In thiscolumn,Priscillasharestipssoyoucansalvagea long-anticipated
paddlingtripwhenthingsdon’tquite line up as planned.FINDING FLOW
By Priscilla Macy
If youhavea year-roundorfull-timejob,youmightonlygeta fewweeksof vacationa year-
andlikelyhavetoplanyourtimeoffmonthsin advance.If youarea full-timestudent,you
mayonlyhavea fewpredeterminedbreaksof timeawayfromschooleveryyear.Thismeans
thatmulti-dayandfarawaypaddlingtripsmaynotalwaysfit perfectlyintoyourwindowof
opportunity.Nomatterhowmuchyouplanandprepare,theweathermaychange,flows
maydisappearorrise,orotherthings,likegroupmembersdroppingoutofa triporgear
failures,mighthappen.If youonlyhavea fewdaysa year,and(or)limitedresources,you
certainlydon’twantunanticipatedandextraneouscircumstances to be the end of your
trip-youwillwantto make the most of it regardless.THEBUILD-UP
Planningthelogisticsfora bigtripis anartnotwithouttheoccasionalheadache.Every
year,abouttwiceperyear,JacobandI plantotakeanextendedpaddlingtripthatusually
involvesdaytrips,multi-daytrips,anda healthyamountoftravelinbetween.Weusually
startbypickinga generalregionorlocationorbychoosinga predeterminedroutewith
paddlingpit-stopsthroughout.Wethenmakea “wishlist”ofrivers,andJacobworkson
determiningflowsandothertriplogisticswhileI planmeals,packgear,andcontributeto
otherpartsofthetripplanning.Then,wedecidewhomightwant to join us or if it’s just
goingtobethetwoof us, and start to set the plan in motion.THELET-DOWN
Therehavebeensomanytimesthatwehaveplannedweek-longtrips,andthedaybefore
weleaveor thedayof departure,somethinghappensthatthrowseverythingoff.A rainstorm
comesin,therainnevercomesin,ora giantmelthappens,bringinghigherthandesired
orlowerthandesiredflows.Offthewater,a landslideorwashoutcanobstructtheshuttle
route,a treeblocksanaccessroad,orno-oneis availabletohelprunshuttle.Evenwhile
onthetrip,somethingcanderailyourplans.Maybea boatorpaddlebreaks,a drysuittears,
orgearis lostina swim.If youhavea fewmoredaysleftoryourtriphasjuststarted,you
arenotgoingtowanttothrowin thetowel-you’regoing to want to do everything you can
to salvage your big, and often, long-anticipated trip.THERECOVERY
Anticipation,clearcommunication,andback-upplansareallcriticalwhenit comesto
salvaginga tripgonewrong,butit is alsoessentialtobeflexibleandabletoadaptonthe
fly.Herearesometricksthatwehavelearnedtomakethemostofanunexpectedhiccup.- If possible,paddleinanareawheretherearesomewhatclosealternativesif flows
don’tlineup,oraccessdoesn’tpanout.Bewillingtodrivearound-a lot-tofindthebest
paddlingalternatives. - MakesureyouhavetheAmericanWhitewaterapponyourphone,downloadoffline
mapsonGoogle,bringa Gazetteerora guidebook(s)forthearea,andsavetripreports
ofstreamsnearby.Weusetheblog“AWetState”whenin California,andoftenscreenshot
directionsandbetaforrunsofinterest. - Makesurethegroupknowsthatplansmightchange,andinvolveeveryoneinpicking
alternatives.Makesureyouareallonthesamepageintermsoftimelinesanddesired
tripoutcome.i.e.,is everyoneinterestedin a multi-daytrip,a classV trip,a littlehiking(?)
oris everyonedownforwhatever,aslongasit’sonthewater? - Bringa simplegearrepairkitanda firstaidkit.Boatrepairscanbecomplicated,but
sometimesa simplefixdoneontheflycanenabletheboattomakeit throughtheendof
thetrip.PackBituthene,Gorillatape,a torchlighter,a multi-tool,andzipties.If youcan,
bringa sparepaddleforthegroup(inadditiontoyourbreakdown).StockyourFirstAidkit
withsteri-stripsandsuperglueforinthefieldwoundclosure. - If possible,bringsomethingtomakeself-shuttlepossible.Wecarrya motorizedbicycle
($250)thatcanbetransportedona bikerack.It canbehiddeninthewoodsfairlyeasily,
travelsfar,andit doesprettywellongravelroads. - WorstCaseScenario-beopento doingsomethingin theareathatmightnotbepaddling.
OnoneofourtripstotheSierrasinCalifornia,whenflowsdidn’tlineup,weendedup
spendingtimehikingaroundYosemiteandwentonanovernightbackpackingtripinstead.
Planningis priceless,sometimesplansareuseless, and attitude can make almost any day
on the water or extended paddling trip.PLANNING FOR THE
UNPLANNED
“NOMATTERHOWMUCHYOUPLANAND
PREPARE,THEWEATHERMAYCHANGE,FLOWS
MAYDISAPPEARORRISE,OROTHERTHINGS,
LIKEGROUPMEMBERSDROPPINGOUTOFATRIP
OR GEAR FAILURES, MIGHT HAPPEN.”PriscillaMacyis a lifelongoutdoorrecreationist;whitewaterkayakingbeingherprimarymodeof exploration.Shecurrentlylivesin Salem,ORwithherpartnerin lifeandpaddling,JacobCruser.Together,theyexploreanddocumentlesser-
knownwhitewaterrunsin thePNW.Priscillaearneda degreein RecreationResourceManagementandanMBAin marketing,andis currentlytheprojectmanagerforMt.HoodNationalForest human ecology mapping (HEM) project, works
as a Regional Coordinator for American Whitewater, and owns her own consulting business providing expertise in corporate social responsibility, conservation, and recreation advocacy.TECHNIQUE