FIRST INCIDENT Posted by derylgage@msn on March 3, 2014 at 7:45 PM Delete delete Overlays edit Comments comments (0) Milford Connecticut to Missoula Montana is 2452 miles. Missoula Montana to Yellowknife NorthWest Territory Canada is 1550 miles. Some time in the middle of July we are all expected to meet in Missoula Montana and drive 1550 miles to Yellowknife Canada where we will board several bush planes that will fly us into the Coppermine river. Since there is no exact (not even a good vague) start date, I have decided that sometime mid July I will strap my kayak to the top of the Jeep and head west towards Montana. I have a tendancy to underestimate the amount of time it takes to travel and as such am allowing only 3 days travel each way from Milford to Missoula. Mapquest claims 38 hours each way, divide that by 3 (crap, I have a left over. 3 divided by 3 is 1, 8 divided by 3...I thought math would never have a real world application.) its about 12 and a half hours per day. Seems easy enough to me, maybe Ill even try to get it done in two days. As I said before, we have decided that I will be using a 14 foot polymer(plastic) touring kayak. Good. Now, I have to learn how to operate this thing. As you all know, the maiden voyage left a lot to be desired. Im not interested in repeating that. My next step was to get some time in the pool. Dan finds a group online that offers pool time on Sunday mornings for practice. At this point I have no way to transport the boat so Dan picks me up around 9 and we head off to the pool. I get the boat in the water and start paddling around dodging the 11 other boaters who also have dedicated this time to improving thier skills. After a few minutes of this I decide that its time to flip the boat over and make sure I can escape the death trap that kayakers call spray skirts. 1,2,3 roll. Once upside down I reach forward, grab the pull handle and leverage the skirt off the boat, clammer out then tow the boat back to the side. We are almost immediately greeted by a couple of fellow paddlers who ask if we need any assistance. Not being one to turn down help, I graciously accept the offer. Do you know how to do a wet exit? he asks me. Yes I do. I say. I think that we need to clarify what a wet exit is. he says then goes on to explain to me that a paniced exit from an overturned boat abandoning all my gear is not the definition of a proper wet exit. I must be in control, let my fellow paddlers know Im in control by tapping 3 times on the hull of my overturned craft, slowly exit the boat while maintaining control of the boat and my paddle, and lastly position myself in the proper place for another boater to assist me. Clearly this was not what I had first practiced. A few minor adjustments to my form and I had that skill learned. I was excited that I had mastered that skill so quickly. My sense of excitement would be short lived. Around me there was a group practicing rolling thier boats 90 degrees then righting back up, another group was rolling over completely and then promptly with a single stroke of the paddle righting themselves back up, the last group was also going over but the paddler was missing the paddle and still managed to promptly right the boat. Surely with all these people surrounding me making this skill look so easy I could master it today. How wrong I was I can not adequately express here. Once upside down I began thrashing about trying to right the boat. Fortunately, Im a realist, I realized quickly that the boat was not going to right with any action on my part so once again I was able to practice a wet exit. Im getting pretty good at these wet exits! To the side of the pool we go and Im instructed to practice rolling to the side and righting the boat while holding on to the side of the pool. Left side 15 times, right side 15 times then back to the left and so on is how I spent the next 30 minutes. Drop your head was a common instruction that day. Honestly, if I could just get my head to do what its supposed to do.. One trip up river and now one training session in the pool and Im not feeling much more comfortable that before I even ordered the boat. However, there is no time to waste and I have to start paddling this boat if Im ever going to be prepared for the trip. My wife Rebecca is planning on riding her horse Monday and there is a lake close to the barn. Its been warm for the past few days so I think that the lake will be clear enough to paddle. Once again, Deryl is wrong. Instead of paddling the lake, I scout out the river below the dam thinking that in the summer it would be a nice place to float. I still really want to get in some miles. On the drive back home I pull over at a fishing spot on the Housatonic river about 7 miles upriver from the dock that I launched from for the maiden voyage and splash the boat into the water. I have donned all my cold weather gear, tightened it down and told Rebecca that I would meet her at the dock before sunset. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that it was not only an hour and half before sundown. As I started paddling I noticed that breathing was difficult. Damnit, thats right we had a big lunch with a financial guy. I shouldnt have eaten so much, remember that for the trip, dont eat too much before paddling. Based on my last experience on this river, I had expected to be flying down river, but I wasnt. Moving at a good pace, but not flying. Man, still having a hard time breathing. Ive never had this hard of a time breathing before, why did I have to eat those last few morsels. The air temp is about 35 degrees and there is still ice on the water. I know what my ability level is but still I continue down river. Really need to get miles in before the trip. Two miles down river I float by the Sikorsky Helicopter plant and a big one is coming in for a landing right over my head. So, this is what its going to be like when a storm comes in. Im trying to stay close to the shore, but the river is winding, it seems to be getting a bit dark, and I am not even half way to the pier. I decide that its an acceptable risk to cross the river at the big turns to make up some time. Holy cow, I am still struggling to breathe. As it gets completely dark on the river I round a bend and can see highway 95 in the distance. I see the navigation lights under the bridge so Im able to navigate the pilings alright. Slowly I glide into the pier, almost 2 hours late and in complete darkness, and manage do drag myself out of the boat. My first thought is for Rebecca, as Im sure she must be worried about me. I had no idea. She was sure that I had either rolled the boat and was dead from hypothermia, or had missed the pier and had floated out to sea. The float was fun, but any fun was completely drained from me when I saw what my irresponsible planning had done to her. Rebecca, Im truely sorry for that and I will be more responsible in the future. So, as I said, I dragged myself onto the pier and was able to stand on firm ground again for the first time in several hours. I reached down and unclipped my life jacket. Wow!! I can breathe. It wasnt the large lunch, I had not readjusted the lifejacket from in the pool and it was compressing my diaphram and not allowing me to breathe. Lesson learned, do not over tighten my gear in the future. I loaded the boat on top of the Jeep and drove home thinking about the trip, my wife, and my irresponsibility. One more trip to the pool for a paid lesson. The forward stroke is the most improtant stroke. Since I am planning on moving forward down the Coppermine river and not backwards, I agree with her. Forward stroke, backwards stroke, skull, draw strokes, edging, buddy rescues, sweep strokes. Elizabeth had a lot to teach me and I did my best to make my muscles do the things that she was instructing. To be honest, when I left that lesson I felt that my skill level would never be adequate. My damn head just will not drop down when trying to right my boat. The lesson was good, I got a lot of good advice and plan on returning for more whenever possible. I shouldnt get too down on myself as I have only been in the kayak 4 times. Keep practcing, thats how you learned to mountain bike, rock climb, ski, even play underwater hockey. Four months and Ill be loading the kayak on the Jeep, gear in the back and heading west. Im confident that by then there will be a lot of miles under my belt and my skill level will be adequate to make me safe on the river. If not safe, at least not a danger to my fellow paddlers. A lot of driving, a little flying and then the trip of my life.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 02:04:41 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015