Chafing shoulders on carries

Posted by: gmagnes

Chafing shoulders on carries - 07/07/08 09:16 AM

I did a recent 3 day thru trip in the St. Regis Canoe area of the Adirondacks. The St. Regis has a variety of small and medium sized lakes and ponds with carries between them ranging from a few hundred yards up to about 1.4 miles. Even though I have foam padded shoulder pads attached to my yoke, by the end of the first day of carrying (about 2 miles total carries) my shoulders were irritated and sensitive to the touch, I assume from chafing against the shoulder pads. I don't recall this happening so quickly on other trips involving lots of carries. As my shoulders got more irritated, I began wearing my PFD on the carries, using the bit of padding in the shoulders to add a little extra padding, and this helped a bit. (By the way, we call them carries in the Adirondacks--In Canada and maybe other parts of the states they're portages.) After the trip, I picked up some cream that comes in a stick form to help bicyclists reduce thigh chafing, but haven't had a chance to try it out yet on my shoulders. Anyone have any ideas or particular products that might help here. My canoe is approximately 48-49 lbs., 16.5' kevlar Bell Northstar, so although it seems to feel heavier each year, it's not an especially heavy boat.
thanks,
Gerry Magnes
Schenectady, NY