The recent thread about what people carry on their PFD's got me thinking. When I read about what folks carry I have mixed feelings. On one hand I think that all of the gear is a good thing. On the other hand, most of it is a means of getting outside assistance. I have to wonder if it wouldn't be better put more emphasis on taking measures so that you don't need assistance from outside your group. Self reliance first and reliance on your fellow trip members second should be the emphasis. My background is whitewater paddling and we always figured if outside assistance was required to save our lives we would die (especially on remote runs). I think we tend to make better decisions when we think like that. We took risks, but we evaluated them on the basis of what would happen if no outside help were available, and then accepted that level of risk and whatever consequuences it might have. Outside help didn't enter into the equation at all. I am not against signaling devices and so on, but suspect that they do give folks an unhealthy feeling of invincibility. This is especially true in our society where no one seems to think they are responsible for their own actions. Perhaps on the open ocean things like epirbs make sense, but on a body of water only a few miles wide I figure I should be prepared to swim, drift, or be blown to shore (even if the water is cold). Would I turn down assistance if I was 3 miles from shore on the Upper Chesapeake Bay? No, but I should be able to deal without it. Am I all alone here, or do others share this opinion? Pete __________________________________________________ Yahoo! - We Remember 9-11: A tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost http://dir.remember.yahoo.com/tribute *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Sep 11 2002 - 07:49:11 PDT
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