[pct-l] risk reduction on swift water crossings

[LOUIE KROLL]

That was a reasonably good description of using mechanical devices to 
enable a solo river crosser to come out alive on the other side.

Here's another one.  Don't be a dumbshit.  There is no reason, and I'll 
say it again, NO REASON to risk your life or your trip on making stupid 
choices to cross a river that would require complicated rope techniques 
that the untrained and unpracticed have absolutely no chance of pulling 
off when the rubber meets the road.  Try these ideas on for size and see 
if they fit..

1)  Plan any crossing at the earliest of dawn.  The cold night has 
frozen the snow pack and the river never runs shallower then it does at 
four o'clock in the morning.
2) Do nothing in haste.  Many a fool has perished because they just had 
to get going.  Had to meet that time line.  Had to get to town (see the 
above).
3) Do the work.  What your staring at is probably a shitty place to 
cross.  Trails tend to adhere to the easiest terrain.  Hence the broad 
expanse of water that your staring at is a by product of that route.  A 
hundred yards upstream, or a mile if thats what it takes, the river may 
constrict to something you can jump over.  Work it.  Leave your heavy 
pack on the ground (fill your bottles and let the iodine go to work) and 
scout up and if necessary, down to find the easy route.
3A) Learn to read a map.  Pinched uphill V-lines always mark 
constrictions.  The requisite canyon might be rough, but the stream will 
be narrower.  When and if the river forks upstream, the branches will be 
easier to tackle then the main course.
4) Use natural bridges with extreme caution.  Many a player has met 
their maker on a greasy log (I should trademark that saying).  Same goes 
for rock hopping.  You have to assume it is not going to work out.  
Which brings us to 5.
5) Assume the worst.  That means hip belts unbuckled, sternum strap 
undone, and all straps loosened.  If your really on your game and 
playing for keeps then you'd have your ten essentials on your person so 
that when you lost your pack you'd still be able to maintain.

The point is, just be smart.  It's a walk in the woods.  It's not worth 
dying over.

Louie