Overcoming Fear of Whitewater

[lowangle al]

Now I only fear pinning my boat, getting beat up swimming a long rocky rapid or drowning.

I should also have mentioned a hidden rock in standing waves.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Whitewater doesn't scare me. It's the rocks and trees that are hiding in that water (very common around here) that scare me. That was the demise of Walt Blackadar on the nearby south fork of the Payette. If you don't know who that is, you should, and it should give you pause.

I have a rule about not paddling anything I'm not willing to swim in. Age and injury have resulted in me not being the strong swimmer I once was, so that has me staying out of anything greater than class 3. And even some of that is sketchy.

Some good questions...

1. What was the highest class WW you've paddled thru on a wilderness trip?

I'd say 2+. A 3 was considered, but I chose to line around it.

Have you ever capsized in a rapid/had injuries or canoe damage?

Capsized, yes. Injured or damaged, no.

2. Did you have any instruction before going on your 1st solo back country trip with WW?

I've seen it said that anything less than 3 isn't really whitewater. By that standard, I have never been in whitewater on a solo trip. Neither have I had what I would call formal instruction. I'm unlikely to run anything higher than 2 when solo with a tripping load.

 

[GDahl]

Whitewater doesn't scare me. It's the rocks and trees that are hiding in that water (very common around here) that scare me. That was the demise of Walt Blackadar on the nearby south fork of the Payette. If you don't know who that is, you should, and it should give you pause.

I have a rule about not paddling anything I'm not willing to swim in. Age and injury have resulted in me not being the strong swimmer I once was, so that has me staying out of anything greater than class 3. And even some of that is sketchy.

Some good questions...

I'd say 2+. A 3 was considered, but I chose to line around it.


Capsized, yes. Injured or damaged, no.


I've seen it said that anything less than 3 isn't really whitewater. By that standard, I have never been in whitewater on a solo trip. Neither have I had what I would call formal instruction. I'm unlikely to run anything higher than 2 when solo with a tripping load.

Thanks Steve, for providing your thoughtful input.

 

[Erica]

Whitewater doesn't scare me. It's the rocks and trees that are hiding in that water (very common around here) that scare me. That was the demise of Walt Blackadar on the nearby south fork of the Payette. If you don't know who that is, you should, and it should give you pause.

It is definitely the unseen obstacles that prowl my nightmares.

I looked up Walt Blackadar and with all due respect, he was a kayaker . According to the accident report of his death, there were known additional risks. They were warned of an obstruction in the rapids, but did not scout it. Walt was still recovering from shoulder surgery; his strength and mobility were impacted.

This is from American Rivers Accident Report.

That said he did some first descents and was a highly skilled white water kayaker.

 

[eckilson]

For me, at least up till now, whitewater paddling and wilderness tripping have been two different things. I really haven’t been on a trip where the two overlap. I regularly paddle class II/III rivers solo in my whitewater boat, and tandem in my tripping boat (float bags, not gear). The biggest river I have done in the tandem is the Dead at 1800 (class II/III), and we made it down fine.

Of course, taking out the float bags and filing the boat up with gear makes a huge difference. I’ve done some quickwater/easy class I in a loaded boat, but that is about it. It’s hard enough to recover a tripping boat with float bags in it, I can’t image trying to recover one filled with gear in a significant rapid.

Hopefully that will change this year. I’d really like to do the St. John this spring – two class III rapids. I’d also like to do the St. Croix which has smaller rapids, but more of them – at least from what I hear.

We'll see...

 

[lowangle al]

I think you need to change more than your gear. You'll need to change how you run rapids, by doing back ferries and going slower than the current and avoiding the big stuff. I think that when you make not flipping your highest priority that you won't flip, at least with your skills.

 

[VA paddler]

For me, at least up till now, whitewater paddling and wilderness tripping have been two different things. I really haven’t been on a trip where the two overlap. I regularly paddle class II/III rivers solo in my whitewater boat, and tandem in my tripping boat (float bags, not gear). The biggest river I have done in the tandem is the Dead at 1800 (class II/III), and we made it down fine.

Of course, taking out the float bags and filing the boat up with gear makes a huge difference. I’ve done some quickwater/easy class I in a loaded boat, but that is about it. It’s hard enough to recover a tripping boat with float bags in it, I can’t image trying to recover one filled with gear in a significant rapid.

Hopefully that will change this year. I’d really like to do the St. John this spring – two class III rapids. I’d also like to do the St. Croix which has smaller rapids, but more of them – at least from what I hear.

We'll see...

St Croix is a bunch of fun - quick trip, good fishing, plenty of camps, low-consequence little rapids. St John was a bit dull - pretty, remote, much longer - but, ultimately, dull. Two rapids on the whole 7-8 day trip. Happy to provide details if interested.

 

[eckilson]

I think you need to change more than your gear. You'll need to change how you run rapids, by doing back ferries and going slower than the current and avoiding the big stuff. I think that when you make not flipping your highest priority that you won't flip, at least with your skills.

It is good to take the rapids slowly and methodically – moving back and forth across the river to find the shoots and deep water channels (Bill Mason style). Sometimes, easier said than done.

I guess I have 3 “Fears of Whitewater”.

Fear number 1 is a long nasty swim, but I am like @Steve in Idaho – if you don’t want to swim it, you shouldn’t run it. That might involve a portage if there is a portage trail. It also might mean that you are picking trips that don’t involve long, nasty rapids. This applies to my whitewater paddling and river tripping.

Fear number 2 is a boat pin. It’s tough enough to get an empty boat unpinned – having it full of gear can’t help. We are always concerned about big rapids, but you might be more likely to pin a boat in the shallow, rocky stuff. In my whitewater boat with float bags, I am a lot less worried about boat pins. (Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself)

Fear number 3 is swamping the boat in a hole. As methodical as you are trying to pick your way down a rapid, eventually you are going to have to run a drop or punch though a hole. Assuming you get through that without dumping, it is pretty likely you are going to fill the boat up with water making it even more unstable. If there is a nearby eddy that you can get into and bail that is great, but it is just as likely that you are going to have to continue to run the rapid with a swamped boat. Gravity and momentum are now at work and the boat is going to go where the current takes it – like it or not. The end is usually not good. Most of the swims in my whitewater solo involve a swamped boat. (I need to get a pump.)

St Croix is a bunch of fun - quick trip, good fishing, plenty of camps, low-consequence little rapids. St John was a bit dull - pretty, remote, much longer - but, ultimately, dull. Two rapids on the whole 7-8 day trip. Happy to provide details if interested.

I'm actually OK with dull. I am happy to keep my whitewater paddling and river tripping separate, but there are lots of rivers that I’d like to do where running rapids is unavoidable (St. John) or the rapids are easy and fun (St. Croix). I'm good with that too.

 

[gumpus]

Tangential comment but I really wonder about the usefulness of trying to distinguish between whitewater and not whitewater; in my limited experience there is zero correlation to danger (and I'll mention that 80% of deaths are in moderate current). One time I swamped and sank a boat in Delhi Rapids (Ann Arbor) and the swamped boat ran me over and hit my head. Nice lesson and no big deal...narrow river and lots of kayakers around to help me. Sometimes very shallow water gets frothy yet you can just get out and walk through it. I don't mean to imply that Class VI and going off waterfalls is safe.

First pic below is 4 mph current on the St Joseph in a spot where a woman lost her life. If you go in it will be hundreds of yards best case before you might get out even if you choose the right bank to swim towards. The average American can't swim 100 yards in a pool. A local reporter told me the current "didn't look too bad" to her. Second pic shows the Big Muddy running around 5 mph looking nice and smooth. I would not get on that river in a raft and taking the picture made me uncomfortable. I've seen trees shooting down the Mississippi at 10+ mph in Cape Girardeau and it isn't whitewater that makes that river the top killer in the U.S.

It seems as simple as always respecting the water while trying to gain enough experience to know when you are dangerously close to the limits of your experience and capabilities.

I believe the statistics show that the vast majority of deaths come from beginners, just like motorcycles.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Tangential comment but I really wonder about the usefulness of trying to distinguish between whitewater and not whitewater; in my limited experience there is zero correlation to danger (and I'll mention that 80% of deaths are in moderate current). One time I swamped and sank a boat in Delhi Rapids (Ann Arbor) and the swamped boat ran me over and hit my head. Nice lesson and no big deal...narrow river and lots of kayakers around to help me. Sometimes very shallow water gets frothy yet you can just get out and walk through it. I don't mean to imply that Class VI and going off waterfalls is safe.

First pic below is 4 mph current on the St Joseph in a spot where a woman lost her life. If you go in it will be hundreds of yards best case before you might get out even if you choose the right bank to swim towards. The average American can't swim 100 yards in a pool. A locView attachment 151872View attachment 151873al reporter told me the current "didn't look too bad" to her. Second pic shows the Big Muddy running around 5 mph looking nice and smooth. I would not get on that river in a raft and taking the picture made me uncomfortable. I've seen trees shooting down the Mississippi at 10+ mph in Cape Girardeau and it isn't whitewater that makes that river the top killer in the U.S.

It seems as simple as always respecting the water while trying to gain enough experience to know when you are dangerously close to the limits of your experience and capabilities.

I believe the statistics show that the vast majority of deaths come from beginners, just like motorcycles.

Good points. The mostly flat stretch of our local Snake River from Swan Falls dam to Walters Ferry has claimed a lot of lives. Though flat and wide, it's pushy and littered with strong eddies, boils, seams, and sucky whirlpools. Not a good place to swim. I don't fear it - maybe I should - but I think a healthy respect is in order.

The thing is though, it doesn't take a lot of skill to navigate it safely in an appropriate canoe. In a whitewater oriented canoe, it's a piece of cake.

OTOH, even class 3 in that same canoe requires a much higher level of attention, along with occasional must make moves that sometimes call for as much physical effort as I can muster. I think losing a certain amount of fear of that is probably a dangerous thing. And that scares me.

 

[lowangle al]

I agree, moving water doesn't have to have waves to be hazardous. I've been on flat stretches of the Susquehanna that I had been unable to pole up because of the strong current. Getting broadside and leaning the wrong way could be enough to flip ya. It could also make swimming and boat and gear recovery difficult.