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Tips from the River Rats:Health and SafetyFrom back issues of the WrapAround. Click on the photos to see larger images. Health and SafetySpecial Safety Considerations for Closed Boats By Bill Lowman Three things our trip leaders need to keep in mind, especially if they are canoeists leading a trip that includes closed boats (kayaks or c-1's): For new students paddling closed boats, take reasonable precautions relative to the following -
Hot Days with a Cool Drink Sufficient liquid intake is essential for maintaining optimal performance while paddling. During a hot day the body should have almost a gallon of water. Having a cool drink is very refreshing. I like my water ice cold, especially on a hot day. I put a couple of almost full water bottles into my freezer the night before a paddling trip. The ice melts during the day and I get ice cold water all day long. Because water expands as it is freezing, don't have the plastic bottles completely full. Stand the bottle up as you are freezing it so that the ice does not crack the cap as it freezes. If you buy a full bottle of water you probably can freeze it without opening it. Most bottles have indented rings that are designed to expand as the ice forms (or the ambient pressure decreases.) Water Clogged Ears Paddler B: I have the same problem. In the pond, I have found that Speedo Ear Plugs work much better than other types. Even they are not perfect, though, and I consider them a real hazard on the river. Paddler C: My doctor recommended (after seeing me for the third time in a single year) that I use a half and half mix of isopropyl alcohol and hydrogen peroxide solution. It doesn't take much (a dropper full), and it works well. It is not perfect, but works better than anything else I have tried. Submitted by Skip Morris from the net. 2/00 Sunburn and Chapped Lips Many PFDs have a net pocket with a zipper on the chest. This is a handy place to carry the lip balm but it is too big for most sunscreen containers. The trick is to save one of those small shampoo bottles you find in a hotel room. Once the shampoo is used, wash out the bottle and fill it with your favorite waterproof sun screen. Then put the bottle in your PFD pocket with the lib balm. Now, when you grab your PFD, you've got your sunscreen and lip balm. One fewer thing to worry about while getting packed. No matter where you are paddling you have both readily available when you need them. Tom Todd. 3/00 Accessible Flashlights with Fresh Batteries Scene: The end of a long day of paddling in solid rain with heavy cloud cover. The group has just come to a class III-IV rapid with a mountain goat path for a portage trail. The only campsite is just below the rapids. The light is rapidly fading as the sun is setting on a moonless night. Action: A couple run the rapids while others wait. The group is separated and when the guide returns and he takes them down the opposite side of the river as the last bit of light disappears. Most can't even access their flashlights, buried deep in their camping gear. I have two in my bucket, tested fine before the trip. I grab one, turn it on, and it fades and dies in 3-4 minutes. Groping in the blackness back to my boat I fumble in my bucket for the second flashlight. It dies in a minute, before I can find the new batteries. … and now one else has a flashlight available except the guide who is busy on the other side of the river fishing swimmers out of the rapids. As an irrationally frugal Scot, I had not put new batteries in my flashlights, because I had only used them 'a little.' I brought new batteries to use when the others gave out. Lessons Learned: Always put brand new, fresh batteries, in your flashlights before a trip. Always have them accessible. A backup flashlight that doesn't work is wasted weight. - by Tom Todd
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