How do you guys work it when you go out for a paddle for a c...

How do you guys work it when you go out for a paddle for a couple of days or even for a long day paddle? Do you have someone waiting at the end to take you back to your car? What happens when you travel far? I am new to this, and am really curious how to make longer paddles doable.

Hi, we have been kayaking for about two years and when we go to near by rivers in Wisconsin, we always take two vehicles and park one at the end of our run and one at the start. When you get to the end, two people drive back to get the start vehicle and drive back to the end, leaving at least one person with the kayaks at all times. We have never done a few days trip, but depending on where you are located, there are local kayaking companies that will shuttle. Good luck in you adventures.
Happy Paddling

This is known as the shuttle.
Two cars go to the end. Drop off one car that DOESN'T have boats on top of it.

All cars go to the start. Put boats in. Paddle.

Drivers pile into the one car, drive back and pick up the rest of the vehicles.

If you are only a couple of people a better way is the 3 step.

Go to the start. Drop off the boats. One person takes the car and the mountain bike to the end. Bikes back. Locks bike to tree.

Paddle. At end, pick up car, load boat. Drive back, pick up bike.

Generally you want cars at the end, so dry clothes are available, and most boats can be loaded and tied down while the last vehicle is picked up.

For expedition type trips, talk to the local store nearest the trip. They often can hook you up with a local who will drive your car back, or two locals that can move your vehicles to the end point.

When I was working for St. John's we often would bring up a spare vehicle and spare drivers. It would go something like this:

Bus would stop and we'd let the kids out. Truck and car would detour to LaLoche. Drop off car at Natural Resources. Truck and car driver come back. Take truck and bus to Cluft Lake Mine. Drop off expedition. Spare drivers would take truck and bus back to LaLoche. Leave truck and bus in NR vehicle pound. Take car and go home.

We go down the Clearwater, up the MIrror, down the Virgin, down more of the Clearwater, over the Methye portage, pull into La Loche. Give the kids a few bucks and point them at the local store, so they can satisfy their junk food cravings. One staff stays with the canoes. Two staff go pick up the vehicles. By that time, some of the kids will have trickled back. Load the canoes, load the gear, hop on the bus, and back to the school.

Three weeks.

Hard as hell. 10 paddling hours a day. One day we covered 10 km. Seven km were portages. No trails. One day we tracked out of camp in the morning, and tracked into camp that night. As the crow flew we were 4 km from where we started that morning. 10 km by the way the trout swims. All but a few hundred meters tracking and lining. Get into camp and night, ankles aching, black and blue from banging on the rocks.

God I miss those trips.