Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Solo Tripping :: swamping and/or tense situations while alone
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Minnesotian |
quote jwartman59: "anyone attempting a solo trip should be an expert in their canoe. swampings should never happen, ever." Who does the testing so I can get my expert level canoe license? |
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David B |
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housty9 |
quote Minnesotian: "plus one, stuff can happen quick no matter how experienced you are, ask beav about that on his Alaska trip.quote jwartman59: "anyone attempting a solo trip should be an expert in their canoe. swampings should never happen, ever." |
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nctry |
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missmolly |
Jon Turk, who's gone places I don't have the backbone to go, said something similar, that he's buried friends who drowned or died on mountaintops and many of them were better skiers and paddlers and climbers, but he was simply luckier. |
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missmolly |
quote Minnesotian: "quote jwartman59: "anyone attempting a solo trip should be an expert in their canoe. swampings should never happen, ever." You get that from me. Before we get started, how much ya got? |
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missmolly |
quote housty9: "quote Minnesotian: "plus one, stuff can happen quick no matter how experienced you are, ask beav about that on his Alaska trip."quote jwartman59: "anyone attempting a solo trip should be an expert in their canoe. swampings should never happen, ever." I also thought of Mighty Beav. |
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Minnesotian |
quote missmolly: "quote Minnesotian: "quote jwartman59: "anyone attempting a solo trip should be an expert in their canoe. swampings should never happen, ever." My cat's hairball and a broken pair of glasses. Does that do? |
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Minnesotian |
quote Banksiana: "The tensest situation I faced was on a solo trip in 2012- taking advantage of the record early break-up and heading to the Quetico during the first week of April. ... Damn. Now that is a tough situation. I also took advantage of the early break-up and headed into Brule Lake, but that wasn't until the end of April. Even then, it slightly snowed on me as well, but nothing like what happened to you. I'm curious, what type of footwear did you have? That is a pretty amazing experience. |
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TomT |
quote Minnesotian: "quote Banksiana: "The tensest situation I faced was on a solo trip in 2012- taking advantage of the record early break-up and heading to the Quetico during the first week of April. ... Also did you have a SPOT or equivalent? Not sure I would have fared as well as you. The snow is one thing but it got pretty cold for canoeing. |
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TomT |
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Buster |
Stuff happens regardless of your level of expertise. Brave statement. :) |
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LindenTree3 |
I have been a wildland and structural firefighter for 27 years and have been on close to 600 wildfires, with around 20 fatalities. 11 of them Hotshot's and Smoke Jumpers. I still fight fires and instruct fire classes. My co-workers look to me for expertise. Given that, there are just too many variables that we can never account or plan for despite our ability and skill level. S--t sometimes happens. I realize that at any time, despite my fire training and experience, my number may be called tomorrow. And it may happen in a canoe, not on the fire line. When your adrenaline kicks in, everything changes from reality to SLOW MOTION in an instant. It's only happened to me a couple times. (But 30 seconds seemed like 5 minutes It is the weirdest feeling.) Like you are high on drugs, with everything visually framing in your eyes in slow motion. But you are in total control of yourself. Kinda like watching your actions as they are happening on a movie screen but in slow motion. Unfortunately you are the main character. |
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OBX2Kayak |
quote jwartman59: "anyone attempting a solo trip should be an expert in their canoe. swampings should never happen, ever." AND ... they should be experts at wet exit/open water recovery techniques in the event the unimaginable happens. Too many people think "swimming to shore" is a recovery technique. It's not. |
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Frenchy19 |
quote Buster: ""Should never happen. Ever". Arrogant is more accurate. I swamped once when close to shore in some pretty windy conditions. Everything was pushed ashore by the waves, and the only damage was to my pride. |
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TomT |
I had camped on Isabella and fortunately invited a young couple to join me at the high site in the middle of the lake. They were looking and it was getting late. So we were headed out the next morning together. Instead of taking the winding creek out we opted to portage alongside another creek further north. It had rained almost every day of this trip and the creek was very high. I decided to run the creek with no packs to save from portaging it. At the end there was a chute with an approx. 2 foot drop. In my youthful wisdom I decided the best course of action was to let the canoe go over empty and I would catch up to it in the flat water after. Long story short - the canoe wrapped around a rock going over the drop. I waded in and pried (ripped) it off. It was totalled. I duct taped the rips and the couple had me hop in their boat and we towed my canoe with a rope the rest of the way out. One of the worst days of my life. I ended up getting $50 for it at the Chicagoland Canoe Base. Now, if that couple wasn't there with me??? Yeah. Not good. I learned to respect the power of water that day. |
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Banksiana |
Portage from Argo to Crooked |
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carmike |
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David B |
I can add one more story to this post. Several years ago I was taking advantage of some flat-calm early mornings in November to go sculling in my single scull on the CT River. A quarter of a mile from the start I suddenly discovered that I had not properly latched down the oar on one side. I discovered this by lifting a bit on the oar in mid-stroke and realiizing in a split second that I had that oar free in my hand and off the rigging. I realized it in a split second because that's all the time you have in such a situation before the scull is upside down and you are (hopefully) swimming. I was close enough to shore so that I could gather up my boat and oars and swim to shore, but by the time I got to there I was COLD to the bone. The CT River is pretty chilly in November. At the time I just got back in the boat and rowed back home but the experience stuck with me a long time and never did I get back in the boat again with quite the same casual attitude as before or without double checking the oars and rigging. It gave me just a tiny inkling of what traumatic stress and its lasting impact must be like for those who have suffered a real traumatic shock. Thanks to everyone for the posts. I will continue to follow this thread in hopes of learning more about how to be safe on my next solo in BWCA and Quetico. |
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David B |
David |
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bhouse46 |
Lesson to me, if on rivers or around them watch for current that can do tricks I am not interested in learning and always wear the PFD. |
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LindenTree3 |
Here is a pic of today's day trip. I always wear a life jacket. Know your limits and then back off a little from those limits, since you are soloing. |
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mr.barley |
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mastertangler |
The third time I had a nice fat pike on and when the line broke I was sent backwards and rolled over. That was the only time away from shore. My advice is to stay near shore if there is any doubt whatsoever. I never attempt to cross open choppy water and will instead paddle around large bays (often adding several extra miles over the course of a day). I can be a very brave and competent paddler in the snotty stuff if I know I can recover. But put me offshore where the result of a swamping may well mean your life and a lump arises and I ask myself "why am I out here"? Not worth it. So I take into account wind direction, look at the map with that in mind I plan ahead to make sure I'm in the lee even if it means lots of extra paddling. I'm out there to be safe......not to get stressed out. Last trip was windy and nasty for several days. I still made decent time all things considered. Several times I shipped water over my gunnels and that gets your attention in a hurry. But all close to shore. The steep banks can cause quite a bit of "bounce back" but i still paddle it preferring that to the surfing whitecap which can swamp you. The little solos bob like a cork in this chaos of seas and a "sweet spot" between the bounce back and the surfing wave can often be found. Paddling close to shore requires concentration. Polarized glasses helps as you must make sure you don't paddle up on a rock. But during choppy weather the waves will reveal any underwater obstructions. Bottom line is don't be worried about extra paddling........you won't always be able to take a direct line (point to point). The destination is secondary. The more you paddle near shore the more you begin to like it.......the feeling of the bank sliding past. Seeing what's on the shore and under the water. This is my style if the water is up at all. The further you get out, the bigger the waves will be. Not fun anymore! Good luck MT |
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Minnesotian |
I have been in some pretty nasty waves, but have held it together. The worst was probably when I was crossing Burt in the Quetico and a thunderstorm whipped up, creating some tall rollers, and right as I was in the middle of the lake, a big old thunder cracked right above my head. Fastest paddeling I have ever done into wind and waves. Swamping the canoe is always a concern I think on a solo trip, but if you get moving really early in the morning, and put down some good miles by 2 pm, you'll avoid most of the windy weather. What I think is more concerning when soloing is twisting your ankle, or tripping and busting your knee, or filleting a fish and the knife slips, a whole myriad of things that become really hard to deal with when it is just you. On my first solo trip, I was portaging a canoe somewhere along the Frost River in the BWCA. At the end of the portage was a very steep rock where you had to unload everything. It was a good 45 degree angle. As I was going down it with the canoe on me, my feet slipped right out from under me. I went down, smacked the back of my head on a flat rock, and then had the canoe land on my head. I didn't hit my head that bad, and I just sat for a bit, calming down and realizing what it really means to go solo. So, have a great time. It is addicting. But just make sure all your steps are secure, point sharp blades away from yourself, and start early in the morning. Have a great time. |
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jwartman59 |
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David B |
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awbrown |
"A man's gotta know his limitations".....Dirty Harry Calahan. I knew mine, so tempted as I may have been, I just waited it out. |
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OBX2Kayak |
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luft |
I think you have the right attitude about a healthy respect for the water. I am a frequent solo paddler and I have only swamped twice (along with a close call in a current). Both of the times that I swamped I was getting in to my canoe. The first was on my very first solo, 4 days after ice out, late in a long paddle day at a portage with my stern on an unseen rock that flipped me right into the water. Thankfully it was a warmish sunny day and I was able to dry out quickly. The most recent was on my May trip. I had just loaded my boat at my campsite and tried to do some fancy foot work to stand into my very short Hornbeck solo that you are supposed to sit into. I think my thought was that the bank was so high and the drop off was rather steep so I decide to try to step in..and weirdly crossed stepped to get in. My only excuse was that I had not had my coffee and had a rough night due to some unknown beast snorting outside my tent after dark . I remember thinking as I was mid step that maybe it wasn't the best idea but by that time it was too late. I swamped the canoe so it sank with me and my packs in it. The good news...my packs float! So I have found that I make mistakes when I am tired and try to adjust my safety radar to make up for that deficit. |
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Whatsit |
quote jwartman59: "anyone attempting a solo trip should be an expert in their canoe. swampings should never happen, ever." So Bill Mason never swamped his canoe? Cliff Jacobson never, ever? Come on! Never heard such a crazy statement. Last I knew there has only been One perfect person walking on this earth. And I don't think He's come back yet. I sure wouldn't want to be paddling near you in a storm. I'd be scared to death about lightning hitting causing you to swamp your canoe. :-) Mike |
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Alan Gage |
Another time I was pulling the canoe up a small CI rapid when the stern got hung up and put the canoe at an angle to the current with me in an awkward position. I couldn't go forwards or backwards and the upstream gunwale kept trying to dip underwater. I finally gave it one last shove to try and free the canoe, which didn't work, and the gunwale dipped underwater for good. No use trying to hold on to the rope and the canoe went down the river without me. Luckily I still had my lifejacket on so shucked off my pants and boots and went swimming after it. Long tiring swim but no harm done. My most serious dump was last fall on a small shallow lake near home that I've paddled a hundred times. I was test paddling a new canoe I was working on and didn't have a permanent seat installed yet. I was trying to determine the proper position and height so had temporary seating platforms in the boat. The air temp was just below freezing, the lake was partially skimmed with ice, and the wind was blowing a light breeze. But the sun was shining and when out of the wind it was quite pleasant. About 150 yards out from the island my temporary seat unexpectedly fell over mid-stroke and I couldn't save it. Suddenly me and my dog were both in some very cold water. I've practiced re-entering a swamped solo canoe, and am pretty good at it, but decided against even trying in these conditions. The canoe would be very difficult to empty and I was wearing a lot of clothes and a jacket, which would make it harder to climb back in. I didn't want to waste time so headed straight for shore. Thankfully I was just able to touch the mucky bottom but the water was still up to my neck. There was ice between me and the island so I pushed the half swamped canoe (with my dog aboard) ahead of me to break the ice. I'm sure I was in the water less than 5 minutes by the time I made shore but I could already feel my arms and legs starting to go numb. I changed into dry clothes (wish I'd brought more) and jumped back in the canoe to paddle back to the car. The water on the paddle shaft was already frozen. It was a very cold, but thankfully short, 15 minute paddle back to the car. I was still a little nervous when I climbed back in the canoe but once we got back to the main shoreline, and out of the wind, I didn't feel so cold and knew I'd make it ok. Once back at the car I sat there with the heater on for about 20 minutes while my hands very painfully came back to life. I got very lucky in two ways. One was that I was able to touch bottom. Trying to swim that boat to shore, with no ropes attached, would have taken much longer. I was also lucky that I'd brought extra clothes in a dry bag. I was heading out the door when the thought occurred to me. I almost kept going out the door but on second thought decided to grab some clothes. Things could have gotten a bit more interesting if either of those had been different. Everyone should take a swim in frigid water sometime. It's no fun and will make you think twice not only about taking risks but also about how seemingly benign situations can suddenly turn into anything but. I bet if you polled canoers you'd find that most capsizes occur in calm or unexpected conditions rather than paddling in wind and waves. Alan |
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bwcasolo |
i have been on 25 + solo trips, and that is something i remember from my early ones, and always wear your pfd. have fun, relax, don't worry. just be careful out there. |
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Lailoken |
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Banksiana |
Took two long days to make my way to Mudro (Over three hours just to make the portage from Argo to Crooked). The first day was windy, surfing big scary waves on Friday bay. Temps did not rise above 20 on the first day- I was scraping the bottom on food and portaging through the 12-18" of snow was arduous. I spent the last night on Wagosh, my thermometer read 9 degrees in the morning. |
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jdddl8 |
On land I have survive storms - the worst of which raised water levels 18 inches, got lost for over three hours with a pack on my back, having no stove for 20 days, got a close up look at a bear, hearing many weird sounds in the night, having no toilet paper, got eaten alive by bugs, had several none life threatening injuries, broke my fishing equipment, taking animal trails instead of portages, had equipment blow away in storms and a host of others. I have never dumped far away from shore but I do know how to empty a swamped canoe. The only thing I can say is when you're solo your ingenuity will kick in. You will make good decisions when your life depends on it. But by the same token watch the weather, weigh the risks and make smart decisions. If you are unsure stay close to shore. Despite all the problems I have had I can't wait to get back and I am planning over five weeks of trips this summer. |
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missmolly |
quote Minnesotian: "quote missmolly: "quote Minnesotian: "quote jwartman59: "anyone attempting a solo trip should be an expert in their canoe. swampings should never happen, ever." A hairball AND broken specs? I'm movin' up in this world! |
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Minnesotian |
quote missmolly: "quote Minnesotian: "quote missmolly: "quote Minnesotian: "quote jwartman59: "anyone attempting a solo trip should be an expert in their canoe. swampings should never happen, ever." A win for both of us! |