+++
title = "Things that fall in the river get wet"
author = ["George M Jones"]
publishDate = 2020-05-25
lastmod = 2023-12-06T05:46:21-05:00
tags = ["life", "outdoors"]
categories = ["blog"]
draft = false
+++
{{< figure src="/ox-hugo/paddling.jpg" caption="Figure 1: Bryan paddling on the Shenandoah" width="400px" >}}
## 1 Intro {#intro}
This weekend my son Bryan, friends (former scouts from Philmont days)
Sam and Preston and friend Jack went on an canoe trip down the
Shenandoah river. We were only dumped in the river by two of the two
rapids we encountered. More on that below.
{{< figure src="/ox-hugo/swimming.jpg" caption="Figure 2: Things that fall in the river get wet" width="400px" >}}
## 2 Other people having fun {#other-people-having-fun}
Along the way we saw many people out enjoying the Memorial Day weekend
along the river. The photo below shows a water slide set up to let
kids slide into the river, with a twist: the last 10 (3m) feet or so of the
slide were down a mud bank. For safety there was a kayak in the water
to help the fun-havers out if needed
{{< figure src="/ox-hugo/mud-slide.jpg" caption="Figure 3: Water and Mud Slide Into The River" width="400px" >}}
## 3 Getting Dumped the first time {#getting-dumped-the-first-time}
The river was up. Running about 6 feet (1.8m) at Luray. The outfitters
along the river recommend only going at 5 feet (1.5m) or less. Our second
day out we were making 5 miles per hour (8 km/h).
We hit the [Compton Rapids](https://youtu.be/Zswr_IB9C_A). The swells were 3 feet (0.9m) or so. We made it
about half way through, taking on water, and then got dumped. Life
jackets are a good thing. It was a little dicey floating though the
end of the rapids. We kept our paddles and stayed with the
upside-down canoe. The only losses were a couple water bottles, cup
holders and a fishing rod (other canoe). Most everything was tied
down.
We floated 10 or 20 minutes in still-ish water and wound up swimming
our swamped canoe to the banks where there was a large group camp-out.
Some of the people (speaking pretty-much only Spanish) helped get our
sorry selves and swamped canoe out of the water and drained out. They
gave us 6 water bottles which replaced the water we had lost. Gracias
!
## 4 Getting Dumped the second time {#getting-dumped-the-second-time}
{{< figure src="/ox-hugo/swamp-number-2.jpg" caption="Figure 4: Pulling out after the second spill" width="400px" >}}
The second time we got dumped was a about a mile from the end of the
trip. Our planning had failed to disclose the presence of these
rapids, just had it had failed to disclose the possibility of portage
around the first set (Preston :-))
The other canoe went first. We hung back in the smooth (but fast)
water so as not to run into them if they had trouble. They did.
They dumped about half way through. These canoes were a little heavy
with gear and people and not horribly stable. Extra water in the boat
does not help.
I decided to go to the shore and work thorough options. We reached
shore 10 or 20 yards (9 or 18) upstream from the rapids. I grabbed a tree
root to hold us in place, but the current flipped us. At that point
I made the call to "abandon ship". We let the canoe go and swam to
the bank rather than float the rapids in life jackets.
We climbed up the bank, staggered downstream and found that our
friends were a) OK and b) had snagged our canoe.
## 5 The end {#the-end}
In the end, we had minimal losses, no significant injuries, no harm,
no foul? Live and learn? Life jackets, tying down your gear and
quick thinking are your friend. And fun was had in the face of
self-selected risks.
{{< figure src="/ox-hugo/starting-out.jpg" caption="Figure 5: At the takeout point (BEFORE we were drowned rats)" width="400px" >}}
Days 15 and 16 of #100DaysToOffload