[pct-l] stream crossing practice

[Marion Davison]

My biggest problem with stream crossings was dealing with a deep fear of 
moving water.  I first encountered that fear on my first Colorado River 
canoe trip.  It hit me unexpectedly, since it was a new situation.
I had done plenty of easy stream crossings prior to my first long Sierra 
trip, but had a bad experience crossing Fish Creek in Cascade Valley, 
second crossing.  The current pushed me off my feet and I had to crawl 
across the rest of the creek, digging my hands, toes, knees, and my 
trekking poles into the bottom to prevent being swept downstream.  After 
going down, I was unable to stand again, so I just crawled sideways to 
the opposite bank, facing upstream and keeping as much of my body as 
possible down in the streambed surface.  After that I was really afraid 
of swift water crossings.
What helped me was to go to Zion National Park in the summer, to the 
Narrows, and spend several hours walking upstream and back down again. 
Spending that much time in the moving water seemed to desensitize my 
worst feeling of fear.  Since then I have done many more nasty crossings 
without succumbing to fear.  It's a good thing, since I have since had 
to spend many hours wading in rivers with llamas to teach them not to be 
afraid of water crossings.  The desensitization process works for them 
too.
Marion