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| Cahaba River, Grants Mill to Overton Section, 03-30-24 |
If this is a new run for you:
1. What's the take-out look like? Make sure you can recognize it. How? When you run shuttle, walk down to the river and look at the take-out. Even better - look at it and then pin it on your phone's GPS.
2. Look at the run on Google maps or equivalent. This will give you a general idea of what to expect in terms of trip length and any landmarks, like old bridge pilings or rapids/shoals you may encounter. Is there cell coverage? Cell phone coverage is a big game changer in an emergency. Have a time when you plan to be off river and have someone expecting your call. You can say, "We plan to be off river by 3, but if you haven't heard from us by 6pm something is up". Something like that.
3. Look up the recommended levels for the section you are considering. Ask on local paddling fb groups, ask friends who have done the run before for their advice. Don't go if it's recently rained and the rivers are high. Don't go if it's not rained in forever and the river is so low you'll have to drag your boat.
...For all sections of the Cahaba above, through, and below Birmingham, if it's just rained and the level is high then it's also got a high e-coli count. Nobody wants to swim in that! The Cahaba Riverkeepers post weekly test results for these sections during the summer months here: https://cahabariverkeeper.org/swim-guide/
...When it's too low, people have put on the Cahaba Lovick section and hiked out in the dark leaving their boats behind, or dragging them for hours.
4. Do not put your car keys wallet etc. in your boat. But if you must, put them in a dry bag that is attached to your boat. Know that if you lose your boat, you'll lose those items as well. Happens all the time!
Do not put electronic keys (has buttons that open the doors etc. like pretty much all car keys these days) in a pocket or life vest pocket where it can get wet. It will get wet and ruin the key. If you must, put the key in a waterproof case.
Do not wear anything on the river that you don't want to get wet. Have a lanyard for your sunglasses, or you will lose them. If you wear a sunhat, it should have a hat strap. I was on a float yesterday and the wind kept trying to take my sunhat. The reason it didn't was because of the strap. It still nearly did.
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| Real incident posted in 2024 |
5. Wear a life vest/jacket aka PFD. Wear it. From this Coast Guard website: Where the cause of death was known, 75 percent of fatal boating incident victims drowned. Of those drowning victims with reported life jacket usage, 85 percent were not wearing a life jacket.
What do paddlers like me ask the moment we hear of a missing recreational paddler: Were they wearing a life vest?
6. Plan your shuttle before the trip. You must have these things for your shuttle:
...A person staying with the boats at the putin while the drivers run the shuttle. OR a lock and cable for locking the boats while you run shuttle. It's easy to have a boat stolen if it's left alone while running shuttle. It's unfortunately common. So easy to put a boat in the back of a truck and zoom off. This has been a problem before at the Ocoee take-out.
...A driver who can take the other drivers from the take-out back to the putin. OR a shuttle bunny. That's someone who isn't paddling but can help with shuttle. The goal is to have as few vehicles at the putin as possible, and the most vehicles at the take-out as possible. Parking is often an issue at river putins.
It took me a long while to wrap my head around shuttles, and it's still confusing sometimes. Find out what your friends are driving to the river. If someone has a big truck that can take your crew and all of the boats, you can meet at the takeout and consolidate to that one truck. That saves time. We often meet at the take-out for the Hiwassee and get as many boats and people into as few vehicles as possible, because space is limited at the putin and there is a $3 charge per vehicle to park. Then again we often meet at the Hiwassee putin and drop boats, leaving one person to keep an eye on the boats while we run vehicles to the bottom, especially if there's a big group. The goal is not having to make multiple trips to the putin and takeout. And also to not leave boats and gear unattended. For the Hiwassee that's at least 15 minutes each way. All of this can be decided with a conversation before the trip. Make life easier not more complicated.
7. Be punctual. But don't be a jerk. If someone is late, it happens. If they're late often, that happens too. This merits a conversation. If they're an hour late and that's a habit, they're being inconsiderate and eventually won't get invited anymore. But don't say 'meet at 11' and you mean ready to go at 11. I mean, you can, but I won't be there. This is not a job and is meant to be a relaxing, fun experience. OTOH, don't get there and waste time getting ready to the point everyone else is aggrivated. Have your stuff somewhat organized before you leave the house. Know what you need for the trip and have it ready. This is about habits and not exceptions. Everybody forgets something occasionally. Having a spare paddle or life vest in your vehicle can save someone's trip. Give great leeway to newbies. They're new and didn't know. You were new once too. Every item I've mentioned in this paragraph is from something that really happened on a paddle trip.
8. Check the weather. Are you going to be prepared if it's a cold, rainy day? I'd say just skip the trip. Go when it's a nice day. Paddling is not like a quest you need to suffer through. Go to the movies instead. If it's sunny, but it's been cold, is the water still cold? Probably! Dress for the swim, we whitewater paddlers say. Whitewater paddlers have expensive drysuits and other cold water gear because we know we will get splashed, have to roll our boats, possibly swim, or stand in the water to help our buddies in an emergency. For recreational float trips, I'd just do something else.
Wear sunscreen. Bug spray? Maybe. If you are fishing, have a current fishing license.
9. Be mindful of private property. Don't expect people to be OK with you getting out on their property, their docks, etc. They won't be OK with it. Don't pee for their trail cams viewing. Don't leave trash on their property or anywhere on the river for that matter. Pick up trash, it's good river karma. If you are in an emergency and need to walk out, you do what you gotta do, but be mindful of the property owner calling the police or coming out to you with a rifle. That's crazy but it's a crazy world. If you need help call for help. If it's just a 'hey I need a ride, we are going to walk out to the road' call your friend not 911. If it's a medical emergency call 911. If there's no cell coverage, you must make good decisions depending on the situation. If you walk out, and have to leave your boat, let the local police or forest service know, not as an emergency but so someone else doesn't see the empty boat and call 911 to report a missing boater. It has happened multiple times.
If I think of more things I'll add them. IF you have things you think I should add let me know.
