http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter
Porter (railroad), a railroad employee who assists passengers
Porter (carrier), a person who carries objects
Porter (college), member of staff in many of the colleges of the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, and Durham
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portage
Portage refers to the practice of carrying a canoe or other boat over land to avoid an obstacle on the water route (such as rapids or a waterfall in a river), or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage, while a person doing the carrying is called a porter.
Over time, depending on the importance of the portages, they were sometimes upgraded to canals with locks, and even portage railways. Portaging generally required unloading the vessel and carrying vessel and contents across the portage in multiple trips. Voyageurs would often employ a tump line on their head to carry a load armfree on their back. Small canoes can be portaged by carrying them inverted over one's shoulders and the center thwart may be designed in the style of a yoke to facilitate this.
Portages can range in length from dozens of meters to many kilometers in length (the famous 19 km Methye Portage being a good example), and often cover hilly or difficult terrain. Most portages are the result of elevation changes, either changes in elevation from one body of water to another, or changes in elevation of the land in between. This results in most portages involving some measure of climbing or descending. However some, such as Mavis Grind in Shetland exist on an Isthmus where it is easier or safer to transport a boat over-land than round it. In these cases the climbing or descending required is often minimal.
