Packing, Again

This year will be my 12th trip on one or more flat water sections of the Green River in Utah. Last year we did 95 miles in 11 days, but we had two more people joining us at the mid-point which allowed us to re-provision with fresh water, etc. This year, it's just the 52 mile Stillwater section, but we're taking 9 days to allow for lots of lazy exploring. We'll launch from Mineral Bottom and cover 6 pages of laminated maps.

One of the joys of a canoe is that you can pack in larger packages. The two large Watershed bags hold my tent, sleeping bag, and all my clothes/stuff. The red Watershed bag is my "deck" bag with the trip permit, rain gear, snacks, etc. The yellow Pelican case for the larger camera slides under the seat.

The canoe loads fast. For some reason, I feel like I'm missing something. The groover goes behind the grey water jug, but that leaves me with some open space in back. I'm sure we'll fill it somehow... That didn't take long - I've been elected to haul the main kitchen bag as well as the food cannisters.

Obviously, I should have dusted off the boat before I took the picture. That's what happens when the boat hangs in the garage since our early March Black Canyon trip.

BJ packs in many colorful, smaller packages. The IKEA bags make it easier to haul gear from the boat to the campsite and to organize it by what goes in the front hatch vs. the rear hatch.

BJ has the bigger challenge as she fits all her gear into her kayak hatches. Usually the system is pretty standard, but this year we're carrying more water and we switched to miniature drums for the food which now goes in the canoe.

What size spots are left?

It all fit, with space to spare. She even found time to test fit her windsock thingy, and then to test her load for her second trip. We come off the river and then a couple days later she launches again to do the trip over with her girlfriends.

A couple more days and we'll get the truck loaded. I'm looking forward to yet another Green River trip!