This page is devoted to the living memory of John Lord. Your courage, leadership, and kindness will never be forgotten
(6-21-1970 passed 1-25-2004)
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This page is devoted to the living memory of John Lord. Your courage, leadership, and kindness will never be forgotten (6-21-1970 passed 1-25-2004) |
This page along with its topics will continually be expanding....feel free to drop us a line with personal input/experinces.....
Devotedly,
Steep Creeks
| Be personally prepared | have all necessary gear, your head, your game etc. Physical Training Considerations (Click Here) |
| Some variables that may cause close encounters | high water (flood stage), cold, strainers, brush, fallen trees, standing trees, caves, undercut
rocks,foot-entrapment, man-made trash such as cars and misc. equipment, seives, dams, unrunnable rapids, hydraulics,
low bridges If a boat collides with some of these obstacles it may become pinned, broached, or wrap around the object and possibly trap the boater inside of the boat |
| Self Rescue | You should be able to help yourself out of most situations you may encounter. Often times it will be solely up to you to rescue yourself because of your location in relation to the rest of the group. You may be in the middle of a drop where no one can stop or you may be above the group w/o anyone even noticing you problem. |
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Have an arsenol of group rescue skills
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There are many things that might fit in this category. Carry a rope (hopefully easily accessable), Z-drag(know what it is, how to set it up), be knowledgable in first aid techniques and CPR, hypothermia If the situation is really bad be able to step to the plate: -buddy breathe (if you are unable to release a trapped boat by yourself pass air mouth to mouth until more help arrives ) -A paddler is responsible for the whereabouts and safety of the kayaker behind them, no matter how fast the guy in front is paddling. This is the only system that works well on any run and is much more suitable than the "buddy system" when traveling fast. |
| Your Boat and Your Equipment | -Outfit your boat so that a quick exit is easily executed -flotation bags can help displace water increasing odds of a boat recovery -Make sure you can exit your boat legs/knees first so that your body doesn't have to move over the back of the kayak while removing legs -choose pads wisely, probably forearm/elbow -use proper footwear -watch for loose clothing, straps, etc. which can snag |
| Paddling Team | -don't boat rivers/creeks beyond the teams limit -try and keep the group close together but not so close that small eddies clog above drops forcing a blind run by the unfortunate late-comer. -large groups should consider splitting up -carefully select your primary paddling team, teams with diverse personalities often go far since there will be many skills being brought to the plate. (id vs. ego) |
| Leave word | Let someone know where you are going or where you are before heading into the gorge. If you are gone for longer than expected you may receive needed help. This is especially important for trips longer than 1 day. |
| Paddling Alone | This is a difficult subject since many people/sites say it is discouraged but many people have
their greatest experiences doing this. If the experience is what the sole purpose is than we can't ignore their
stories. If you want to look more into this subject go to Jason Rackley's website and look in the "stories"
archive for an article called: "The Dangers of Boating with Others" He has some valid points in the article. link to Rackley's site: www.kayaking.peak.org |
| Avoid Trash | Trash refers to the rapids that are not visually impressive, may look deceptively easy, may require a move, and if missed results in an encounter with something bad. Too many boaters have lost their lives on "Trash". Often times these rapids are in the run-out or perhaps "boogy" section after the gorge/larger drops. |
| Avoid Ego | No point in wasting much time on this topic since the first safety point mentioned on this page is being personally prepared. Ego will eventually catch up with you if you are going to run the steeps. You are nothing but a ball of energy on this earth for a short period of time. As you know the water is nothing but a large amount of energy in motion. You do the math. If you respect its energy you will have experiences that may span a long time. |
| Technology | Keep up with the latest. Boat designs, paddles, rescue devices, techniques, etc. will continue to evolve enabling us to do what we do now more safely or perhaps enable us to navigate stuff which is not currently navigable. |
| Big drop; you say "yes", they say "not today" | You should plan your own safety when you decide to run a drop others aren't into.You are 'asking'
for their help, so make it easy for them to help you. If they decline - it is their right and you might want to reconsider. The risk you take involves the safety and inconvenience of the whole group, not just your own. An injured padder is very heavy and makes for slow-going across steep terrain. |
| Rescue Squad | Don't rely on a rescue squad unless you REALLY need it. Besides the fact they they are slow and often poorly trained, it may threaten future access the the river. Carry basic first aid or know how to use sticks and duct tape to do just about anything. . . |
| Trespassing |
Use good judgement. Try and contact the landlord or lease holder if time permits. The situation
may not allow time for all this so be quite and respectful. Might try and be quiet during the hunting season, not fun when you pass under a guys tree-stand who's been there since before the sun came
up, you ruin his day, he's mad with a compound bow in his hand...etc. (We had this happen on Cain - all tires were
slashed) If you get caught by the owner w/o permission start kissing some butt. A good line is to tell them you thought you were in a state "wilderness area". Play dumb. No, you didn't see the "no tresspass signs" and you're sorry you didn't. If you've got some cash on you, maybe consider handing it over. If you smart off to the owner or caretaker you may go to jail, face a fine, lose your gear, car towed, or face a fight. You will also screw things up for the next person. We had this situation come up on Little Possom Crk. where some paddlers came in behind us and lied to the gatekeeper, saying the owner gave them permission to encroach. This either wasn't true or some miscommunication occurred. We were the first one's off the river and when arriving at the top were faced with a nasty situation we knew nothing about. We told them we hadn't lied to anyone, the wife came, said she hadn't seen us before, so after 25 min. of sweet-talking we were allowed in the gate. Don't know what happened to the guys when they came up to get their cars. Several hunters on the lease were at the top waiting though. Guns have been pulled on boaters (Bryce to mention one) on some of the creeks surrounding Chattanooga. |
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Consider underwater breathing devices:
Obviously Rapid Air is the ideal device for any situation since you are not dependant on an air pocket or the surface...
The hose that he is breathing from goes to a small tank that is designed to fit in a modern whitewater PFD. He has between 15-20 breathes of air here, hopefully enough time to wash out of hole, free from pin, etc. For a long time people have contemplated the option of having some sort of self contained beathing apparatus that would be of use underwater. These things were either too bulky or poorly designed. Rapid Air is shaped and sized like a liquor flask. There are more ways than I can list here how this device could be of an aid in saving your life. Consider the extra time that may be required to free yourself or the amount of time required to wait for outside help (your friends). The device can be passed underwater to someone else as well. Quick Air has two one-way vales on the mouth piece thus providing you with clean air on each breath. Pins can occur near the surface and can result in a breathe only a few inches away. The hose attached to the mouth piece is about arms length so all you have to do is be able to get your hand in an air pocket or above the surface. If you want to see more about these products click the follow link and scroll down:
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If pinned toward the rear of the boat.
If pinned toward the front/corner of the boat.
Here I have a boat that is set at a 45 degree angle with me seated facing upwards and this is how far I am able to get my hose past the bottom of my boat. Luckily I have not personally pinned in this positon but I think that this is probably the worst way to be since you will probably have no formation of an air pocket. If you are able to get your hand above the surface you can clearly see that you will be able to breath until help arrives. If I was vertically pinned with my head above my boat I think I would be able to reach about 3 feet higher than I am upside down here. This device would also be easy to use to breath air that may be trapped in your boat. Another alternative is to rig your hose so that it goes to an airbag. With the 2 one way valves on the hose you are able to use one hand to hold the hose and the second to work with. Without the valves both hands would be required to breathe and even then it would probably be near impossible. Another point, the hose always has an end cap on it until you take it off. This would permit you to pass the hose underwater to someone who may need it during an emergency without the hose filling with water. |
| Quick Skill Development |
If you are a quick learner on the river and find yourself paddling difficult rapids in a short amount of time take into consideration that some skills may not be fully developed. Some people are really good at following others lines but may not know how to read water that well. People fitting in this category should take caution when supplying directions through rapids since some moves look deceivingly easy but could have catastrophic results. |
