clarify what the expedition is hoping to accomplish. This could be to raise money for a charity, just to have fun, or even something like to expose how a looming environmental crisis is affecting a location. All the members of an expedition should understand and accept the mission statement, and by making sure that everyone knows this statement, agrees with the statement, and is willing to live by this statement, your expedition will start off with on two firm feet.

Writing A Mission Statement

A mission statement can be simple, or it might be complex, but Ive found that the simpler the mission statement, the easier it is to understand. For example, the mission statement for my Mississippi River trip might have been something like this: To paddle down the Mississippi River to Dubuque, IA while challenging ourselves with high mile days, but not too high so that we can experience and enjoy some of the river life. Just like this try to come up with your own. A good exercise is to start with a blank sheet of paper and start to brainstorm everything that you hope to experience, accomplish, and achieve on the trip, but remember that this doesnt have to be too complicated. A simple mission statement could be as much as saying, were going to go up to the Boundary Waters and base camp and catch fish.

Goals

After you come up with a mission statement for your trip, you have to come up with a set of goals that when added up will eventually lead to accomplishing those things that you set out in your mission statement. The best way to do that is to start with goal that address each part of your mission statement. For example, for the above Boundary Waters trip, the goals could be simple: 1. Paddle to East Pike Lake one day. 2. Set-up base camp. 3. Fish the Pikes for two days. 4. Paddle up to the waterfall one day. 5. Take down camp and paddle out. This may sound more complicated that it is. If your goals are simple, there is no need to write them down, but make sure that they are verbalized to everyone that is going.

But, Thats Not My Goal

When planning the goals for a trip, make sure to take into account other opinions on the goals needed to accomplish the trips mission statement, because there may be other ways of accomplishing the mission. If during goal planning, some members of the team cant compromise on the goals needed to accomplish the trip, then, maybe, those members are best left home. By doing this, you take away one future obstacle to finishing trip by removing members that may impede the goals while out in the field. Even if the person agrees to follow goals they didnt want, there may be some resentment, so make sure that if they still come that they are willing to live by the decided goals of the trip. By removing them now, you are doing well by them and good by the rest of the team.

Be Flexible

Make sure that everyone on the trip understands that although there are certain goals, these may have to change during the trip, because of changing circumstances.

A Leader

Most people who go on trips never see the need to determine a leader for that trip, but having someone available to make the decisions required by the circumstances and having someone who is willing to accept the responsibility for those decisions is a plus for most trips. Hopefully, your team will gel so well that no one will have to assume this role, but, occasionally, someone needs to take control, and by naming someone ahead of time, you will head off future arguments. I’ve been on a 6 month expedition before were no one had to step-up and take charge, because everyone was thinking on the same line, but Ive also been on a five day mountaineering trip that fell apart before we were able to put one crampon to the ice, because there was no designated leader to handle a problem that arose, and when someone tried to turning into that leader, the rest of the team turned against him. Different people can lead in different areas of the trip, so it always doesnt have to be the same person just make sure that everyone knows and agrees about who will lead and when.

What to Look for in a Leader

Many books have been written on leadership and I wont attempt to out class them here, but, simply speaking, a leader is someone who helps motivate people to move towards a common goal. I find that leaders who listen and take into account other peoples experience before making decisions (if they have the time,) and those who are able to make decisions quickly are the ones that work best for an expedition. The reason that I suggest these last two attributes is because on expeditions the stress and strain often leads to heightened emotional levels, and often these can be reduced and pacified by a leader who simply listens before decisions are made, but with that said, if there isnt time to listen, then the leader needs to be able to act fast and make a choice hopefully the right one and be able to mend fences afterwards.

What to look for in Team members

When bringing other people onto a trip the first thing to look for is a willingness to agree to the mission statement and then to agree with the goals of the trip, and be motivated to accomplish them. Secondly, they have to be at a physically fitness level and have a skill level to accomplish those things. Thirdly, they have to be able to listen and be able to speak their mind instead of keeping quiet. Fourthly, will they fit in? Many other writers, outdoors people, and outdoor leaders will tell you many other attributes, like good humor, positive attitude, etc& that they like to have with them, and this may be true in their case, but really only the four I list are absolutely necessary for a good team member. The first, I believe, is self-explanatory, if someone doesn’t believe in the mission or goals of your team or they aren’t willing to accomplish them, then they shouldnt be part of your expedition. I also think it goes without saying that if a person doesn’t have the skills or isn’t physically fit enough, then they cant be part of the trip. I list listening and speaking, because during any expedition there will be gives and takes, and without the ability to listen to others and speak your mind, the person puts up walls around themselves, which will eventually give way to some sort of conflict from the built up tension. My fourth attribute for team members takes into account on how well a person will fit in with the rest of the group. If the person just won’t jive with their fellow members, then they shouldn’t be on the trip. For example, even if someone is the best wild river canoeist that you know, has been on many Canadian artic rivers, and that is where you are headed, if all the members on your team can’t stand sarcastic humor, and he has that type of humor, he probably won’t be a good addition to the trip, because his humor will rub the rest of the team raw, and make the trip less enjoyable for everyone.

Pre-trip Shakedown

After you have come up with a mission statement, goals, and potential team members, its time to head out on a shakedown trip. Shakedown trips should be, at least, a weekend long in conditions that are close to those that you are expecting on your expedition. And you should try to do the same mileage, eat the same food, and use the same gear that you will when youre out and about. So, if you plan to paddle 37 miles a day, go out and paddle 74 miles. Watch and see how everyone acts, make sure that everyone can keep up, and afterwards talk to all the members of your potential team to address problems and gather opinions on how to improve systems for the expedition. Plan this trip several months up to a year in advance, so that you can give people time to train, get in shape, and prepare for the big trip. You may also find that those who couldnt keep up will just drop out on the shakedown.

Further Planning

After you have all the team members of your trip determined its time to assign further planning details to everyone. Most trips will need to raise some money for gas and travel and transport, meals, equipment, and thus they need someone to act as a treasurer. Someone will need to get maps for everyone and plan the actual logistics involved with accomplishing the goal, some one will need plan menus and food, someone will need to make sure everyone has the proper gear and will have to produce gear lists, and someone will need to lead all these details. Get everyone together after the shakedown trip, and brainstorm on everything that needs to get done before the day you leave, and then assign each of these things to team members. Then make up a timetable that will achieve all the planning at least a week before the trip. The leaders job is to keep a weekly or daily watch on these jobs to make sure they are getting done according to a timetable.

Good Luck

As you can see, these few steps are easy to achieve and when done they put your trip on better footing before you leave. I’ve found that when I didn’t follow these steps, I ended up arguing or in disagreement over them when out in the woods, but if I did these before leaving, then the trip went smoother and everyone was able to enjoy the expedition much more. Had I spend any amount of time planning with my friend for our Mississippi River trip, I doubt that it would have ended as it did. And I doubt it would have cost a friendship.

The simple question is why? Why Nessmuking? Many wilderness travelers who’ve spent time in the woods using conventional gear and methods, upon seeing someone traveling with just a light bag on their back, a feather light boat, and a smile, often ask why travel so light. They ask, why suffer under a tarp instead of inside the security of a tent. They ask, why not carry a larger stove and many pots and pans to cook larger meals. They ask, why do anything differently than they currently do.

To a seasoned follower of Nessmuking, these questions are hard to understand; it seems the natural way of the woods. There is no suffering and all needs are met. But, for many travelers and outdoors folk, it may not seem a natural way of exploration. Without a basic appreciation of why people travel lightly, misreadings occur, people are turned off for lack of understanding, and, perhaps more importantly, many people turn away before they can realize some of the benefits of traveling light.

So, the question is why Nessmuking? Why the lightweight movement?

For Comfort, Health and Enjoyment

Nessmuk spells out the basic why for the lightweight canoe and kayak movement, for comfort, health and enjoyment lots of heavy gear isn’t needed. That’s the simplest answer, and perhaps the most fulfilling for those that travel in this style. In Woodcraft and Camping, Nessmuk wrote a simple answer to why go lightweight:

Perhaps no two will exactly agree on the best ground for an outing, on the flies, rods, reels, guns, etc., or half a dozen other points that may be discussed. But one thing all admit. Each and every one has gone to his chosen ground with too much impedimenta, too much duffel; and nearly all have used boats at least twice as heavy as they need to have been. The temptation to buy this or that bit of indispensable camp-kit has been too strong, and we have gone to the blessed woods, handicapped with a load fit for a pack-mule. This is not how to do it.

Go light; the lighter the better, so that you have the simplest material for health, comfort and enjoyment.

Tarptent Double Rainbow Tent in the BWCA

There is a great temptation in outdoor pursuits to carry more than is needed, simply because the traveler may think that he may run into a situation where an item is needed. Or because gear marketing has taken away a bit of critical thought. Or because most adventures haven’t the time and experience in the woods to know exactly what is required for health, comfort and enjoyment. Or because that’s what the woodsman has always carried. It’s this examining of life, gear, and expectations that Nessmuk is writing about in Woodcraft and Camping and in Canoeing the Adirondacks With Nessmuk: The Adirondack Letters of George Washington Sears, and he concludes that more and heavy gear isn’t needed, and sometimes that extra gear ends up interfering with the ability to be idle and enjoy a trip fully.

The Seven Whys

For those that need more specific answers to help satisfy the curiosity, here are seven of the most compelling reasons:

1. One of the top reasons for many travelers following this path is because it is rewarding and fun in and of itself to achieve a lighter pack and gear weight. This is often a challenge for those interested in gear lists, ounces, grams, and it can become a fun game to play. Even Nessmuk played this game as can be seen in Woodcraft:

I get a skillful tinsmith to make one dish as follows: Six inches on bottom, 63/4 inches on top, side 2 inches high. The bottom is of the heaviest tin procurable, the sides of lighter tin, and seamed to be water-tight without solder…

2. Besides having fun making a new list, beating an old weight, it’s fun when in the woods to see how little of gear one can get by on and still be comfortable. There’s a challenge in that regards, and with many people now traveling successfully and comfortably with pack weights under five pounds, the game is a challenging one.
3. A more compelling reason, perhaps, is that a lighter load equals faster travel. Faster travel means several things: you can travel faster during the day leaving more time for exploration while expending the same energy as would be spent if traveling with a heavier load or it could mean that the paddler could travel further on the same energy, covering more miles, and completing higher mileage goals.
4. For those that that care less about traveling fast, a good reason to practice Nessmuking is that by traveling lighter, there is less wear and tear on the body. This is because there is less mass to move, to bring up to speed, to keep at speed, and less resistance as the boat moves through the water. This means that less energy is expended and the body is stressed less. Not to mention easier portages.
5. Another reason is that a lighter boat is a more responsive boat, so when the conditions get rough, the paddler has to fight less with the heavy load in the boat and can react more quickly to the current or waves.
6. Two related reasons to switch to lightweight canoe and kayak travel occur in camp. Because there is less gear, there is less gear to keep track of and less gear to pack up when leaving. Setting up and taking down camp is much quicker and less of a chore. And a tarp is simply luxurious in this regard compared to a tent.
7. The most compelling reason to practice Nessmuking is its emphasis on learning the essential skills of wilderness travel. Traveling light doesn’t make the adventurer learn these skills, and other means of travel don’t specifically exclude the importance of these skills, but with Nessmuking, they are the core of the teaching. Particularly, Nessmuking enforces the learning of the skills of Shelter Construction, Self Trust, Self Belief, and Self Will, Critical Thinking and Flexibility of Thought. It does this by taking away perceived safety nets of extra gear and the marketing beliefs that accompany those extra pieces of unneeded gear. It does this by making each piece of gear carried more important and making some of those pieces of gear function in multiple way, and because they must function in multiple ways, the user must be flexible in thought and thinking. It also takes great courage to confront backgrounds and past history with gear to make a change into carrying lighter and less gear. A person practicing Nessmuking comes to believe in him or herself over this and that piece of gear. Traveling with any old piece of gear or lack of gear becomes possible.

These seven reason aren’t to only reasons to travel lightly, but many find them compelling, and some will not. Nessmuking isn’t the only way to travel, nor is it the best way to travel for everyone in every circumstance, but it can be beneficial for most wilderness travels for the reasons listed above. Now that the why has been explained, it’s time to pack the small bag with light gear, heft the boat onto the shoulder, and set off for the nearest pristine lakes.

Books to Pick Up to Learn More

• Canoeing the Adirondacks With Nessmuk: The Adirondack Letters of George Washington Sears
• Woodcraft and Camping

“Go light; the lighter the better, so that you have the simplest material for health, comfort and enjoyment.”

From Woodcraft and Camping by Nessmuk, a collection first published in 1920

Cedar Strip Canoe at Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area

The first portage is always the worst. You hoist your pack over your shoulders, swing your canoe above your head and attempt carrying your two paddles one in each hand as you balance precariously on rocks and logs to avoid stepping into the muck. Luckily, when your back on the water with all your gear loaded, you know you’ve passed the worst of it. The first portage is always the worst, you’ll think, and you’ll enter that into your journal later in the night. Well, that is until you get to the second portage and the third, forth, fifth”¦wait a second all the portages are the worst.

The modern canoeist often falls into this trap of continuing worst portages because they have lost touch with the simplicity of canoeing. But there is a better way that canoeist from the late 19th century and before can teach us. This type of canoeing is called Nessmuking. Many modern outdoor sports are discovering this philosophy again, for example, backpackers call this Ultra light. It is time again for canoeist to lead the way, and in this article the philosophy and history of Nessmuking will be discussed. A set of companion articles will explore the modern versions of gear we can use to achieve a simpler way of adventuring, and the core skills needed to pratice lightweight travel.

French Fur Traders and Native Americans

When the French started to explore the Americas, they realized that they needed a new craft to do so. While, France had been covered with roads, cities, and farmland, the Americas were wild. The Native Americans of the North tended to use waterways over well-made roads and canoes over horse drawn buggies and seeing these canoes the French were quick to realize what a genius invention they were. A canoe, they saw, could move quickly over the vast wilderness. It would carry a tremendous amount of cargo, which they needed to haul goods for trading, and it was easy to build and use. By adapting to the canoe, the French Voyageurs were able to penetrate further and faster into the vast wilderness of the Americas, than if they had built a network of roads like Europe had for trading. And they used the canoe to haul tons of fur ever year, which would be loaded into ships and sailed back to the homeland destined to become felt hats.

Still today this load hauling capacity that the French exploited has become synonymous with a good canoe. Often when shopping for a canoe, the future canoeist is lead to believe a canoe with a load bearing capacity of 1100 pounds is far better than one with a 950-pound capacity.

The Native Americans, of course, understood that their vehicles could haul much more than they ever needed to move, but they lived life with a slightly different philosophy. While trade was a way of life and the canoe could help in it, the canoe was seen as a quick moving vehicle for fast travel and for hunting. They would often leave their village or camp with nothing more than a sack of food, weapons for hunting, and clothing. Using these simple tools, they could survive and bring back to the village the weeks game.

As the Europeans continued to settle the Americas and as they built roads, cities, and farms, America began to take on the appearance of Europe. The canoe became less needed as a vehicle of trade and its elegant shape became hungered after by hoards of recreation seekers. Escaping from their high-pressure jobs in the new industrialized cities of the east coast, 1000s of businessmen and their wives entered the remaining wildernesses of Maine and the Adirondacks in the canoe. Not wanting to leave the comforts of home behind, because they believed that the modernization of stoves, houses, and even electric typewriters were better than sleeping under a canoe in just a plain cotton sheet, they used the canoe to bring loads and loads of gear into the woods. This continues today with Boundary Water Canoeist hauling 6 Duluth Packs full of tarps, tents, cots, fishing gear of all colors, and more in each canoe. Often, even for a single night in the woods you see 75-pound packs being carried across portages.

Who is this Nessmuk guy anyway?

Having seen this type of over packing in his day, Forest and Stream writer George Washington Sears revolted against it. He wrote about the simplicity of wilderness travel under the pen name of Nessmuk. The core of his philosophy drew on his understanding of the way Native Americans used their canoes, simply. He wrote in Woodcraft:

“¦There are hundreds of thousands of practical, useful men, many of them far from being rich; mechanics, artists, writers, merchants, clerks, business men – workers, so to speak – who sorely need and well deserve a season of rest and relaxation at least once a year. To these, and for these, I write.

Perhaps more than fifty years of devotion to “woodcraft” may enable me to give a few useful hints and suggestions to those whose dreams, during the close season of work, are of camp-life by flood, field and forest.

I have found that nearly all who have a real love of nature and out-of-door camp-life, spend a good deal of time and talk in planning future trips, or discussing the trips and pleasures gone by, but still dear to memory”¦.

Perhaps no two will exactly agree on the best ground for an outing, on the flies, rods, reels, guns, etc., or half a dozen other points that may be discussed. But one thing all admit. Each and every one has gone to his chosen ground with too much impedimenta, too much duffle; and nearly all have used boats at least twice as heavy as they need to have been. The temptation to buy this or that bit of indispensable camp-kit has been too strong, and we have gone to the blessed woods, handicapped with a load fit for a pack-mule. This is not how to do it.

Go light; the lighter the better, so that you have the simplest material for health, comfort and enjoyment.

Nessmuk further proved that this was a viable method of traveling by spending more time and traveling further and having more fun catching bigger trout in hidden streams than anyone else at the time. He did this with a total weight being carried of 26 pounds – including the canoe!

A quick glance at his packing list shows us that even today with modern materials we can also achieve this simplicity.

Nessmuk’s List

Items Weight (ounces)

• Clothing (32): 2 wool shirts, 2 wool pants, 2 wool socks, Hat, Boots, Gaiters
• Sleeping Bag (80): Waterproofed cotton, 6 x 8 cloth
• Knapsack (12)
• Pouch (4): Sheath sewn in, 2 oz vial of fly medicine, Pain killers, 2 to 3 gang of hooks, Brass wire, Waterproof matches, String, Compass, Copper tacks
• Ditty-Bag (2.5): 4×6 leather, 12 hooks, 4-6 yard lines, Flies, 12 buttons, Sewing silk, Thread, Yarn, Sinkers, Salve, File, Wax, Sewing needles
• Dishes (10)
• Tin (2)
• Hunting Knife (3)
• Cotton Tarp (36)
• Canoe (160)
• 2 days of rations (64)
• Pocket-axe (10)
• Paddle (16)

Total: 429.5 ounces

Methodology of Lightnessology

After we see Nessmuk’s core list and add up the weights, we have a working list of gear. For most philosophies this is where you are left. With Nessmuking, the philosophy doesn’t start and end with the discussing of the merits of this and that gear. Before we go on, let’s look at some other philosophies of lightweight travel.

Ultralight Hikers

The Ultralight hiker movement began with Ray Jardine’s publication of the Pacific Crest Trail Hiker’s Handbook in 1992. It didn’t gain momentum until the second edition of the book was published in 1996. In one of its first chapters, Jardine discuses The Pyramid of Hiking Style, an wordy explanation of the philosophy that weight on your back slows you down, so carry less weight and you will be able to hike faster and further everyday with the same amount of energy. Although, early detractors poked holes in his theories, he came back to answer their thrusts in Beyond Backpacking, a rather odd read full of strange tangents. The modern Ultralight Backpacking movement has disintegrated into the constant discussing of gear weights and gram counting instead of understanding what could be the core of their beliefs. If only they could understand the core of Nessmuking.

Lightweight Kayaking

Canoeing is much closer to hiking when gear needs are considered (because weight on the portages is paramount), than canoeing is to kayaking, so lightweight kayaking may seem a little alien to most hikers and canoeist, but with the momentum of Ultralight backpacking influencing every gear manufacturer, kayakers were quick to jump on board. Its philosophy assumes an experienced kayaker who wants to fine-tune their cargo. In order of importance, lightweight kayaking’s key beliefs are that all the gear you use should fulfill the following factors: Space, Versatility, Reliability, Convenience, and Weight. So, if you subscribe to this philosophy, the size of an item comes before versatility and weight comes after convenience. While a found philosophy for kayaking, it concentrates on the packing needs only. If only they could understand the core of Nessmuking.

Credit Card Biking

The ultimate of simple travel: a bike, a rider, raingear, three bottles of water, and a credit card. Many cyclists have traveled across the entire United States of America with just these items. Every night they pull into a hotel and sleep in a bed, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in restaurants, and smell clean after they shower everyday. This belief in simplicity is so far from simple, it is worse than the canoeist who hauls in six 75-pound Duluth Packs for a three-day weekend. If they could just see what Nessmukers see, they would be enlightened.

Stripping to the Core

Canoeist on Lake MacBride

What Nessmukers see and what is often overlooked is simple. Simplicity starts with simplicity. Or you get the simplest when you strip away all the gear. When this is finished the only thing that is left is the person, and without gear that person only can rely on himself. This is the core belief of Nessmuking: If you can rely on yourself, you can pass lighter and more simply with less and lighter gear. This is what the Indians knew. This is what Nessmuk knew, and this is what Ultralight travelers must relearn in order to pass comfortably in health and with enjoyment.

In order to become self-reliant in the wilderness any traveler must become proficient in many skills not talked about often. Most practitioners of lightweight travel make an assumption that new recruits know these skills or have the ability to figure them out on their own. In this age of instant gratification an average person with no experience can walk into the local big box store and leave with the lightest canoe, portage pack, sleeping bag, stove, and clothing system that there ever has been, but without the essential skills of Nessmuking these future canoeist will be lost in the woods.

These skills follow:

1. Risk Assessment and Stress Management
2. Shelter Construction
3. Fire Starting in All Conditions
4. Map Reading and Navigation
5. First Aid
6. Self Trust, Self Belief and Self Will
7. Critical Thinking and Flexibility of Thought
8. Safe Terrain Negotiation

These are the core 8 skills of Nessmuking, and will be covered individually in companion articles. After mastery of these skills lighter weight gear and less gear to provide a safety net becomes possible. And after you master these essential 8, you will see that the slick advertisements and the newest handy gizmos only add to the weight of your portage pack. Simplicity dictates only taking what is needed and nothing more. Nessmuking is simplicity.

The Last Portage Is as Easy as the First

Whether you become a practitioner of Nessmuking, Lightweight Kayaking, Ultralight Hiking, or Bike Touring doesn’t mater as long as you take the time to learn the 8 core principles. Once you have these down, you will be able to survive with the simplest gear. Every portage will be easy, you will make the right choices, stay on the right path, enjoy yourself, and never get forced into one thought path. At night, when you’re under your shelter you will be able to look at the flicker flames of the fire you started after three days of rain. And if someone gets hurt, you will know just what to do. Remember, simplicity starts with simplicity, but sometimes simplicity isn’t simple at all.