Buffalo River '09

[bearridge]

I woke up about 5:30 I think and there was about a foot of water running under my tent, trust me this is big shock to your system just a moment before you were asleep dreaming about dry, moon filled nights. Only to find out you and your trusted friend are about to float away with 2k worth of gear. I had set my boots and dry pants fireman style by the door again just in case!
I slipped my boots and pants on and zipped up the dry bags and unzipped the tent hoping to find my raft still tied up outside.

Yer spectakles let ya down. [grin] Coochie wuz in the tent with him, until he went outside. Now if Coochie wuz a nurse gymnast...with a good floor routine.....

regards
bearridge

ps So now cast yer mind on the horror of lightnin', thunder, high wind, fast rizin' water, then yer in the river in the dark with yer dog, yer cot 'n all yer gear inside a GIANT tent......tied off ta a raft headed downstream like a horse fer the barn. [whew]

At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid.  Friedrich Nietzsche

 

[oldsparkey]

regards
bearridge
So now cast yer mind on the horror of lightnin', thunder, high wind, fast rizin' water, then yer in the river in the dark with yer dog, yer cot 'n all yer gear inside a GIANT tent......tied off ta a raft headed downstream like a horse fer the barn. [whew]

Been there , done that without the dog along , just me on that last trip.

My thoughts were simple that night. The whole mess could of been destroyed , everything. As long as I was able to take a breath then I could make it off that river bank , in my skives and to some road , someplace and replace everything later as long as everyone else was OK and could do the same thing. Camping buddies are non replaceable , camping gear , boats and the rest are.

Remember there was a road leading out of there at some point or that ranch foreman would not of been able to drive in there. Plus there was the road at the top of the bluff across the river that all those folks were using.
The material things do not over ride the factor of being alive , all of the small stuff can be replaced and I can always make another boat , no problem.

If you do some looking around , most of the rivers , if not all of them have a road on one side or both sides of them at some distance. It might be a problem getting to them but it is better then the alternative and screw the gear. Or do like Jack.... I had the PLB with me , just hit a button and help is on its way in less then a few seconds. Personally I want to keep it as the last thing that has to be done , medical emergencies only. Walking out is not one of them , even in your skives :lol:

Better yet .. Darrells cell phone worked there , remember. So there was another choice if ti was not lost ... have the ranch foreman get us and take us out.

Think , options and what to do if the worse things happens on a river trip , which way to go , what to do and how to do it or what electronic device to use if you have it. With any luck you will not be butt naked but that might get help a lot faster including the new choppers overhead. :lol: .

In all honesty... When Ron said where we would be putting in , camping and then taking out .... I pulled up the topo maps and the satellite ones to check it out before even going so I had an idea of the lay of the land and any what if problems as far as getting out on foot , or getting help in. It did not show the river problems that we had or i did not pay any attention to them which might be the correct way of saying it.

Anyway i had a half arse idea ( close but not pin pointed , a ball park figure ) on where where we where all the time and what our options would of been if there was a problem.

 

[bearridge]

I dont care what kinda whizbang 'er gizmo ya tote 'er if yer mind recalls ever detail on a map, if ya end up in a fast movin' river, inside a huge tent, with yer dog, a cot 'n all yer gear in the dark....with the tent tied ta a raft pullin' hard downstream, it would be a really bad dream come true. I dont figger nobody would be able ta help jest cuz ya pushed a whizbang button 'er knew ever goat trail fer miles. I spell it "drowned".....likely the dog too.

They dont have no roads along the Buffalo River. A few gravel ones go down the mountains ta the campgrounds, but nuthin' runs along beside it....anywhere near it. That iz why I like ta paddle it. If I knew a hoodoochie wuz likely, I'd camp high up....like that first nite when the high class geezers set up on top, but our low class pals strung theirownselves up along the bank....down near the water. I slept good knowin' ya'll would holler if a flood come down the river. [chuckle]

Remember that time on the Eleven Point River when I fell in dark 'n pushed my C. Everitt Koop button 'n it let me down? Neither him 'er Sgt. Pepper showed up. I been more careful solo campin'/paddlin' since then. Noboby kin do nuthin' bout lightnin', but I wont take nuthin' fer granted agin when I am by myownself.

Next time I shove off with a heap a geezers I mite git a bottle of them mixed up margaritas 'n jest quit worryin'? Un margarita esta muy frio, pero yo very thirsty amigo wants a Frito pie with a "MILD" jalapeno....that dont take 2 days ta eat. [grin]

regards 'n stay safe out there
bearridge

ps Remember Hill Street Blues?

Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.  Unknown high school student

 

[oldsparkey]

Ya said............

" our low class pals strung theirownselves up along the bank....down near the water." I do appreciate that description , especially since I have never considered my self the upper class. Just the poor working fool that has an idea of what is good , comfortable and fun to use or do.

By the way that was one of the best nights sleep i ever have had , listing to the water going by and drounding out all of the BS up from the higher , high class campers. Yes .. Sir that was a nice night with all of my low class friends hanging in there hammocks.

The BS came down the back bank of the hill a good ways down river from us so we were spared all of that. :lol:

I have noticed that one of the main sources of all the BS that night now sleeps in a hammock , guess that person ( name with held to protect the guilty) got tired of slipping in all of the chit when he got out of the tent in the mornings from the past trips.

Yes folks ya can hang two tons of BS in a one ton hammock , we have proved that on a few river trips since then. ( again , name withheld to protect bear. ) :wink:

Chuckles..........

 

[bearridge]

I'm not big on social graces
Think I'll slip on down to the oasis
Oh, I've got friends in low places

 

[Kayak Jack]

What we are talking all around here, is preparing ourselves to prevent disasters. Site selection is part of that. Avoid areas of potential flood, avalanches, lightning, critters, etc. Gear selection and preparation is part of this too.

Lots of innards to this disaster preparation and avoidance. We've only begun to explore and list. Knowledge of the area is a prime ingredient. That's one reason I like to travel with a local when I go to somewhere new.

That's particularly important, if tidal flows are involved. :roll:

 

[bearridge]

Aint it the truth. I posted both Buffalo reports fer general advice 'n Buffalo River advice. I figger a true tale makes the point best. I wont fergit yer Brazos trip, but that wuz a danged odd one. These two tales show folks who shoved off without showin' enuff respect ta the weather. In a mountain river the water kin rize so much faster'n others. Part of the speed depends on the size of the watershed 'n how much rain had fallen in the two weeks before.

I'd like ta read the report frum the fellas who left them seven canoes 'n all their gear on the river. They likely had a long, steep hike frum Jim's Bluff ta any road. Their hike out coulda been danged hard unless they had a fella like the Sparkanator.....pichur-like memory when it comes ta maps. [chuckle]

regards
bearridge

Faith is believing what you know ain't so.  Mark Twain

 

[Kayak Jack]

...Their hike out coulda been danged hard unless they had a fella like the Sparkanator.....pichur-like memory when it comes ta maps. [chuckle) Faith is believing what you know ain't so.  Mark Twain

Damned shame that cartographic memory doesn't extend to tide tables - ehh, Jimmie?

 

[bobber]

I'M the guy that posted that" river rescue" story from last Sunday's trip, that river jumped 8 ft in less that 4 hours here is the link to the gauge page http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ar/nwis/uv/?s ... 0065,00060 :lol: I'M NOT A DARE DEVIL... by any means, but i have been training to be a SWIFT WATER RESCUE INSTRUCTOR since October and 7 of our group are my students and we train to do this . to boat as safe as we can! when things go very bad! I don't do this for money or fame it's that NOBODY ELSE is doing it! i got a boating safety flier , for safe boating week. last year 3 people died in canoe accidents waring life jackets 73 died NOT WARING THEM ..... that tells me that people just don't realize how much power that river has!! .... whats in your RESCUE KIT?

 

[bearridge]

Friend bobber,

Dano sez he haz been tryin' ta see if ya'll got any pichurs. I got $5 sez that didnt happen, but can ya imagine? Pichurs of a lifetime if mebbe a kayker coulda grabbed a few eddies 'n took some pichurs! Mitey fine job. How bout the fellas who left them boats? Where did they go frum Jim's Bluff?

regards
bearridge

ps I hope ya dont mind that I put yer tale on here. I clean fergot ya joined up here a long time back. I hear the water iz up agin now. Be careful when ya'll rescue folks 'n gear.

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government -- lest it come to dominate our lives and interests. Patrick Henry

 

[bobber]

there are some photos but i haven't seen any as of yet. we took some, and the park service took some also .. the renters rode out in rafts, with the out fitters the day before , and left behind all the camping gear! but if your back up this way feel free to get a hold of me and i 'll run a safety sweep for you!..i work for buffalo river canoes on hwy 7 north of the priutt the bridge. they have a web page called FLOAT THE BUFFALO .COM OR CLICK THE RED CANOE ON THE GAUGE PAGE....

 

[bearridge]

Thanks fer the offer. I got mixed feelings bout seein' the Buffalo up that high. I used ta hope fer a chance....no gear jest me 'n a boat fulla air bags, but then I seen the rangers shut it down 'n wont let ya put on. Now I dont mean a sho nuff flood. My brother 'n a pal done that 30 years ago. Sez it wuz boring....like the Mississippi, big, flat fast. All the rapids had washed out.

That level durin' yer boat rescue sounded jest rite. Funny how the raft guide iz always the catapult man. [chuckle]

Do ya'll rescue folks on the Big Piney, Richland, Hailstone, too?

regards
bearridge

ps Ya'll keep a lookout fer a Star raft. Someone jest stole Miz Deb's rig (with a trollin' motor set up) frum Moore's. She figgers the thievin' sob iz headed west. It iz blue. What a low down, dirty bag of cat dookie. [sigh]