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Blunders we've learned from...
Posted by Michael Strahan on Dec 04 2005
I'm sure someone out there has a Darwin Awards list for hunters who have blundered their way into irreversable situations involving great bodily harm. Thankfully I'm not on that list yet, but I thought a thread on mistakes we've learned from might be productive in helping others from making the same errors. Hopefully we can learn from each other without beating each other up too badly. So to start this off, let me set one condition: Only post situations from which you've learned how to avoid making the same mistake again. That way nobody (like me) will be tempted to tell you how to do it next time! :-))
Humor is especially welcome.
LESSON ONE: ASSUME NOTHING
I was floating a really tight little river that flowed through timbered country. It had numerous logjams, sweepers and strainers, and pretty much required downstream scouting on foot any time you couldn't see around the next corner. My hunter and I were in an eighteen-foot cataraft; he was in the passenger seat up front and I was rowing. We came to a 90-degree right-hand turn that had a large jam in the corner. The gravel bar on the inside of the bend had a large deadfall laying in it. Since the corner was too tight to float through without getting swept into the jam, the plan was to put the bow on the right bank, have the hunter jump out with the bow line in his hand and make a couple turns around the deadfall. This would allow the current to pivot the boat around the corner, secured to the deadfall, and we'd reposition the boat on shore from there. Well, I put the hunter on the bank and he took off running for the deadfall- without the line! That put my stern in the main current, and I was swept directly into the jam. The upstream tube was getting sucked under by the current and I was about to go for a swim! I jumped to the high side of the boat (the downstream tube) and managed to keep the upstream tube afloat, but then I noticed that my right oar, which the current grabbed out of my hand, was pinned at a 90-degree angle into the water. The strong current was pushing on the blade, and there was no choice but to get it loose. I don't remember how I did that without the boat overturning, but it was close. After a brief verbal exchange with my hunter, I tossed the bow line across to him and we were eventually able to get the boat free without a major disaster.
Lesson Learned: Be careful what you assume! I had the whole thing worked out in my head, but did a poor job of communicating the instructions to the hunter.
LESSON TWO: LOGJAM MAYHEM
On the same river mentioned above, I was floating with a party of six hunters (three rafts), and we came to a place that was mostly blocked by a logjam. There was a very narrow channel on the left side, but the jam was held in place by several logs that were barely under water there. This necessitated someone walking out on the jam to line the boats through with a bowline. Actually there were four of us out there. I led the way, with careful instructions about testing each step before you commit, because some of the logs were unstable and the jam was suspended in about ten feet of water. A misstep could lead to someone being swept under the logs, where they would drown. I turned and pointed to what looked like a solid log to stand on and said, "This is the sort of place you want to step on." Just as I put my weight on the log, it sank and I was up to my armpits in the river. Someone grabbed me quickly and hauled me out onto a "stable" log. It was one of those moments when everyone wanted to point and laugh at me, but they didn't know how I'd respond. I cracked a joke about trying to catch trout in my hip boots and the one-liners started flying. But we all new it was a close call.
Lesson Learned: Practice what you preach!
Well, there are certainly many more, but I thought perhaps this might get things going. We all make mistakes; sometimes they're not our fault, and sometimes we just get careless. Do you have any you'd care to share with the rest of the class?
:-))
-Mike
Next: If you think that was bad Jim in Delta Dec 06 2005
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