On Thu, 15 Jul 1999, Elaine Harmon wrote: > Hi- been reading about this in rec.boats.paddle (incidentally, > rec.boats.paddle.touring was just voted in and will start up in a week or > so). That kid was NOT A BOATER but a hiker who was wading and fell in. > > We should all email Strom Thurmond and bitch (or something). Why not just > put signs up whereever hiking paths come up to rivers? e First, relax! Don't email. Don't "bitch". If you want to write, be polite, positive, and express your concern for the victim and grieving family. Be diplomatic and courteous! Second, the value of the Chatooga comes in great part because it *is* a Wild and Scenic river. That designation has benefits: mainly that it's a much more "natural" setting, free from the visual pollution of human development. It's a beautiful place, and I feel fortunate to have paddled parts of the river. And more fortunate that I caught the rescue line the one time that I swam a rapid ;-). This value comes with cost: there are no warning signs, and access is difficult. These are the terms under which everyone approaches the river. Wild and Scenic rivers are the most beautiful places to paddle, and the worst to have accidents on. These things go hand in hand, and simply must be accepted. If you want to have the option of a no-holds-barred recovery effort for yourself or your loved ones, stay away from restricted wilderness areas. Period. Third, it seems to me that the victim's family and rescuers might have been trying too hard to retrieve a lifeless body, and too little to protect the value of the wilderness area that the woman probably loved as much as many of us who have paddled there. Fourth, the notion of what the victim wanted gives rise to the question of "advanced care directives", to borrow a phrase. Don't g out into the wild, or let your children go into the wild, without honestly addressing the risks involved and talking to your loved ones. There's no need to dwell on the details of worst-case scenarios, but I think there's real value in confronting the issues. Many here have said they would not object to being left in such a place, especially if the recovery effort would endanger the recovery crew and/or the environment. How many of us feel the same but have not told our loved ones? Do our loved ones know that we would not consider it disrespectful to abandon a dangerous rescue? That out of respect for others, the future, and this marvelous creation, we would prefer that recovery efforts "leave no trace"? Etc. -Peter *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Jul 15 1999 - 17:31:56 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:10 PDT