Bear
River Mercantile Your Bowron Lake Adventure Specialists
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The
equipment listed below is only a suggestion of what is needed to safely paddle
the Bowron Lake Circuit. Luxuries
such as folding chairs are nice, but please remember, the more you bring, the
more you will have to carry on the portages. Bowron Lake Provincial Park
regulations state that you are only permitted to carry 28kg (60 lbs.) in your
canoe, while portaging it on a canoe cart,
all the rest of the gear must be packed on your backs. Also for
your safety, you should ensure that you can load all your equipment and paddlers
into your canoe and still have at least 15cm (6 inches) of freeboard when the
canoe is in the water. (Freeboard is the vertical distance between the
water and the rim of your canoe at its lowest point). You should test this
before you leave home. If there is less than 15 cm of freeboard, you either have
too much gear or too small a canoe.
Equipment
for Paddling:
Equipment
for Portaging:
Personal
Equipment for Camping:
Group Equipment for Camping:
Clothing
Suggestions:
Use
fleece, polyester or wool clothing, and dress in layers. Jeans and other
tight weave cotton items are not best suited for the Circuit as they do not dry
easily in damp weather and the weather can be cold and wet for days at a time,
even in the summer. A fleece or wool hat/toque can be a life saver, since
a high proportion of body heat is lost through the head. A hat can also
keep you warm in your sleeping bag during cool nights. Following
is a sample clothing list to use as a guideline:
Paddling
in Cold Weather:
There's
nothing quite like canoeing in the autumn. Crisp cool mornings, warm
Indian summer days and dazzling fall colours make this time of year especially
appealing. And with most people
off the lakes and back to work and the bugs gone for another year solitude and
relaxation comes that much easier . While
September and October may be prime paddling months, air temperatures can drop to
near freezing and it doesn't take long before the water becomes a body numbing
experience. While a little chilly discomfort can be one thing, hypothermia can
pose a real danger to canoeists. Your
autumn gear checklist should include lots of warm changes of clothes. On the
water, neoprene water boots and liner socks help keep feet warm. A paddling
jacket and some kind of polyester T-shirt helps keep the wind from cutting
through and are quick drying. Neoprene or wool gloves aren't a bad idea, either.
Around
the campfire, fleece is the way to go - slightly expensive but, like wool, it
stays warm when wet and dries fairly quickly. Wool is great but a little less
comfortable than fleece and heavy when wet. Both can also be worn on the water
as long as you have extra clothing for the night. The main thing to remember is
to stay away from cotton. Cotton
fabrics don't retain any warmth when wet and take forever to dry. Hiking
boots keep your feet warm and dry and are preferable to running shoes, at any
time of the year. Gortex -lined boots are great, so are well water proofed
leather hiking boots. If your shoes do get wet, wear plastic bags on your feet.
It's better than slogging around camp wishing you were at home. Add some wool
socks to your wardrobe and you will
be a happy camper.
When
it's time to lay your head down for the night, use a good Thermorest sleeping
mattress, spruce boughs, your partner, or anything, to keep you off the cold
ground. Not enough can ever be said about having a decent sleeping bag or a
loved one to cuddle with. Flannel or fleece bag liners can also provide an extra
bit of warmth. If you are still cold, a light reflective survival blanket will
surprise you with the warmth it supplies, just don’t put your head under it or
you will get soaked by condensation.
Packing
your Food:
There
are many different variables to consider when packing food for such a trip,
including the number of people and number of days out on the circuit, vegetarian
or non-vegetarian, appetites, and whether you prefer full cooked, gourmet meals;
or fast, easy to cook meals. There are a number of informative books and web
pages to help you plan and pack your menu, you just have to look for them. Here
are a few suggestions which I use when packing our food: -
Pack all your meals separately in ziplock bags and label them accordingly
(example: Day 1 lunch - Day 1 dinner - Day 1 snacks etc.) Make sure you include
everything needed to complete the meal in each ziplock (except your condiments -
see below) and pack the ziplocks in the opposite order of consumption into your
food pack (last meal of last day on the bottom - the first meal of the first day
on top). When it comes time to prepare a meal you only need to grab is the
appropriate meal bag and the condiments bag, then store all the rest of your food in the Bear Cache so that if a bear were to come around, you might
lose one meal but not everything. -
As you prepare/re-package your food, think in complete meals. For instance if
you are planning Macaroni & Cheese with instant chocolate pudding for a
lunch, make sure to include the correct amount of powdered milk for both the Mac
& Cheese and the pudding mix. The key is to combine everything you need to
prepare a meal (except the water) all in a single ziplock bag. That way you know
that you are carrying just enough food stuff, like powdered milk, to get through
your trip - but no more then necessary. -
In a side pocket/ or top of your food pack, where it is easy to reach at all times, pack your
condiments bag which should include spices, oil, margarine, jam, coffee, tea,
sugar, ketchup etc. (the small packets you get at fast food outlets are great).
That way all the stuff you need repeatedly for your meals are always together
and close at hand. You can also put each days allotment of juice crystals into
this pocket so that it is easy to find when you get thirsty. We always paddle
with two water bottles, one with juice and one with water, and we make sure that
they are refilled at every meal stop. -
Leave all the excess packaging at home. Many purchased foods come in large boxes
but are also plastic bagged inside of their
boxes. Get rid of the excess which not only takes up room, but produces garbage
which has to be either burned or packed out. -
Glass food containers like jam jars are not allowed out on the Bowron Chain.
Repackage all ‘flowables’ into small Nalgene bottles and the bag then into
ziplock bags for added protection against spills. For
more information on food, recipe ideas & sample menu, refer to our Food for
Thought - Info Sheet.
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Send mail to
sandy@bowronlake.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
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