Hi John,

I've been away from the computer for a while but better late than never with a post I suppose.

With respect to packing and portaging;
You might make one trip with way too much unnecessary gear but for your next trip you'll not only be packed lighter you'll be drilling holes in your toothbrush handle to make it lighter.

Here's something I read about lightweight packing for canoeing sometime ago;

Sort your gear into 3 piles, in pile #1 put safety related items and everything else that you will definately need, in pile #2 place items that you might or might not need, in pile #3 place your luxury items(eg things you don't need but would like to have along).
To pack for your trip take one item from pile #3, none from pile #2, and everything from pile #1.

Have fun, take care.

Ken