Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

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Tim
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Tim »

I have found the video. Is there anyway to attach a 20 second video?

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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Freed Roger »

Tim wrote:
Freed Roger wrote:
Tim wrote:I almost died on Bear Creek outside of Springfield while kayaking when it was at flood stage.

I am often hyperbolic but that’s the God’s honest truth. Had my friend not saved me I would have been a statistic. That was 9 years ago. I haven’t kayaked or floated since.

I used to love floating the Buffalo
Looking forward to floating the Buffalo someday.
I was floating with a very experienced canoer/kayaker and we decided to hit up Bear Creek. Now I have floated for most of my life. My friend, who was in grad school at Missouri State at the time, and I enjoyed getting together for long weekends and floating and camping for two to three days when we could.

Anyway it was in early April, had just rained for like 5 days straight, and we put in. Now in my infinite wisdom wore my trout fishing waders.

We were rolling. No need to paddle. You essentially just steered. I used to know how far we went, but it was a few miles in less than an hour. I mean we were booking it down this creek.

We get to where a concrete bridge passes over the creek. We managed to pull off to the side to gauge how we wanted to attack this, as the concrete supports were sticking out of the creek to support the bridge and the water was just slamming up against them.
Think something similar to this, however many more supports.
Spoiler'd for size.
[SHOW]
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We decide we can make it, but he goes first. He makes it through no problem, pulls off to the side and breaks out his camcorder.

I go. I'm sucked straight into the concrete support. The kayak snaps in half, I flip upside down and my waders begin filling with water (the more I tell the story the less anxious I get - hence exposure therapy is good for PTSD). I am being swept down stream all the while knowing that I am not making it to med school in three months and I am going to die. Oddly enough I was at piece with this. I calmly began trying to unbuckle my waders. Again, I am going down backwards, head barely above water and headed straight toward and bunch of trees that have fallen and are sticking out of the creek. I'll either be trapped or I will hit my head. Either way I am done.

Out of nowhere I feel my friend grab my upper arm. He had managed to wade out into the creek in the nick of time and just where I was headed. He drug my back to the shore. I was freaked out.

I have the video somewhere of me being slammed into the concrete support. I will see if I can find it.
Wow. thanks for sharing that Tim, and, of course, glad you lived to tell the tale.

Yeah, I would be too scared to do any of that. As much as I'm enjoying paddling on rivers (way more than lakes), white water and running creeks during floods spook me. This book was pretty good about the extremes of water hydraulics, tales of woe and people that run the GC (in floods) in a wood boat. Not something I would do, but interesting anyway.
[SHOW]
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I find a lot of good info out there. People that like doing this stuff are eager to share it. Then there's youtube etal, ( enough info to make me dangerous :wink:) . Took a lot of reassuring, talking with experienced people, and few test runs to take my daughter on the Missouri River. It's generally not too bad. Even there, I've since learned the cheapo open-hull kayak (without putting in some extra buoyancy) was probably a bad idea.

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lukethedrifter
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by lukethedrifter »

As soon as you mentioned waders i knew what was going to happen.

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Tim
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Tim »

lukethedrifter wrote:As soon as you mentioned waders i knew what was going to happen.
I was my first and worst mistake. It was cold and I thought if some water splashed on me then it would keep me warm. Completely idiotic.

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Tim
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Tim »

Freed Roger wrote: Wow. thanks for sharing that Tim, and, of course, glad you lived to tell the tale.

Yeah, I would be too scared to do any of that. As much as I'm enjoying paddling on rivers (way more than lakes), white water and running creeks during floods spook me. This book was pretty good about the extremes of water hydraulics, tales of woe and people that run the GC (in floods) in a wood boat. Not something I would do, but interesting anyway.
[SHOW]
Image
I find a lot of good info out there. People that like doing this stuff are eager to share it. Then there's youtube etal, ( enough info to make me dangerous :wink:) . Took a lot of reassuring, talking with experienced people, and few test runs to take my daughter on the Missouri River. It's generally not too bad. Even there, I've since learned the cheapo open-hull kayak (without putting in some extra buoyancy) was probably a bad idea.
I would probably enjoy reading that now.

We had already floated the Buffalo at flood stage. Canoe rentals would not rent us canoes so we used our own. We handled it no problem. It was Bear Creek that got me.

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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Freed Roger »

Tim wrote:
Freed Roger wrote: Wow. thanks for sharing that Tim, and, of course, glad you lived to tell the tale.

Yeah, I would be too scared to do any of that. As much as I'm enjoying paddling on rivers (way more than lakes), white water and running creeks during floods spook me. This book was pretty good about the extremes of water hydraulics, tales of woe and people that run the GC (in floods) in a wood boat. Not something I would do, but interesting anyway.
[SHOW]
Image
I find a lot of good info out there. People that like doing this stuff are eager to share it. Then there's youtube etal, ( enough info to make me dangerous :wink:) . Took a lot of reassuring, talking with experienced people, and few test runs to take my daughter on the Missouri River. It's generally not too bad. Even there, I've since learned the cheapo open-hull kayak (without putting in some extra buoyancy) was probably a bad idea.
I would probably enjoy reading that now.

We had already floated the Buffalo at flood stage. Canoe rentals would not rent us canoes so we used our own. We handled it no problem. It was Bear Creek that got me.
Not telling you anything you don't know, but flood water - in addition to the floating morass of debris and wood, all the sediment makes it heavy -like a slurry. Me don't like.

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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Freed Roger »

Crazy tale of being trapped in the boundary waters in a wildfire. This unassuming couple are badasses. Ancilliary story of forest management weather climate change and fire.

Podcast version

https://www.outsideonline.com/2334836/sky-burning

Print version.

https://www.outsideonline.com/1914461/s ... -fire[url][/url]
Semi-related:
Going to Oregon next week, itinerary includes a day camping near area of Willamette NF that has a wildfire going. And a day in WA Gifford Pinchot NF up from Columbia River Gorge -which had fire last year.

Fire (or more likely smoke issues) may cause some itinerary changes.

Then end of month to the Boudary Waters for a few days up there. really looking forward to both excursions. Lucky SOB, I am.

I wonder if the local NF are at much risk of major wildfire. I know they have been doing some prescribed burns in Mark Twain NF, and some state parks ( Cuivre River for one).

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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by thrill »

I spent 10 days in northern idaho and the air quality was so bad I could barely see mountains from a few miles away. I still have a bit of a cough. Hopefully Oregon is a little clearer for you.

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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Freed Roger »

thrill wrote:I spent 10 days in northern idaho and the air quality was so bad I could barely see mountains from a few miles away. I still have a bit of a cough. Hopefully Oregon is a little clearer for you.
slated to do a 50k trail race along McKenzie River (hour plus east of Eugene). the smoke more of a concern there than fire .
at least in OR, can head to the coast to escape the smoke(which everybody else will be doing too).
2nd yr in a row. The new normal for a while, until enough of it burns away
Last edited by Freed Roger on August 28 18, 9:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Popeye_Card
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Popeye_Card »

Headed to Banff/Yoho/Jasper in about 3 weeks. Hopefully the smoke is clearing by then.

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