I just finished "When the Wheels Fall Off" by Jim Hanssen in the current issue of the BWJ. I have to say that Jim did an excellent job on this article. Has anyone been through a similar situation? I was in a very similar situation last spring. Here goes:

I had been planning an early June Trout trip for nearly a year, and talked my usual partners into going. Two weeks before the trip, my father canceled out thanks to a knee replacement gone bad. I emailed my short list looking for volunteers, and an old college friend of mine was up for it. We had fished and hunted together many times, but never been in a canoe together.

We headed in on Friday morning, and got to West Pike Lake on the east side just after lunch. It had been raining since we hit West Pike, and was COLD. We got camp set up, and my partner and I hit the lake in the late afternoon to try to catch a few trout for dinner. The other 2 stayed at the campsite to assess the wine situation. We trolled west down the lakeshore and caught a couple of trout. The wind was picking up from the East, and we decided to cross the lake, paddle into the wind near the far shore until we were well past the camp site, then cross again and head back in. As we crossed the lake, my partner quit paddling to set his rod in the rod holder, the bow swung, and we capsized.

The water was in the low 50's and we were right between the north and south shores, probably 1/2 mile in either direction. We were over 1/2 mile down wind of the nearest populated camp site, and there were no other boats on the water. We were out of visual range of all of the camp sites. My partner had an inflatable life vest that he couldn't get inflated, and we couldn't manage a self rescue in the waves. We briefly discussed the situation, and started pulling towards the north shore, the same one our camp site was on.

We swam with the canoe for 40-45 minutes until we hit shore. My partner wanted to ditch the boat several times, but I had been watching the terrain and knew we wouldn't be able to get to a camp site, especially without our shoes. We finally hit shore, emptied the boat, wrung out our clothes, and started paddling. By this time we were 1 1/2 miles away form the camp site, with 25 mph winds, and extremely hypothermic. Neither of us could even grip a paddle. We made it back to camp after 45 minutes paddling into the waves, and our companions nursed us back into shape.

Our post-situation reaction was very similar to what Jim describes. The only exception was that we discussed what would have happened if we would have ditched the canoe, swam to shore, and tried to build a fire. We both tried with what we had on us at the time. It was a very interesting exercise, and one that should be practiced. I was able to get one going with my Leatherman and a Sweedish Firesteel in about 3 minutes, but without a saw and axe, we couldn't have gotten a large enough fire to save us. The other interesting thing is that our rain gear probably saved our lives. Mine filled up like a sausage to the point that I couldn't lift my arm out of the water as we were swimming in. When we hit the shore I was so tired and full of water that I couldn't stand up. This kept a layer of water between us and the lake that warmed up and kept us insulated.

The bottom line was that we screwed up. We were in my new cedar strip boat that I had only paddled 3 or 4 times before. We had never paddled together. It was the late afternoon on an entry day so we were both exhausted, and I let the boat get broadside in the waves. The boat was designed for heavy loads, and it was just the two of us with our tackle. On the plus side, neither of us ever lost our cool through the whole ordeal, even though neither of us thought we would survive to hit the shoreline. Had either one of us panicked, we would not have made it.

Some of the key takeaways for me were:

1) I will never allow a self-inflating life jacket in my canoe again.
2) I will always pre-paddle with my partners.
3) I will always fish with another boat if there is any chance of wind.
4) I will always carry a whistle.

We had a pretty somber trip home. My partner and I have been in 2 or 3 really close scrapes before, but this was the worst. We agreed that this would be our last trip together. There was too much bad luck between us, and we both have kids that need fathers.

Reading the article brought back some very serious memories of that evening. I hope that you never have the experience of pulling a canoe towards shore, drifting into subconsciousness while thinking of your kids practicing kicking in the bathtub...

I read that article also, Wables. It was very informative to me. Fortunately, I have not been in that type of situation. I'm glad that you and your friend were OK too.

wow, actually sounds like a story you should submit to bwca journal.

Haven't read that yet, but thanks for sharing your story... I've not experienced it yet myself, thank goodness. Sharing lessons learned here is an awesome way to improve everyone's safety. THanks again.

A hard-earned lesson we can all learn from. Thanks for posting.

Glad it worked out. Curious, you say you won't allow self-inflatting PFDs, but I don't see anything in story regarding them.

Wow! So your partner's pfd would not inflate? I'd thought about posting a question regarding the reliability of self-inflating units, because they look so unobtrusive to wear, but never got around to it.

quote 1stSatInMay: "Glad it worked out. Curious, you say you won't allow self-inflatting PFDs, but I don't see anything in story regarding them."

Sorry, looked a couple times and didn't see the part about the vest not inflating.

quote Jeriatric: "Wow! So your partner's pfd would not inflate? I'd thought about posting a question regarding the reliability of self-inflating units, because they look so unobtrusive to wear, but never got around to it."

Yes, he couldn't get it inflated. When we got to shore he gave the cord another tug to show me that it wouldn't work, and the thing inflated. He didnt have a spare co2 cylinder, so he had to paddle with it inflated for the rest of the trip.

wow. very hard lessons to learn. hopefully those of us who havent been in that situation (yet) can learn something from your experience. thanks for sharing. the image you described of your last thoughts of your child really stopped me in my tracks.

Man, I've thought about such matters several times, seeing people fishing in heavy wind in UL boats without a load. I won't ever try it. Better to relax during the wind, cook a good meal, drink a mountain margarita, shore fish, etc. One big fear is getting wind bound on a lake without a campsite. I don't know what the FS would do if they came by the next day and saw me breaking camp. Hopefully, they would be understanding.

I too have always had the fear of being stuck on a lee shore or being broached by a wave in a canoe. As a sailor we have an adage to confirm that your first instinct should be followed when confronted with heavy weather- "If you have to think about reefing- you should have reefed" For the non-sailor, reefing is bringing down your mainsail to powerdown in heavy winds and keep the boat in better control. I agree with Beaverjack- hang at the campsite, shore fish, suck down the boxed wine and wait out the winds.

I'm impressed you were able to keep the canoe with you. Also important to consider the fire issue...I know I'd be thinking, yeah, I'll start a fire! but the reality is different, like you said...keeping it going enough to get truly warm could be difficult.

This is a big issue for me because I am taking kids into the wilderness. One is 12 (tomorrow, anyway), but she has very poor stamina due to congenitally low muscle tone. The other one is only three. And even if they were not on the trip with me, I have a responsibility to be them that cannot be denied...I need to be careful. Yet I don't really know what to do in these situations so it makes me nervous. Not going is easy, but what if you are out there already? How does one assess the sitaution and make the right choice? I like the idea of going along the shoreline where the wind would push you toward it if you capsized...but then what of rocks and getting pushed into those, while still in your canoe or not?

Twice we went into Bald Eagle with a 10-15 mph wind. Bald Eagle gets riled up pretty quickly. There were whitecaps, but just barely. Lots of other people were out on the lake, and we had a loaded canoe, and no kids. We disagreed what the best course of action would be. And being out in the wind while we discussed it, we had to talk very loudly to hear one another...I apologize to those sitting in camp on shore if you heard us. ;-) I can't exactly remember the details now or I'd ask for opinions here on what we should have done. We didn't capsize and I don't actually think now that it was that likely, but I still wonder if we should have gone along the eastern or western shores in both instances.

I was going to get one of those self-inflating PFDs till I read several complaints about them. Failure to inflate most frequent complaint.
Glad it all turned out well.
Pat yourself on the back for the things you did RIGHT. Not abandoning canoe was one of several. Although stressed--no panic distorted your thinking mode-->processing the actions you needed.

Thanks for sharing that, Wables. I learned something from it and something from Hanssen's story, just as I have from similar stories here and in BWJ.

My first solo in the BW was a learning experience, although not of the same nature. It was not one about the physical aspects of dealing with a situation like that, how it's not as easy to do some of those as we might imagine. It was more about the mental aspect of making the right decision, the smart decision. It's not as easy when you're out there than it is when you're sitting on the couch second guessing someone else. It's hard to tell just where that invisible line is that you're not supposed to cross.

I spent considerable time windbound, probably sometimes when I could have paddled, but also paddled sometimes when maybe I shouldn't have. When the last day of my trip came, I was still 8-10 miles from the nearest exit and maybe twice that far from my planned exit. I kept thinking: "my wife won't get my call tonight and she'll be worried. If I don't get out tomorrow, the outfitter will probably start to get worried. Then...".

Thanks again for sharing and reminding me to keep thinking about these things.

Thanks for sharing Wables. Good topic.

Thanks for sharing your story wables. That most certainly would have been an eye-opening experience for anyone. Cold water is not your friend and needs to be dealt with cautiously. I fear this same story could easily be repeated but with a far worse outcome. I am impressed that you and your canoeing partner were able to keep calm even when things seemed at their worse.

I believe being able to get back into the canoe would have been your best bet, but sticking with the canoe was very smart in my opinion especially when your partner had a useless life vest. Practicing righting your canoe and getting back in would be a great skill to learn before any trip. Here is a discussion on the subject in the solo tripping forum:

Self rescue attempted

Wabbles, you just made me re-think about not carrying a fire steel. I've always been a proponent of just several small bic lighters scattered throughout my pack and tackle but would have to question their effectiveness in such a situation. Thanks for the epiphany.

quote BearBrown: "Thanks for sharing your story wables. That most certainly would have been an eye-opening experience for anyone. Cold water is not your friend and needs to be dealt with cautiously. I fear this same story could easily be repeated but with a far worse outcome. I am impressed that you and your canoeing partner were able to keep calm even when things seemed at their worse.


I believe being able to get back into the canoe would have been your best bet, but sticking with the canoe was very smart in my opinion especially when your partner had a useless life vest. Practicing righting your canoe and getting back in would be a great skill to learn before any trip. Here is a discussion on the subject in the solo tripping forum:


Self rescue attempted "

That was an interesting thread. We did try a self rescue for several minutes, but with the wind, waves, a canoe with little buoyancy, cold water, and lack of a life vest on my partner we just couldn't manage it. After several attempts we decided to swim. I haven't done a self rescue in a long time, but it is definitely on my to do list when the water warms up.

Although I have not attempted a self-rescue, I am sure that it would be entirely different under the circumstances you were in - wind, waves, cold water, clothing, etc. - than it would be under the conditions I'd be most likely to practice it in. I've been out of a whitewater raft enough to know that. But it would still be worth doing. A good reminder that an ounce of prevention...

quote bruceye: "Wabbles, you just made me re-think about not carrying a fire steel. I've always been a proponent of just several small bic lighters scattered throughout my pack and tackle but would have to question their effectiveness in such a situation. Thanks for the epiphany."

I carry a bunch of Bics scattered throughout my packs too. Sometimes I need several of them because they don't seem to work very well in the BW, perhaps because of the humidity. The water-proof matches I also carry always work very well though.

Both Wables and Janssen's stories were eyeopening. I've paddled for over thirty years and only dumped once on the St Louis River north of Cloquet. I have little fear of paddling in windy conditions when I probably should. When paddling Brule Lake last fall in a wind there was three of us paddling solo. Two canoes and a kayak. The other canoe paddler opted out and spent the night on an island while the kayak and I paddled safely to the landing. We all wore life jackets and nothing made this any worse of a situation than others I'd been in. But I'm suddenly liking the idea of paddling closer to shore when possible. I will be on two solo's this year... I'll be doing all I can to make better decisions to not get myself into possible disasters. As we age the ability to save ourselves could be dramatically decreased. Thanks for posting.

I remember your story from a previous thread Wables. Its one that stuck. A good reminder to contemplate when we think of the Dub and Q only as a spiritual getaway. Not so. You can actually die there if your not careful.

quote Wables: " My partner and I have been in 2 or 3 really close scrapes before, but this was the worst. We agreed that this would be our last trip together. There was too much bad luck between us, and we both have kids that need fathers...."

I would think that you had both proven yourselves in a tough situation, and might want that kind of partner along in the wilds.

quote oldgentleman: "

quote Wables: " My partner and I have been in 2 or 3 really close scrapes before, but this was the worst. We agreed that this would be our last trip together. There was too much bad luck between us, and we both have kids that need fathers...."

I would think that you had both proven yourselves in a tough situation, and might want that kind of partner along in the wilds."

Yes, what oldgentleman said. You found a tough guy to paddle with you. Go with him again.

I avoid big lakes and the spring. I also pick lakes with lots of islands. They break up the waves. The other advantage to lakes that are small and freckled with islands is that float planes are unlikely to land on them, so the lake is all yours.

I also will stay at camp if the wind is considerable. I canoe with my son who listens very well and won't deviate from what I'm telling him. He is a good soldier. I am thankful that you survived this event by gods grace. Life is full of learning moments.

We carry at least one good firestarter such as a magnesium stick, but since half my group is smokers, we also carry bic lighters. I use one of the food vacuum sealers, and individually seal each pack with a new lighter, and always have one unopened one in my camelback. some of the non-smokers in my group just carry a few vacuum sealed lighters with them, that way they always have a dry one.