Charlie's 2008 Odyssey XXII

1. Charlie's evaluation of his canoe, wheels, paddles, clothing, sleeping arrangements and camping gear:   I paddled the deep hull Kruger Sea Wind for the whole trip. I would not have wanted to paddle anything else....this boat is made for just this kind of trip...if you are serious about expedition paddling the Kruger Sea Wind will serve you well and for me it is an honor and a privilege to own one.   The canoe trailer saves a lot of wear and tear on your body. The wheels I made worked and hauled a lot of weight but the bearings started giving out. The bicycle wheeled cart is probably your best bet. You can buy one off E-Bay for about $85 including shipping and I think it's good for 300#. The bicycle cart worked better on pavement, grass and gravel as far as I could tell.   I use a carbon fiber paddle and can't say enough good about them They are lightweight at 14-20 ounces and very durable.....The Barton paddle I have has probably 4 thousand miles worth of paddling and it still looks new.   For clothing I use poly pro, nylon, merino wool and fleece layer combinations. I would love to have more of the smartwool and merino wool clothing but it's pretty pricey.   For this challenge I slept in the canoe tent on the first part. It's a prototype but it does work. I do find it colder sleeping than a tent when it's cold...about the same as a tent when it's warm. Hard to sleep in when it's raining because of the noise of the rain hitting the hull. If you wear ear plugs it's not too bad. I would have to agree with Verlen though.....like he said.... you can sleep in a canoe but I don't recommend it.....in other words if I am camping where a tent will work I would rather sleep in a tent...the canoe is pretty confining...there is hardly room in it for you and a good fart....and the hang time...well we will leave it at that....   Personal Note: During my big 1948 canoe trip to Western Ontario we used World War II surplus jungle hammocks. They were great (I still have them). All you needed was a couple of trees. We didn't have to hunt for flat places for tents thus the choices for campsites were practically endless and there was no need for sleeping pads or air mattresses. We used war surplus Army down and feather sleeping bags and were always comfortable (Canadian nights can be pretty nippy, even in the summer). They have roofs and mosquito netting. The only trick is to be sure you use a good knot to tie them to the trees. I believe hammocks are still available. I don't understand why more canoeists don't use them.   The story of that long-ago canoe trip is on this blog under the title of "Low-tech Canoeing."