I have just been reading the recent good posts on hazzards and responsibility, etc.. and agree in full. I the irrigation flume story however reminds me of a day on the McKenzie River here in Oregon, perhaps ten or twelve years ago, when I was more fit and an active whitewater paddler. We had pretty much finished the challengin part of the run some time back and were taking it easy... with nothing but friendly class two things ahead as I remember it. We later came across a group of newbies with an apparrent instructor, so I stopped by to simply say hi to the instructor, and found him to be from the U of O in Eugene's outdoor program. Well... I sort of hung out a bit since I saw a strainer downstream and the class two rapid was tending to flow a sig portion of the current right into that... Sure enough, one boater flipped in the eddy about 80 or 100 yards up.. the last paddler in the group, so I went over and paddled him and his boat over to the side as far up as possible. I by that time of course he was perhaps halfway downriver toward the tree. I then advised him to consider putting in downstream of the tree... but he insisted on putting in right where he was.... to make him feel better I myself put in downstream, hoping he would follow suite, and hung out on the downstream side of the tree. He just about dumped it again before he got passed the reach of the treee, and the instructor never seemed to have the least bit of worry, although he was the only experience person in his group, and was downstream enough there was no way he could have had any effect on the outcome if the guy strained himself... :) Maybe I am a bit paranoid... but somehow the confidence that paddler had that he would not flip twice on the water that had already gotten him once seemed unjustified... in light of the tree he had to get around. Risk is great when the fall back plan is in place.. that is how one learns and increased skill and thrill... but to have walked a bit downriver and then put in would have given the same kind of practice and experience without the tree below and the price that it could have dealt him... So the thrill is great, but common sense is at times greatly lacking... making me very picky as to whom I used to paddle with. (And I was sometimes the least skilled in the group, but no one ever had to rescue me either...I portaged things sometiimes that others did not ... but I never had someone needing to haul me out at their own risk... ) Mike > Every year a group gets caught in their raft under the flume, stripped of > their clothes and dumped into white water that will neither float them or > allow them to breathe. Almost none of them will be wearing their PFDs but > the fact that they had them is demonstrated by their presence floating > still > in the eddy under the falls long after the victims are taken away. Every > year a few die from this. > > Nothing will cure stupidity. > > > Craig Jungers *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Dec 24, 2007 11:12 AM, Michael Orchard <mspadorchard_at_comcast.net> wrote: > <snip> > So the thrill is great, but common sense is at times greatly lacking... > making me very picky as to whom I used to paddle with. (And I was > sometimes > the least skilled in the group, but no one ever had to rescue me > either...I > portaged things sometiimes that others did not ... but I never had someone > needing to haul me out at their own risk... ) > > I used to hang out with some creek-boat types; the ones who call you up to say they're going to paddle an easy Class II, maybe II+ and do you wanna come along? Then you find out that the only Class II is the put-in and right around the first bend the river enters a gorge with a series of Class IV and V before ending in a pool 5 miles later. I've become pretty picky about who I paddle with, too. <grin> Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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