How to Safely Cross a River

10/10/19 • 31 min

How to Safely Cross a River When hiking, sometimes you come to a wide or deep river. How do you cross it safely? Learn these important skills on today's show. See complete SHOW NOTES HERE. Below is a machine transciption of this episode (and there is bound to be loads of errors). I am currently traveling off grid and didn’t have a chance to work up the complete webpage before I left, so this is the best I could do in the meantime. Either check back later, or if you email me, I’ll write you back to let you know when I’ve got the post up. Thanks for your understanding! Kit

00:05 I had to get across the river. I lost my footing for a moment and found myself stalled in the middle of the deepest and fastest part of the stream. As I tried to get better footing the river current sweat feet from underneath me and I immediately fell face down into the river. I was immediately hit with a wave of cold from the water that had been ice nearly hours before I was swept downstream with my pack on. I was underwater and couldn’t preach. I tried unsuccessfully to get a toe hold on the river bottoms who would get on my feet. I realized I was in a very serious situation. No one knew where I was. I had no idea what was downstream. Was there a log or a pile of logs and rocks below me that I can get caught up in? Was my gear and my sleeping bag wet? Was I even going to be able to get out of this welcome

00:57 Welcome to the Adventure Travel Show podcast. I’m your host Kit Parks. The intro today was an excerpt I read from an article by the Pacific Crest Trail Association titled I was swept away crossing a river on the Pacific crest trail written by Charles Williams, who I did try to reach out to, but unfortunately it was not able to catch up with him prior to this recording. But I will put a link to his very fine article in the show notes and on the website for this episode. Today we’re going to be talking about the best practices to help you get across river safely. Believe it or not, that’s one of the most dangerous things that we do when we’re out in the wild. People might be afraid of heights or snakes or bites or the cold or the heat, but what gets us the most is crossing the rivers. So today we’re going to learn the best tips of how to do so safely. What we need to look out for ahead of time, what to do if something goes wrong and we slip and fall into the water and the things that we need to do to give us the best shot at getting to the other side quickly, efficiently, and safely. This is a super important episode that I hope you’ll share, so let’s get started.

02:07 Okay.

02:08 Like I said, many hikers are worried about bears, snakes, lightning, and why you should definitely need to know what to do when you encounter these. Your greatest risk of injury or worse is crossing rivers without a bridge. Did you know that the number one way that people die in the national parks in the U S is from drowning? It’s also one of the leading causes of death on the Pacific coast trail and to beat a dead horse, it is the number one way that we harm ourselves when we’re out in the wild. Before we begin, let’s talk a minute about rivers themselves.

02:41 Okay.

02:41 The river, think of the river. It’s something that striates into different horizontal currents. So try to picture a cake with different layers, several layers, and each layer instead of being cake is a moving current. The top layer or the icing is the fastest moving current. While the bottom layer where your feet are is the slowest. However, unlike the top icing, the side icing is also slower moving. And so what this means to you is that even though you might have your feet firmly planted on the riverbend, that stronger middle layer of the cake and even that top layer can still carry you away. And that’s w...

02:07 Okay.

02:41 Okay.

Previous Episode

10 Tips for Choosing a Perfect Campsite

Ten Features of a Perfect Campsite

BEFORE you even head out, check with rangers or the website to determine the guidelines and regulations for the area you will be camping. It's no fun to get a ticket from a ranger or be forced to move because you aren't following the rules. Also check on camp fire restrictions as well.

COMPLETE SHOW NOTES HERE

Here are the ten features to look for when choosing a campsite. Full details below the checklist.

Water availability and source : it's no fun to lug water
The terrain : find a level spot so you don't feel like you are rolling down a hill
A hazard free zone : look around for potential hazards like dead trees/branches or from flash floods, etc.
A site suitable for the expected weather : don't pitch your tent in a low spot in case of rain, or on the ridge in a thunderstorm
The proper size for your party : make sure you have enough room for all the tents, kitchen/dining area and play area
Bonus amenities like stone or stump chairs and tables : are there any 'free' boulder or tree stump chairs to relax on?
A perfect mix of sun and shade : open tent to morning sun, afternoon shade and a sunny clotheseline area
Which minimizes negative impact on the land and the wildlife : use existing sites or try not to disturb the vegetation
Is private : away from other campers and the trail
Is pest free : use the wind to your advantage

Links Mentioned in this Podcast:

Portable Water Treatment ATSP Episode 003

What to Do if You Get Lost in the Woods ATSP Episode 006

Outdoor Etiquette ATSP Episode 010

Active Travel Adventures podcast

Allow Enough Time to Find a Campsite:

I start looking for a campsite about 4pm. If you are super tired and the terrain and water situation is not optimal, you may want to start looking earlier. Also if you are tired, you may want to hide you pack (and make note of where you put it)so you can scout ahead without carrying the weight. This way you’ll be more likely to seek out a good site instead of settling for the first adequate one.

So what does a good campsite look like?

Check before you head out:

What are the regulationsfor the area you plan to camp? The national parks, national forests, BLM lands and state parks all have different rules and restrictions. Obviously honor the rules as they are trying to keep things nice for all of us. If you need a reservation, make one. If you need a permit, get one. You certainly don’t want to get a ticket from a ranger or be forced to move because your didn’t pay attention to the guideline. While you’re at it, find out the campfire rules, too.

1. Water

A great campsite has a solid source of quality water nearby so you don’t have to haul it too far. You can learn about water treatment option on Episode 003. You’re going to need water to drink, cook, and clean up. My favorite water is a spring, then a stream. My least favorite is a lake. Lakes can collect bad things like E-coli and it's hard for the bad things to get out. Rivers also collect all the run off, and it was from the river at Linville Gorge that I got giardia, a most unpleasant experience. With a suitable portable water treatment system, you can drink from any of these source. There are few places I go that I don’t treat my water before drinking it.

Remember that you want to camp at least 200’ from a water source, well off the trail and not in the path of the local wildlife’s worn path to the water’s edge.

2. Consider the terrain

Unless you are using a hammock, you want to find a level site so you don’t feel like you are rolling down the hill when you lay down. Even a slight pitch is unnerving. Also make sure you don’t set you tent on an area where water can collect should it rain.

3. Look up and around for hazards

Dead branches and trees can fall on you. If you see piles of rock and debris, you might be in a flash flood hazard area. Site selection is criticalif you are in a canyon and bad weather comes in quickly. You may not have time to escape a flash flood. This is a good thing to check with rangers beforehand. If you are camping on a beach, make sure you are well above the high tide mar...

Next Episode

Hiking Boots vs Hiking Shoes

Hiking Boots versus Hiking Shoes versus Trail Runners Choose the right hiking footwear for YOU! Complete SHOW NOTES HERE. Below is a machine transcription of this episode (and there is bound to be loads of errors). I am currently traveling off grid and didn’t have a chance to work up the complete webpage before I left, so this is the best I could do in the meantime. Either check back later, or if you email me, I’ll write you back to let you know when I’ve got the post up. Thanks for your understanding! Kit

00:04 Going into an outfitter to divide new hiking boots or shoes can give you a migraine. You’ll see foot were labeled not just hiking boots or shoes, but also trail runners, ultra light boots, cross trainers, hiking sandals and walking boots to name a few in the hiking boot versus shoe battle. How do you determine which is the best hiking shoe for you and your feet? That’s what we’ll be discussing today.

00:27 Welcome to the venture trial show podcast. I’m your host kip parks and that’s why we’re going to be working on today. We’re going to try to figure out what is the best footwear for us to wear for our different hiking adventures and we not only have to worry about the type of shoe, we’ve got to consider the prices too cause the prices run the gamut as well and they can get really up there so it’s not something you want to make a booboo on the answer to what to wear and you knew this was coming is it depends. We’re going to look at the different features and then you can compare what the different features do for you against the general environment you’ll be hiking in, but regardless of the charts and the information that we’re going to discuss today, and I’ll have all this on the website at adventure travel show, podcast.com/shoes the key feature of any hiking shoe is comfort.

01:13 Every manufacturer’s mold is different. Some have wider widths than others, and so my own size eight in one brand might feel great but aren’t going to give me nearly enough tow room or with in another brand. If your budget permits, you might want to buy a couple of different boots or shoes so that you have the right gear for whatever your individual hike is going to be. For example, I use my boss or Wask, I’m not sure how he’s supposed to say it, my boss boots whenever I’m doing any serious hiking or on some challenging terrain, but the trails are well maintained. I’m usually gonna opt for my mural hiking shoes later on this month. I’m heading on a rafting and hiking trip in Idaho. And so for that trip I’m just going to be packing my hiking sandals that have a toe guard so I can use them both as my water shoe and my hiking shoe.

01:58 So in deciding what we’re going to wear, we need to actually consider a couple of different things. Let’s look at the different types. First. Number one, the heavy hiking boot back country trailblazers should consider a heavy boot. If your hike is gonna include some large bouldering and bushwhacking. The heavy hiking boots are going to have some serious tractions on the soul and they’ll sometimes even have a cramp on like tip. These boots are heavy, not just hiking, but they’re also heavy on the wallet. Often they’re made a leather and they will require a sizable breaking in period, but once they’ve molded to your feet, they’re going to protect your feet and all sorts of difficult terrain. But you can expect some blisters, especially in the beginning. Heavy hiking boot is going to offer you some excellent ankle support and their good grip is an asset on steep slopes and boulders.

02:49 Plus a heavy hiking boot is going to last the longest of all. The hiking, footwear, mud, snow, and water will slough off these boots the best, and they’re warmer. If you’re going to be hiking and cold climates than a hiking shoe would be hiking boots also provide the best ankle and underfoot support, but they’re going to feel weighty and clunky compared to the other options. The more rocks and debris you hike on, the ...