Self Rescue Equipment That I Wish I Had....

[mbiraman]

I think you have to think of things from a worst case scenario. You've been in the water, cold water, and your thinking is impaired and your hands are not functioning well. If you don't have immersion gear on then you need to get your wet cloths off immediately and put dry cloths on,,so you need something like a fleece top and bottom and something like a montbell down inner jacket plus an emergency blanket.You need some hot packs to warm your hands up to make them function enough to get a fire started because your own body heat may be limited at this time.You won't be able to open the buckle on the dry bag so you take your fixed blade knife from your PFD and cut it open and any other bags you have to get into. Your fire making kit has to be as fiddle free as possible,,big fat matches,,fatwood. I even carry a 6" bundle of dry cedar in the front hatch so i have good wood to start with. Your in a boat so weight is not too much of an issue so throw in a few extra survival things to make you chances better. If you have an adventure Med double blanket you can set it up in a lean-to or half pyramid with the fire in front. You have a couple of energy bars in your PFD and you eat and rest. Cellphones should be in waterproof case like a pelican case. Make the call.
On the west coast many folks, but not all, who go on multi day trips on the ocean in remote area's have VHF radios and phones that can be rented before the trip.
Paddling should be a pleasurable experience and we don't want to be thinking of the hazards all the time so make up a small pack with all the back up survival stuff in it and take it with you every time. Oh, have a tow line as well as you might have to help someone else out. A fanny pack is not enough in my world and because i paddle with a spray skirt its in the way as well. Everyone has to assess the risks for their area and act accordingly.

Have fun
be safe

bill

[Boomer]

I think you have to think of things from a worst case scenario. You've been in the water, cold water, and your thinking is impaired and your hands are not functioning well. If you don't have immersion gear on then you...

Are at least 1/2 way to the worst case!

I agree Bill.

[PokeEm]

Thanks for a well received video. I will send this link to some of my Scouts. Glad you are OK and are willing to teach others!

[PokeEm]

And I will be adding a firesteel to my neck knife cordage!

[chrislrob]

This was a chilling post. Glad you're safe! I was just down that way week before last. On the Grubb Trail. I'm a newbie and I carried an overloaded pack and, in a velcroed pants pocket, a small drybag survival kit with most of what has been suggested in this thread. But I felt silly doing it. I was in Indiana, after all. Heck, we had cell phone signal for most of the weekend!

But I did it anyway because that was what I *thought* I should do.

From now on, I'll do it because I *know* it is what I should do.

Thanks.

[Skylar]

I am glad that you and friend survived.

I am am new to hiking and did not understand the importance of an emergency kit. I was not to worried about taking anything more then a lighter, stove, food and my sleeping setup.

This has made me reconsider how I go out into the wilderness.



Thank you.

[1Armadillo]

Arson,

I'm glad you and your buddy made it. As one person said, your training kicked in and both of you survived. That wasn't a given. While the event happened, you were mentally prepared and survived. Other less mentally prepared people would have died, so don’t beat yourself up.

We all need to remember and take to heart the old adage “the mountain doesn’t care”. If we make it back-fine. If not – well, the world continues without us. In part, it is the chance we take when we leave the imagined safety of our home turf. In the end, if we survive the outdoor experience it’s because we’ve equipped ourselves with what we think is appropriate equipment, trained appropriately, and exercised what we believe to be good judgment. In spite of all that, a lot of times it comes down to the grace of God that we survive.

[DocTheo]

Thanks for the post, Arson. Sharing that experience will teach valuable lessons to others - I know that I am taking much away from it, and would like to show it to my Scouts before our whitewater trip next month.

It brings home the lessons on preparedness and risk assessment. And it reminds me that I must be more vigilant than I normally have been - thank you again.

[Cypher]

Arson. I don't know you but I am glad you made it out OK. I think you may have missed an important lesson from this experience. When you were at the boat launch you noticed an increase in risk and reassessed your situation. That was because you instinctively understood that what you were doing was dangerous. You didn't listen to that instinct. sometimes we as adults get used to overcoming our fears and doing things that we instinctively know are dangerous. Heck you don't even need to be a firefighter to have to face it just driving a car can be an adventure in fear control some days. But the thing is where nature is concerned it is almost always a mistake to ignore the voice that says "this is pretty dangerous". We get away with it most times but we only have to get caught once. I tend toward a pretty conservative approach to survival but I believe by the time the S has hit the fan a person has already made too many mistakes. All that having been said congrats on making it out intact and Thank you for sharing.