I simply don't know WHAT to wear!

Sherwood Botsford

I hope in this article to give you an idea of what you need to bring to spend a reasonably comfortable trip in Canada's north country.

Firstly a few concepts:

Firstly:  Forget fashion.

Next:  Natural fabrics -- cotton, wool, linen -- not only soak up water between the fibbers, the fibbers themselves soak up water.  This makes them hard to dry.  A 6 ounce T-shirt will hold a pound of water.  Jeans are a real no-no.  They hold a huge amount of water, and are often chosen to fit snugly.  These are both cold and uncomfortable when wet.

For everything except socks and mittens, I recommend synthetic materials.  Socks -- I recommend wool, because it doesn't crush, and even wet it has some warmth.  A wool nylon blend has good wear resistance.  Around the fire there is a place for wool and leather.  The real downside of synthetic fabrics is that they melt easily.

I have woken up to snow on the ground several times on our canoe trips.  And many years we will encounter sleet or ice water rains, wet, and temperatures running just above freezing.

I've also paddled under a scorching sun, with temps 107 F (41 C)

This is what I take:

Feet:
1 pair polypro socks.
2 pair nylon/wood socks
1 pair boat shoes (more on this in a separate article)
1 pair camp shoes

Bottom end:
1 pair polypro long john bottoms.
1 pair nylon wind pants
1 pair nylon running shorts.

Top:
1 cotton T shirt. (I know, but on a hot day, cotton is nice.)
1 long sleeve thin fabric nylon shirt.
1 polyester microfiber wicking T-shirt
1 poly pro long john top.
1 feece or soft shell
1 goretex rain shell

Head:
1 toque
1 wide rimmed had (tilley knock off)
1 pair sunglasses.

Hands:
Leather mitts and wool liners.

Now some commentary:

Feet:

I don't wear socks a lot.  The poly pro only gets worn if I know we are doing a mongo portage (Methye, Grand…)

Wool socks and camp shoes keep the bugs from gnawing on my ankles.
If you are anticipating a trip with lots of walking, you may want to up the sock count.

Bottoms:
Longjohn's + running shorts is a great combo for tracking and lining -- or any time you're in and out of the water a lot on a cool day.
Nylon wind pants -- get the unlined ones, and preferably the ones without an elastic cuff.   Cold day:  wear over long john's.  Buggy portage:  They will keep the bugs off your skin.  While the mosquitoes can bite through nylon where it's tight against your skin, when you are moving they have a tough time of it.  If the bugs are bad, tuck the cuffs into the top of your socks.
Elastic cuffed ones bring about a gallon of water per leg into the canoe when climbing in from the water.
Goretex rain pants are an option for bottoms.  I'd bring them in addition rather than instead, as even goretex is intolerable on a hot day.

Tops:
Hot day:  T-shirt.
Cool day:  Polypro top.
Buggy day:  long sleeve shirt.
Wet day:  Rain jacket + polypro.
Cold day:  Rain jacket + fleece.

I don't have a long sleeve nylon shirt yet -- I substitute a cotton one, figuring that almost all of the time I'm wearing it, it will be for the bugs

Head:

Toque -- for American readers, stocking cap, or watch cap.  Basically a mitten for your head.  Again:  Acrylic, and not cotton.  It may seem crazy for a canoe trip, but a toque is worth a light jacket in terms of keeping you warm.  On tracking days, I've worn running shorts over long john bottoms, polypro top, and a toque.  Everything soaked at least once an hour, when I step in a hole and go splash.  But the water drains out in a few minutes.  As long as I'm active, I'm reasonably warm.

Rimmed hat.  You cannot substitute a baseball cap.  Ok you can.  Be ready to have your ears burned off.  Doesn't have to be fancy.  Superstore ones are $10.

Some of the rimmed hats have a zipper pouch in the crown.  There are two things that should be stuffed in here:

One is a 3" square of small cell bubble wrap.  It's enough to keep your hat from sinking if it gets blown off your head.

The other is a mosquito net.  Pull it over the hat, and the rim keeps it off your nose.

Mittens:  I bring leather mitts with wool liners because I'm usually the cook.  And on most trips, I've cooked on an open fire.  A leather mitt can grab a hot pot, and not smear molten nylon on a cook's screaming fingers.

Comments? 

SGBotsford