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Portaging

We can't run it all. Sometimes you have to get out of the boat and carry your stuff. Here are a few tips about portaging and lining.

On the trail

Planning

For long portages, it’s best to briefly discuss the portaging strategy before anyone heads down the trail. There are benefits to two people walking the trail together, one with a large pack and the other with a canoe. Halfway down the trail, they can trade loads to switch the muscle groups under pressure.

This is an opportunity for the navigator, or someone experienced with the route to share any pertinent information about the trail. Perhaps the trail is very rocky or muddy, or there are turns that will need to be taken. If paddlers beach their canoes, grab gear and go without talking about it, they'll miss this information. 

Take some time to set up an intelligent load. Use the features on bags and barrel harnesses like hip belts and chest clips to make an easier load. Clip on water bottles, hang PFDs and small bags on paddles, and ensure everything is comfortable. Slowing down at the start makes for a faster portage overall. 

Sharing the load

Don't be a hero and don't be a free-loader. Your quick portage plan discussion should ensure that one person isn't taking all the heavy loads while others are left carrying paddles. Some may not be able to carry as much as others, but there's rarely a benefit to someone risking injuring themselves to kindly carry double the weight to help someone. Take a load that's reasonable for your body and go back for more rounds. If you hear that there are only two more loads coming down the trail and there's no more gear to carry, do another half-round and meet them in the middle to lighten their load. The last load is likely carried by someone who took an extra around that others didn't have to, so share it. 

Portage landing etiquette

On some rivers that feel secluded, it's easy to forget that there could be other paddlers landing at this portage while your group is still running their first load. If you leave the landing a giant mess of gear all over, it's not just rude but could lead to a mix-up in gear. A lot of blue barrels and paddles look alike. Before starting your first round, make sure all the gear, including canoes, is off to one side and organized neatly to make it easier for a group behind you to do the same.  

Trail etiquette

Whoever has the heavier load has the right of way. If someone has a canoe on their head and you’re walking the opposite way in a tight spot, step aside and let the canoe carrier pass by. 

Hydration

Ensure that everyone has a good drink of water before they start down the portage and that water is available during or at the end of the trail. It's not fun to put down your first heavy load at the end of the portage but all the water bottles are back at the start of the portage. If it's a long portage, bring water with you.

Bears

Bears typically stay away from human noise and will stay far away from someone portaging a canoe (which must look like a large scary monster to a bear). They will also avoid pairs or groups of people. If you get a spidey-sense that there’s a bear around (there likely isn’t) then just start loudly singing to yourself. 

If you do encounter a black bear, make a lot of noise and tell it to go away ensuring that others in your group hear you. Never split up. Remember that bear attacks are extremely rare. It's different if you meet a grizzly, but we haven't yet canoed where there are grizzlies, so not a concern for us! 

See our "At the campsite" section for more about bear-proofing a campsite.

Damage prevention

First, when you get to the end of the portage, carefully put down your load. Most bags are not designed to take a fall from shoulder height. This includes canoes. Whitewater canoes may be tough, but not tough enough to be cool with a high drop onto sharp rocks. 

Letting a painter-rope that came loose drag on the trail as you walk is terrible for the rope. It's also dangerous if the rope gets caught between two rocks. Ask someone to detach the rope for you and put it under the seat behind you which serves as a nice little shelf. 

Repacking the boats

Canoes (and of course the kayaks that can carry a single water bottle) should always be repacked with exactly the same gear after each portage. Switching up the gear arrangement creates the potential for lost items. The process of repacking your boat exactly the way it was before serves as an automatic checklist to ensure everything successfully made it to the end. Don't leave it open for the possibility of someone thinking, "Oh I think Jacob has that bag now. We're probably good." Nope. Always pack the same stuff. This of course means careful load planning before the group first launches. 

Lining

Sometimes you'll encounter rapids that have sections that can't be run because they are too shallow or have too sharp of a ledge drop.  Lining a canoe down them can be an option. Lining is when the canoe is floated down the rapid either held directly or pulled along by the painter ropes (ropes tied to the front and back). Without paddlers on board, the canoe will have less draft in the water and will float where paddled canoes will not. Fully loaded canoes can be carefully handed down ledges at the side of rapids where other paddlers receive them. It can be a great alternative to portaging. 

Lining often opens up the potential to run parts of rapids where the portage trail tend to go around the whole rapid. After the tricky part is lined, paddlers can jump back in and ride out the rest of the rapid.

Lining dangers

While lining is done to avoid dangers it also has its risks. It needs to be understood as a different kind of risk from running. Portages is still the safer option. Walking with a canoe in the water while holding the painters puts the paddler at risk of being entangled in the rope and tripping. While focusing on what the boat is doing, it's easy to be inattentive to your own footing. This is especially risky if you slip right beside a large rapid and the slack of the painter is wrapped around your foot. If the current is strong, a paddler could be pulled into the river. 

Lining safety

Lining can be a slow process and that's ok. It still often avoids a much longer portage. Here are some general tips for lining safely. 

• Before starting, tie everything down in the canoe and and lash in the gear.

• Carefully select and test every step you take. 

• Don't even try lining without a safety knife on your PFD. 

• Do not wrap the line around your body including your wrist to get a better grip. If the canoe over turns in a strong current you'll be hauled into the river before you can unwrap the line from yourself.

• • In critical situations where losing the line would be really bad, use multiple people holding the line while sitting so they can't be pulled off balance.

• You'll need to pay attention to a lot of things at once

  • Your footing, where to step, how slippery are the rocks.

  • What is the water doing to the canoe

  • what is the next step

  • where is the end of the rope

  • who can grab the canoe or line if it slips

• Communicate a lot with your partner or group. "Think out loud" so that everyone knows what you're doing. 

• Don't put any loops or knots in the rope these can easily be caught between rocks.

• Know when you let go of the line. Sometimes it's the tightness of the line that causes a canoe to be overturned. Loaded canoes without paddlers are quite stable. With observation and practice you can learn when to let the line go loose and when to tighten it up again. The work of lining is shared between the current and the paddlers.