Holiday Inn, Buffalo NY.
I was there a whole weekend and housekeeping did not come in once!
I barely made it… almost ran out of conditioner on the third day. NEVER AGAIN
Until now I was ashamed to report 21 miles in the Edisto River
In my early 30s I was lucky enough to work for NOLS as a sea kayak instructor in Alaska, Baja, and Patagonia. Often worked 3 week courses back to back, with maybe a few hours off while switching student groups, to run into town for a beer, some groceries, and grab a spare set of clothes set aside for the switch. So even though I was working in an instructor capacity, I look at it as six weeks out, a little more with the travel time on either end. I’ve gone almost seven weeks without a shower.
It oftentimes took a week to settle into a good rhythm with camping, paddling, and getting good sleep/rest at night. At week 5 I’d be itching to get out for good food, a few beers, and indoor plumbing. Probably different than on a longer personal trip, where you can take a break in town and recharge a bit.
My longest personal trip was only about 7-8 days paddling, with a lot of driving on either end. I’d like to get a long personal trip in at some point, but it’s difficult now to get the time.
I just completed 2 nights out tent camping with my 4 year old son, with a full day of hiking, and I’m completely wiped out.
7 days for me down the Colorado River.
After that it stops being fun and approaches work.
BWCAW - Quetico Sep 1 - 15 2001 Photo was taken 9/10/01. Feathercraft.
On 9/11 I was on Agnes Lake. Never had any contact with anyone until 9/13
and learned the news. It was my longest camp/paddle trip before or since.
We did 17 days unsupported along Lake Superior’s northeastern shore in July. The route was Pukaskwa National Park and the adjoining Crown land. This is the second time we’ve done this trip - last time we took 11 days and it just wasn’t enough time to explore all we wanted to. This time, the Lake drove our itinerary and we paddled in a lot of fog, wind, and waves. BUT, the trip was great! The scenery here is fabulous and endless beautiful beaches to camp on - and once you’re out of the park, very few people! The park has changed some rules - and now you have to reserve camp sites in advance - but they understand kayakers have different constraints than backpackers - but nonetheless, you need to have reservations (we were driven off the lake by high winds and waves within 2 hours of starting and never stayed at any of our reserved sites). There is really no support - and once you’re on Crown land, you’re on your own. Be prepared. Paddle wisely. Have fun!
I have not ventured far or long into the wild. I am also one who never had enough time off when I was young enough to feel up to it, and now that I am retired, age, degenerative joint disease, and two small dogs are sufficient anchors to discourage such thoughts.
The longest unsupported trip I took was with my wife before the birth of our first daughter, 14 days canoe camping in Quetico. That was as much time as I could get off and as long a trip as I could talk my wife into. And frankly, it was probably long enough for me as well.
I found that even if you have a ready supply of fresh drinking water at hand (back then we didn’t even bother to filter it) that a pack containing all of the food that two people working fairly hard for two full weeks needed to consume was about as heavy as I cared to tote across the longer portages.
France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland: by bike, solo. 60 days, 1000 miles.
@WaterBird said:
France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland: by bike, solo. 60 days, 1000 miles.
Unsupported? That’s impressive. Liar. 
@qajaqman said:
@WaterBird said:
France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland: by bike, solo. 60 days, 1000 miles.Unsupported? That’s impressive. Liar.
Sorry for my late reply. I’ve been on sabbatical. Why would you question such a measly achievement? Yes, entirely unsupported.
@WaterBird said:
@qajaqman said:
@WaterBird said:
France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland: by bike, solo. 60 days, 1000 miles.Unsupported? That’s impressive. Liar.
Sorry for my late reply. I’ve been on sabbatical. Why would you question such a measly achievement? Yes, entirely unsupported.
You carried 60 days worth of food, or lived off the land that whole time?
@qajaqman said:
Sorry for my late reply. I’ve been on sabbatical. Why would you question such a measly achievement? Yes, entirely unsupported.
You carried 60 days worth of food, or lived off the land that whole time?
See this for the differences between supported and unsupported cycle touring: https://www.jonasdeichmann.com/2018/07/16/supported-vs-unsupported-cycling-or-sports-vs-adventure/
Bike touring definitely doesn’t mean carrying 60 days of food. Shopping for food in each small town is a fun part of unsupported touring. For me unsupported touring means carrying all gear on your bike and camping, stealth camping, or camping in farmers’ fields, possibly an occasional hostel.
15 days / 238 NM / Bella Bella to Prince Rupert
https://3meterswell.blogspot.com/2015/11/bella-bella-2-prince-rupert-2015.html
Jon
What Waterbird said.
On the first ever 1000 mile Yukon canoe race in 2009, all boats were required to start with and carry 20kg (thats 44 pounds!) of food per person. Didn’t matter if it was cans of beans or high calorie efficient dehydrated food (not including water weight to make it edible). That was supposed to be for normal and emergency rations for up to 3 weeks on the river. I was in a voyageur canoe with 7 paddlers (do the math for food weight) and I home dehydrated all the main meals for everyone. (Plus, all food had to be stored in certified bear resistant containers.) We were not allowed any outside support from shore of any kind. We crossed the finish line in 6 days with 3/4 of the food left over and no one in my team lost any weight.
The next year, race officials thankfully dropped that ridiculous food weight requirement from the rules. We were still not allowed any direct personal outside support, unless the same support was offered in the same way to all racers. So for example, if you wanted to stop at Dawson (roughly half way) to resupply yourself, or even to grab a night of sleep (some did), that is something available to all racers equally and within the rules of being unsupported. No one is allowed to take on anything from pit crew (can’t accept a bag of groceries unless the same crew offered the same to all racers), nor could we drop anything in excess with them that we started with either.
26 days Kasba Lake to Baker Lake. Started with 4 paddlers in 2 Pak Canoes, one person left the trip on day 15. Three of us continued to The community of Baker Lake in a single Pak Canoe. All three paddled, it was not easy for the person sitting on a pack just forward of the stern paddler. Paddled over 40 miles on flatwater one day. No fires, carried all our fuel, ate 5 meals with fish caught along the way. No way to contact the outside world after the one person left. Saw lots of Muskox but not a single living caribou.
I suppose the definition of “unsupported” can be whatever a group decides. Myself, I consider it to be using the resources you’ve taken with you, or obtaining them from natural sources along the way. Hunter-gatherer style, for what little I actually know of the practice.
regarding ‘Living off the land’;
I forget the exact quote, or the question he was responding to, but Verlin Kruger answered the question: sure he stopped in towns for food, towns are on the land aren’t they?
Ye> @Sparky961 said:
I suppose the definition of “unsupported” can be whatever a group decides. Myself, I consider it to be using the resources you’ve taken with you, or obtaining them from natural sources along the way. Hunter-gatherer style, for what little I actually know of the practice.
Yes, if people don’t do a trip unsupported and want to, all they have to do is change the definition of the word!
I once lived out of my van unsupported for 66 days and 10,000 miles and 18 states. See how easy it is? I think I win now!
I thought going commando was unsupported.