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Dry Booties
By Faith Knapp

For getting those booties drier for the following day on the river or at home, etc. Stuff them with newspapers. It's an old trick my grandmother did but apparently has been lost in cyberspace!

Hot Days with a Cool Drink
By Tom Todd

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.)

Hold Throw Rope to Get you to Shore
By Tom Todd

When being rescued by a throw rope one gets taught to stay one your back with feet downstream with the rope held over your shoulder.

Ever think which shoulder?

It is best to put the rope over the shoulder away from the shore to which you are being pulled. You can think of it as having the rope corral you to shore. Why?

As in the diagram below, putting the rope over your shoulder angles your body to the current. As the water rushes past, your body acts as a rudder, moving you to the side. If rope is on the shore side of your body, your body is angled so as to move you away from shore. If the rope is on the far shoulder, your body is angled toward shore and you are dragged into shore more easily and quickly.

With the Rope over the far shoulder from shore, the body is angled so the current pushes you to shore.

The other advantage of putting the rope over your far shoulder is that it is easier to hang onto it.

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