Last time out I had some flat water paddlers on a river trip. Several of them had plenty of time in canoes but seemed to have little respect for moving water. A lady in her late fifties was talking about running some more difficult rivers in Oregon with some friends. "I have no fear of moving water" she announced one night after dinner. "I respect rapids but have no fear of them." That is the kind of person I will never run a river with again.
In Cliff Jacobsen's classic book on expedition canoeing he talks with some experienced veterans of Arctic rivers. The common thread was that they were well aware of the dangers of remoteness, cold water, and rapids. They were cautious as a group and prone to portage when in doubt. Maybe inexperienced people are just not smart enough to know when they are in jeopardy.
In Cliff Jacobsen's classic book on expedition canoeing he talks with some experienced veterans of Arctic rivers. The common thread was that they were well aware of the dangers of remoteness, cold water, and rapids. They were cautious as a group and prone to portage when in doubt. Maybe inexperienced people are just not smart enough to know when they are in jeopardy.