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dicecupmaker
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Thank you, Mike! Great interview! Hard lesson to learn. Always be safe and wear a PFD aka 'Life-jacket' Thanks again!
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shock
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double post ,,,
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tmccann
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Good interview - thanks for sharing the story. Here is a website that is very educational about how dangerous cold water can be. It provides some instruction on what to expect and what to do to help yourself if you find yourself in cold water. Cold Water
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analyzer
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Thank you for sharing your story. When I hear about drownings like Joe's, or other fatalities in the boundary waters, I can barely imagine what it must be like for the trip partners, immediately after-the-fact. That must be one long,terrible paddle out, and drive home. Just trying to work the logistics out in my head, it's tough to think about how much pain and suffering your group must have endured.
My wife has reached the point where she doesn't want to go, just the two of us, as she doesn't want to have to try to figure out how to pack up and get out etc, if I should suffer a heart attack.
My heart goes out to you Mike, and for the family and friends of both Joes.
I don't want to pry too much, but how exactly did you handle that Mike? Did you send one pair back to the end of the trail to get help, or did you all paddle back together (leaving Joe behind), or did you flag down someone going that way?
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shock
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very good and very sad listening Mike , but thanks for sharing , your broadcast should be shared on many forums , hopefully it gets some people to think .
i never wore one in my younger years , and in 2011 me and my son went down in actual ice out conditions , we both had our vest on and was in the water 2 minutes ? and i was in a different zone didnt feel the cold water but when i stripped down my whole chest was blue and had lost muscle control trying to get up and out of the water,, but there was another canoe in the group that help get us to safety and start a fire and retrieve all our gear while we changed out cloths by a make shift fire .
and many people dont realize the surface temp may seem warm but just a few feet down is a dramatic difference.
it is sad that drownings fatality's happens about 12 to 18 times a year in minnesota and half are preventable , keep preaching Mike and again thanks for sharing .
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ozarkpaddler
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Do you have any other place I could either listen or read the text of your experience? We have very slow internet, sometimes only dial-up speed, and I can only listen to about 1:13 before it ends. I've tried several times. Thanks!
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timatkn
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Thanks so much for sharing your unfortunate experience.
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mcsweem
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I was on WTIP radio today talking about my buddy who drowned in 2001 on Knife and the importance of wearing PFDs.
WTIP
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nctry
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Glad you had the opportunity to share your experience.
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h20
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Good interview Mike. Very nice. Thanks for sharing that.
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Savage Voyageur
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Mike, So sorry you have to relive this again and again. The similarities are amazing.
Thanks for taking the time and giving the interview. Keep preaching Brother, people are listening.
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PatrickE
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Mike, wanted to thank you for putting this out there. I'm headed up there tomorrow and listening to this whole thing just makes me realize the importance of keeping the PFD on at all times. Thanks for sharing.
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boonie
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Thanks, Mike. It will save someone's life.
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mcsweem
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PatrickE: "Mike, wanted to thank you for putting this out there. I'm headed up there tomorrow and listening to this whole thing just makes me realize the importance of keeping the PFD on at all times. Thanks for sharing. "
I'm headed up on Wednesday, glad you'll be wearing your PFD
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mcsweem
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analyzer: "Thank you for sharing your story. When I hear about drownings like Joe's, or other fatalities in the boundary waters, I can barely imagine what it must be like for the trip partners, immediately after-the-fact. That must be one long,terrible paddle out, and drive home. Just trying to work the logistics out in my head, it's tough to think about how much pain and suffering your group must have endured.
My wife has reached the point where she doesn't want to go, just the two of us, as she doesn't want to have to try to figure out how to pack up and get out etc, if I should suffer a heart attack.
My heart goes out to you Mike, and for the family and friends of both Joes.
I don't want to pry too much, but how exactly did you handle that Mike? Did you send one pair back to the end of the trail to get help, or did you all paddle back together (leaving Joe behind), or did you flag down someone going that way?"
The 2 most experienced paddlers, me and my buddy paddled out, Joe drowned around 9:15am. It took a while to kind of figure out what we wanted to do. First we started a fire since there was a fire ban we though maybe a ranger would come, the other guy who was with Joe that I saved had some hypothermia symptoms, but we got him in dry clothes in a sleeping bag. By the it was 1230ish we planned to paddle to prairie portage took us til almost 8pm fighting a hard wind. Luckily a tow boat from Latourells saw us and gave us a ride to their lodge. We met up with the sheriff I made several calls including to Joe's mom and dad, not something I ever want to go through again. The next morning search and rescue flew in and found Joe's body in 19' of water. They flew the rest of the paddlers in my group out before they recovered his body. The ride home was kind of a blur, we had to drive Joe's vehicle home, when he drowned his tackle bag washed ashore and his car keys were in it. No something I'd wish on anyone
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mcsweem
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ozarkpaddler: "Do you have any other place I could either listen or read the text of your experience? We have very slow internet, sometimes only dial-up speed, and I can only listen to about 1:13 before it ends. I've tried several times. Thanks!"
Try this one WTIP
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mcsweem
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ozarkpaddler: "Do you have any other place I could either listen or read the text of your experience? We have very slow internet, sometimes only dial-up speed, and I can only listen to about 1:13 before it ends. I've tried several times. Thanks!"
I also wrote an article about this for the summer 2002 boundary Waters journal
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