I have solo tripped in both a tandem and a solo canoe. Swift Prospector 16 and a Swift Osprey solo canoe. I use a single blade in both, although I have seen people use a kayak paddle in the Osprey.

I sit in the bow seat facing the stern seat when paddling solo in the Prospector and find I have a lot more control over it if I am kneeling a bit closer to center, but not at center. The Osprey has a sliding seat which allows me to adjust myself over the center of the canoe and take into account the weight and placement of my gear.

As for portages, do what you find most comfortable for yourself. I lash my paddles to the front of the canoe and my bail bucket safety kit and life jacket to the back. They sort of offset each other weight wise. With my Osprey, I let my SeaLine pack slip back a bit on my shoulders, taking the weight on my hips. This lets the canoe rest across my shoulders and the pack, which allows me to walk without holding the canoe if need be.

Safety First should go without saying. There is no one there to carry your carcass out of the woods.

NEVER be too proud to call a trip off early. If something is not working correctly, you are not enjoying yourself, things are not going as planned, or you need to start doing things that make you uncomfortable, then call it a trip. It could literally come down to living to paddle another day. Been there, done that, still paddling.

Bring a book to read in the evening. That is the time when I have found most people get turned off with solo tripping. There is no one there to talk to so they don't know what to do with themselves. Bring an evening activity.

Sean
 

Yes, when we were looking into doing the Brent Run a couple years back, the starting point was a bit of an issue.  As MartinG said, Ahmek wanted nothing to do with it and would not allow us to camp on their grounds at all, so we decided we would camp on Joe.

We started from the island campsite just north of the portage from Canoe Lake early in the morning, paddled down to the portage into Canoe, paddled to Ahmek and slapped the boathouse and then back to the portage and into Joe. We continued on up to Brent then back to our island site on Joe. We timed the Run to coincide with the full moon for added night light.

As for ALL the rules (cedar canvas canoe, etc) times have changed and not everyone has access to that type of canoe these days.  As well, a birdie told me that one of the original records may have happened because there were 3 paddlers in the boat, where we only have 2.

Put a team together, start from Joe Lake, and have a blast whether you beat the record or not. That is the modern day point of the Brent Run IMHO. It may take you 27 hours, it may take you 40, or it may take you 3 days. It doesn't matter. It took us 40 hours, we had a bunch of highlights along the way, lots of laughs and we are still talking about it 2 years later.

Sean (of Ajax)

I will be wandering around tomorrow (Sat)... I like to look at some of the gear, but yes, a lot of travel companies. There are some speakers I like to check out as well.

 

Gonna be a whole ton of people up there. Myself being one of them.
 

http://www.eurekatentscanada.com/products/view/735?s=section_4
 

May head over that way Saturday. Love window shopping...

Sean

 

Well, we have been doing this show for almost a year now and have received a lot of support and encouragement. With 49 episodes done, we have made the jump to iTunes as a Podcast. I know cabin fever season will soon be upon us, so here is a link to the podcast on iTunes. While there tends to be a lot of Algonquin mentions and content, you may want to check out Episodes 29, 30 & 31.

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/paddling-adventures-radio/id1195459962?mt=2&ls=1

 

There was a sale at Walmart on them.... Hahahaha....