Paddling in the wilderness where help could be days away should not be taken lightly. To be as safe as possible, it takes much more attentiveness and preparedness than paddling on a familiar roadside run. Extra care needs to be taken not only on the water but while scouting and hiking too. What are you going to do with a broken leg? Even a sprained ankle can turn in to an ordeal. You should also pick your paddling partners with the same amount of caution. It is best to paddle with people whom you’re comfortable with both in and out of the water. Not only will you be around them 24 hours a day, your life may depend on them.

Always be looking for trouble - not to get into it but to stay out of it.

• Maps: It’s a good idea for

  Tommy & Matt discussing emergency escape routes at the put-in. Doing this could mean the difference between a strenuous all day hike & a multi-day epic.

  everyone on the trip to familiarize themselves with the river canyon and adjacent topography via topo maps* and Google Earth. Make note of all major geographical points, tributaries, trails and roads in case there’s a problem forcing someone to hike out. You should basically be looking for escape routes. Being familiar with the general terrain will also make it easier to make time/distance correlations for picking campsites, etc.

  Besides the pre-trip study, I recommend taking a map too. They weigh little and take up even less space.

  *Delorme and National Geographic both have good topo software. Delorme Topo USA and Google Earth make an incredibly useful combination.

• Gear check: The put-in is not the place to find out your neck gasket is ripped or water filter clogged or rancid. Do a thorough gear check at home well before you depart. This may seem like common sense but kayakers have a habit of ignoring this on seemingly trival things. Trust me. Catching something at home can save you a lot of grief later. Here are a few things to consider:
• inspect, clean & lubricate all gaskets and drysuit zippers
• check your drybags for holes & make sure the closures function properly
• if you're new to self-support, do a fit check - i.e., make sure everything fits in your bags & in to your boat
• inspect helmet straps, buckles & liner

  It's a lot easier to sort your outfitting out at home...& less stressful on your friend's eyes.

• check paddle for hairline cracks & delamination
• test water filter for function & potability (it’s not uncommon for bacteria to cause charcoal filter cartridges to go foul after a certain amount of time/use)
• tighten & inspect all kayak hardware & outfitting
• check your shoe laces &/or straps
• make sure your lighter works & stove lights
  

Additionally:

• Whether your kit is homemade or commercial, the contents should always be adjusted according to trip duration, special hazards, the particular group, location and so on.
• To save weight and space, do not carry anything that you or your group doesn’t know how to use.
• Have the groups most competent paddler carry the kit and keep it easily accessible in a separate dry container (i.e. Nalgene bottle) or bag.
• Thinking of carrying a CPR face shield? For quicker access (and time is of the essence here), carry it in your PFD pocket, not in the first aid kit.
• Using the heimlich to save drowning victims gets high praise from some. I am not recommending the heimlich in lieu of CPR for drowning...but, it may have its place in certain circumstances. You do the research and make that call.
  

Individual

• throw bag
• three carabiners
• tow system
• knife
• whistle
• small folding saw
• rescue pfd with a built-in quick release belt

Group

• two pulleys (Petzl Ultralegere are super light)
• two prusiks
• one 1” tubular webbing anchor sling

Additional thoughts:

• For the rope, I prefer ¼” spectra line as it’s more compact yet has a higher tensile strength than 3/8” polypropylene. This higher strength makes it suitable for light mechanical rescues. Obviously, bigger is better but...
• A waist worn bag will save space in the boat plus it’ll always be there when you need it. Beware that they are prone to coming loose potentially causing entanglement. Check yours & your groups often!
• For quickest access, wear a sheathed knife on your pfd.
• I sometimes use two of the biners to hold my main drybags in the boat (double duty) and place the third in my pfd pocket.
• Do not use a rescue pfd without proper instruction.
• Carry the saw in your pfd pocket for quick access.
• Leave your neoprene booties at home and wear real shoes inside your boat. You are a liability to both yourself and your buddies without solid, durable and supportive footware.
• A good tip from SWR instructor, Ed Clark, is redundancy for groups larger than three. A couple of Petzl Ultralegere pulleys and prusiks distributed between paddlers would add very minimal weight.

You and your group must be able to extricate yourselves from every imaginable predicament so plan accordingly.

*Good books are River Rescue by Les Bechdel and Slim Ray and Whitewater Rescue Manual by Charles Walbridge and Wayne Sundmacher Sr. I'm also told the more current White Water Safety and Rescue by Franco Ferrero is an excellent choice. For the video, check out Whitewater Self-Defense by Kent Ford

A couple things to consider:

• which signals will be used while moving downstream and during a rescue
• who will run lead and bring up the rear

• injury such as a shoulder dislocation, broken ribs/intercostal tear, broken wrist, etc
• broken or lost boat
• river difficulties caused from bad judgement, flows, incorrect or unknown beta

• Shoes: worthy of redundancy. Refer here.
• Orientation: do you know where the easiest escape route is...river right or left, how far above the canyon, etc? Refer to "Maps."
• What to pack out and what to leave? Assuming you have not lost your boat, ideally, you should pack every thing out right then. It's not often that this is a practical option though. In these cases, take no more than what the circumstances call for. Just stash the rest and retrieve ASAP.
• Water: dehydration robs energy, causes dizziness and headaches, and reduces the ability to concentrate...all things you do not want at a time like this. In extreme cases, dehydration can even lead to death.
  • carry a packable reservoir, like this, in your PFD pocket. If you lose everything, you'll still have a way to pack water. Even if you don't lose your boat with your water bottle, you'll in most cases need/want more capacity than what your bottle had.
    • If extra capacity is needed (i.e. hot arid regions w/ greater walking distances), put water in a drybag/drybags and rig a carrying system. If more than one is hiking out, each person can take turns packing it.
• Fire: warmth, signaling or to keep bugs at bay.
  • Always carry at least two fire starting implements in your PFD. Lost boat, no problem. I carry a lighter and flint.
  • Fire starting material will make your life a lot easier when you are tired, hungry & cold. I like birthday candles & cotton balls saturated in Vaseline. One ball like this will burn for nealy 5 minutes. 2-3 candles, 1 flint stick and a half dozen cotton balls will fit in a standard pill vial (see photo at right). Keep this in your PFD pocket.
  • Be able to start a fire in any condition at any time. Practice at home if you can't. Also, being able to start a fire with nothing but sticks is a big plus. At the very least, you can wow your friends at camp.
• Food: this isn't an absoute nessecity but just a little can give you a good energy & much welcomed morale boost. Food will also help you sleep better if you get stuck out.
  • If only one has to hike out due to a lost boat, share food with that person. Actually, always carrying a bar inside your PFD or drysuit/drytop pocket is a good habit to get in to.
  • You will likely be walking through, by and over various wild edibles. Learn to forage.
• Signaling: if need be, you can grab the attention of others from miles away by simply using the sun. The implement you use need not be a specialized "signal mirror" though. Any thing shiny & reflective will do; tin foil, inside of an energy bar wrapper, aluminum can, polished stainless steel knife blade, etc. Like every thing else in this section, carry the signal device on person in a secure pocket.

"One more night and we should be done".

Soloing
The mere mention of paddling alone can cause public outcry. Soloing is a very personal choice though and a mode of travel practiced and enjoyed immensely by some. That said, soloing is not for everyone and I recommend it to no one. The smallest mishap could lead to disaster. You’ll have no assistance and in the worst case scenario, no witnesses.

Ok, so it’s never “safe” to solo…but, it’s never “safe” to kayak either. The difference is mostly in the individual. The chances of a solo mishap vary from person to person as does the type and severity. It’s no different than every other aspect in life. Some people are simply more adept at certain things depending on their upbringing, background and or natural characteristics. What may be extremely foolish for one may be very reasonable for another. So, if soloing is not your cup of tea, be careful not to judge those you don't know well who do choose to go alone. They may have the independent character to make it a reasonable choice.

Be honest with yourself.

If you think you're cut out for solo self-support, you should have already contemplated the many “what ifs”. Hope for the best but methodically and thoroughly plan for the worst.

Obviously, being pinned and unable to free oneself is the solo paddler’s worst nightmare. Nothing more needs to be said here. Less dire but dreaded nonetheless, is incurring an injury to an upper extremity and/or losing a boat. In either case, you’ll be hoofing it. Another and even worse possibility is an injury to the back or lower extremity preventing you from walking OR paddling. Do you know how to handle these situations? What’s your track record on vigilance? How’s your overall physical conditioning? What about your sense of direction? Can you climb? Could you walk 10, 20 or more miles over uneven and rugged terrain? Some things to ponder. Be honest with yourself.

A PFD with plenty of pockets is nice anywhere but of real value for self-support & a must for soloing. Between its three well placed pockets, this PeakUK River Guide has room for a sizable "survival kit" yet is still legitimately comfortable. My PFD kit: b-day candles, cotton balls saturated in Vaseline & flint stick; lighter w/lots of duct tape wrapped around; 1.5 liter packable reservoir; h2o purification tabs; knife w/ 4' cord on handle; pruning saw; several Power Bars (inside of wrapper serves as signal device); mini headlamp; sil-nylon emergency bag/shelter; & 2 carabiners. Also Salamander Golden Retriever on waist, exteme vigilance & real shoes.

• Write down a detailed plan A, B, C, etc and give it to at least one trustworthy person that knows your abilities in and out of the water. And don't deviate from those plans. Also, explain your gear (what you carry & colors) and how you would use it (signal device, strobe light, etc) in an emergency so others know what to look for and expect.
• Carrying gear retrieval equipment on person is as wise as carrying a breakdown paddle in your boat. One solo self-supporter I know used to carry a "pin kit" in a bag strapped to the back of his PFD, and on at least one occasion, used it. That works but a more streamlined method is to use a PFD with built-in pockets (less of a snagging hazard) containing enough volume to accommodate this gear as well as the other things you might want for a long hike out. Space can be saved by wearing a waist worn throw bag with spectra rope, using Petzl Ultralegere pulleys, etc, etc.
• Read the above section "Hiking out" and have plenty of secure pockets to carry necessities. Remember though. The most important necessity lies within your cranium.

General tips

• An all too often overlooked aspect to safety is the colors one chooses. If you need new gear, whether it be boat or apparel, please, do yourself and buddies a favor and buy bright. Paddling, pinned, swimming, scouting, etc, the gray, black and similarly dull and dark colors so prevalent in todays market are difficult to see and are nothing more than camouflage in the river environment, a fact amplified in low light canyons. Yellows and bright oranges are the most visible. Red, often perceived as a safety color, is not the best choice as it has a narrow lateral range for visual periphery. A four year study concluded that yellow fire trucks are safer than red fire trucks which, prompted the FAA and many community agencies to convert rescue and fire-fighting fleets to lime-yellow.

  No self-respecting kayaker would be without duct-tape. Its uses are endless from first aid to repair & fabrication. Wrap it around several things such as your paddle shaft, lighter, pill vial, water bottle, etc...or place strips inside your kayak. Several widths come in handy too.

  If your kayaking colors are dull and or dark and you can not afford to convert, or you don't need new gear, tape can be used to brighten a few things. Yellow electrical tape wrapped around a paddle shaft can add grip and visibility. Just the same, a strip or two of yellow duct tape can brighten dark helmets and be used for a multitude of other things...if the need arises. Double duty. Get creative. Get bright. Get noticed. Be safe.

• Any time you get out of your boat, solidly wedge it in rocks, brush or trees. I don't know how many times I have seen or heard of boats sliding or getting knocked into the water because they were carelessly placed. In one such incident, the self-supporter whose boat slipped in to the river broke his wrist while walking downstream to find it. Place your paddle just as carefully...and, out of harms way. Often times, boats tend to get stacked above drops being scouted. No need to have your paddle under three loaded kayaks. Stick it in the bushes where it won't get boats piled on it or stepped on.

Lunch date? Unbeknowning to what he sat his boat over, the kayaker ate half his lunch before noticing this rattlesnake sitting near him. Rather than fleeing like rattlesnakes prefer, this one likely felt threatened by the boat & decided to take a stance. The paddler didn’t hear the rattling due to the river noise & hearing loss. Incidences like this are poignant reminders that we need to be aware of the rattlesnakes' existence & take necessary precautions. That doesn’t mean kill. There’s no need for that. Just forget what you saw on TV that one time & be watchful & give them their space. They'll gladly give you yours.

Hantavirus anyone? Be careful to not stir up dust in old cabins, caves or overhangs and think twice before sleeping in one. Though rare, Hantavirus is a serious and infectious respiratory disease with a U.S. fatality rate of 35 percent. And contrary to popular belief, Hantavirus is not primarily confined to the Four Corners area. Every western state has reported cases and more than half of all cases have come from outside the Four Corners region. For more information, visit the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website.

7.13.08