Group size for our 12-day bushcraft and guide training canoe trip on the Allagash river has swelled to 11. In addition to the students who will be here for the entire semester, we’ve got people coming from Canada, Scotland, and even Japan for the trip. It’s pretty exciting, but planning and prepping for the group is laborious and time consuming. We’ve gotten our menu finalized and the provisions purchased, but we still have to repackage things and load it into the waterproof food bins.

When I started out guiding trips I used to operate by mental checklist, but it didn’t take long to realize that there were too many things to remember. So, I made up a series of checklists that we work through before every trip. This way, by the time we’re pulling onto the road we know that nothing has been forgotten.

So tomorrow morning we’ll go over all the gear on the checklists and load the canoe trailer. My goal is to have everything except boats and personal packs loaded by mid-morning, giving us the rest of the day to paddle and finish up projects such as burned bowls, grass mats, and saw frames.