"Charles Pezeshki" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

Well, it finally happened. After 25 years of paddling, I finally had an
uber-wipeout that led to me separating from my craft.



Chuck: I've been thinking about your adventure all afternoon, and it reminds
me of my own close call. If it wasn't for my fireman safety boater who
resuced my boat, I would have been deep in the wilderness and in deep
doo-doo myself.

Some thoughts:
1) What were you wearing for footwear? This particular discussion has come
and gone here umpteen times, and we know that we primarily wear footwear for
keeping our feet comfortable while jammed under the deck, but how did it
fare for your 1800 vertical foot scree slope scramble? You probably thought
once or twice about improvements that were possible...

2) What was the situation that you left the river? The standard protocol is
to follow the stream down, so that rescuers can find you, or so that you
might (someday) find your boat. Of course, local environment can change
that, so was there something impassible or some reason that you chose to
climb a dangerous cliff and wander lost among woods roads instead of
following the river? Were you already formally or informally familiar with
the uphill terrain?

3) I know when I almost lost my boat, a primary thought I had was that my
emergency food, water and first aid stuff was strapped into the boat. I
always rig my gear so that I can get that stuff out in case of an ugly pin,
but when the boat went downstream, I realized the small flaw in my plan. Did
you have any emergency rations (water, matches, a cell phone) somewhere on
your person so that it was still with you after bail-out? Did you think of
anything you wish you had with you after bail-out, other than your boat?
Do you have any thoughts of how that stuff could be attached, but not be an
entrapment hazard?

--riverman