Day 6 - Dilemma

My current portage system is bent and wobbly.  Is my kayak too heavy for it?  I do not know.  I thought that my kayak weighs about 55 pounds, but I think it might be heavier.  I can portage a 55 pound canoe very comfortably 200 rods (~3,300 feet).  I can not portage my kayak on my shoulders for more than about a quarter mile without strain and pain where the kayak rests on my shoulders.

I talked to the outfitter in town.  He has no suggestions.  If I understood him correctly, he helped design the portage system that I am currently using.  He sells the same brand of end cart along with some middle carts like the one that I already tried.

According to the map, I might have more portages along the next 63 miles than anywhere else on the NFCT.  Unless I can scout the rapids before running them, I intend to portage the 8 to 10 miles or so of Class 2 water.  While I should have no difficulty in running them, I tend to be a conservative paddler.  I do not take any unnecessary chances.  While portaging this section will be difficult, the consequenses of mis-reading a rapid can be catestrophic.  With a good portage system and a downward sloping dirt road, I would not have a problem with this portage.

OK, so here's my problem.  Do I buy something that already has proven not to work in the long run, buy something over the internet that I have yet to try, or re-think my entire system?

I am not going to buy something that already failed.  My best guess is that it was not a defective portage system, but that my kayak and gear are too heavy for it.

I am also not going to buy something online, and then take it on the next section without trying it.  What I would do is buy it, have it shipped to the motel, and try it out on the portages around Saranac Lake.  This will take several days, and would effectively end my chances of reaching the end of the NFCT in the time I have remaining.

I decided to end my trip here, build a new light weight kayak (and possibly even a portage system), and re-start my NFCT trip in a year or two.  I enjoy building boats as much as using them.  I wanted to build a light weight cedar strip kayak for this trip, but did not have time.  I think I could build a new kayak that weighs somewhere between 40 and 45 pounds, and I have some ideas to design it to be portagable on my shoulders.  I do not have that option with this kayak.