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Just what do you want
to get out of your trip?
Route Considerations
Your trip through the wilderness will only be as good (or
bad) as the route you travel. There is no one route that is best, and there
is no one entry point that is best. Routes can change a great deal over the
course of a summer. In June, some portages may be very muddy. In August,
some of the smaller rivers drop to a point where whole sections might have
to be walked because there isn't enough water to float a loaded canoe. Some
lakes have different kinds of fish than others. The bug situation of June
and July varies from one section to another. All-in-all, it is a changing
wilderness that offers different things to different people, at different
times of the summer, starting from different entry locations. We know what
those differences are, and are prepared to offer our suggestions so your
trip can match your expectations.
Here at North Country, we try very hard to
match your entry point and route to the plans, and the ability of your
group. Some troops mix the ages of the boys in each travel group. This
allows for boy leadership, and lets the younger boys learn from the older
boys. On the other hand, the older, more mature boys are "held back" to the
pace of the younger scouts. Conversely, by splitting the boys by age,
different routes can be planned for specific interests (i.e.. going after
the 50-Miler patch versus a lot of fishing time. And no, the two can't be
combined unless your trip will span 10 - 14 days.)
The ability levels of your travel group(s)
as a whole must be considered. If your participants have had a lot of time
in canoes prior to arriving in Ely, they will travel farther each day than a
group who has only had canoe experience in the swimming area at summer camp.
How well do the boys work as a team? Must each boy carry his own pack and set
up his own tent; or can work-pairs do it for the group? Can meals be cooked in
15-20 minutes, or is it an all evening chore?
In addition to ability levels, we must
also look at your time frame. Obviously, a group that has only 5 days to
spend in the woods will not have the same route as one having 7 - 10 days.
We want to know how many campsites you will want to be in. On a 6 - day / 5
- night trip you can have as many as 5 different sites, or you may choose to
travel every other day using 3 sites, or even set up a base camp and take
day-trips from your one location. Remember, every time you take-down &
set-up camp, you are pulling about three hours out of your day that you
could have been doing something else. Also, on day-trips you can travel
farther and faster since you are not taking equipment across the portages.
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