What went wrong ?

[Anonymous]

I did a few things wrong on a day trip 4 years ago and i invite everyone reading this to identify some of my mistakes and tell us what you'd do different .
My wife and son took off on a two week holiday and as i was off at the same time i decided to do some canoe day tripping . There is a small river that runs in an almost complete circle that i planned on canoeing down because at the end there is a short portage to a small lake and after crossing the lake it was only 200 yards back to the truck .
Total trip was about 10 miles . Anyway i took a bottle of water and since it was warm out , no jacket and a fanny pack with a few bandaids , some matches and a knife in it . I parked the truck and put the canoe with my minnimal provisions in it , put my keys in the fanny pack and shoved off .

 

[Kayak Jack]

(SNIP) Total trip was about 10 miles . Anyway I took a bottle of water and since it was warm out , no jacket and a fanny pack with a few bandaids , some matches and a knife in it. I parked the truck and put the canoe with my minimal provisions in it , put my keys in the fanny pack and shoved off.

I didn't hear anything about telling someone where/ when you were going, or when you planned to return, or what they should do if you didn't. Also, no PFD. Sounds like you knew the territory so no map/ compass necessary? Maybe two bottles of water? Did you need sunscreen/ bug dope, sunglasses/ hat?

Some may say you should have been prepared for an overnight w/ food, shelter, & sleeping bag. Not knowing the territory very well, I would guess they may be handy?

 

[Anonymous]

What went wrong 2

Didn't mean to hit the submit button but i did so here's the rest . The mosquitos and blackflies were pretty bad but when i got out on the river the breeze kept them off which is a good thing as i forgot bugdope . It was one beaver dam after another and i'd get out , drag the canoe over and procede to the next one .
I could see another beaver dam comeing but this one had a big hole in it and 30 yards in front of the dam the canoe hit bottom . I got out into ankle deep water and decided to carry the canoe over this dam . I threw the paddle to the far side of the dam , strapped on my fanny pack and hoisted the canoe up .
It was an easy walk to the dam as the bottom was pretty hard but the footing was difficult climbing the face of the dam . As i stepped over the top my foot snagged , i tripped and went face first down the backside slamming into the rocks with the canoe on my back .
I laid there a long while as i knew i was badly injured . The pain was absolutely horrible as i tried to roll from under the canoe . I knew that my shoulder was broken . I managed to roll over and looked up to the sky and it occured to me that i was a dead man.
My shoulder was hanging halfway down to my waist and i couldn't muster a scream as the pain was so bad . The river is lined with impenatrable tag alder thickets and i sure couldn't swim or float back upstream .
I was about 1 hour downriver from the truck but it may as well have been a million miles . I took my shirt off to try and tie my arm up and couldn't get it so from my fanny pack i retrieved the knife and pinned the shirt down with my knees and cut it in half . Soaked in sweat and swelling from bug bites that i couldn't swat i got my arm tied up and tied to my body .
I could see a ridgeline parrallel to the river about 500 yards away so i decided i had to make it to high ground to get out as the rivers edge was so grown in . I drank the last of my water and got to my feet but the pain took me right back down . I recall tears as i stood again and made my way from the riverbottom into the alder thicket .
My one arm was supporting the other and i couldn't reach out an part the alders so i went in , face first and could feel them tearing into my exposed skin .
It was nightfall , about 6 hours after the accident that i made it to the ridge and too dark to travel any farther but still light enough to get a fire going . The fanny pack with the matches was back at the river with the canoe .
Blood was running from the alders slashing me and my face , neck and ears were swelling from uncounted millions of bug bites . I was sweated out and shakeing but knew somehow i had to make it through the night despite continually throwing up until there was nothing left to throw up from the pain .
I had my watch and about 3:00 a.m. i started shakeing uncontrolably from hypothermia and didn't figure i'd be alive at 4:00 p.m. I stood up and walked in circles supporting my arm and trying to stay alive . About 5:00 a.m. it started to get a little lighter out as the sun was going to rise .
I couldn't see the river but could hear it so i started out for the truck . Pain took me to my knees many times but i knew i had to make it as there would be no search as no one knew where i was . I fell and stumbled and the shooting pain killed me with every step . I laid and rested many times but knew i had to make it out that day as i'd never survive another night . At one point i was on the ground trying to push myself forward with my feet .
The sun was hot by noon but my body refused to sweat as there was nothing left . At 3:00 p.m. i spotted the truck .
I usually never lock the truck but this time i did and my keys were in the fannypack . I can't describe the feeling that came over me but just as soon i was trying to recall if there was a spare key in the glove box . I knew that there had been one in there years ago but couldn't remember if i'd ever taken it out or not .
I stood there a total broken , bleeding mess as i scanned the area for a suitable rock . I bent over to pick one up and fell down burying my forehead in the ground . It must have taken 10 minutes but i got up with the rock and threw it at the side window . The window smashed and i reached the button and unlocked the door . I pulled everything out of the glovebox and thank the good lord , there was the key .
I went around and unlocked the drivers side and couldn't get in the pain was so bad . I finally managed to get my butt on the seat and half laying back i swung my legs in . I just sat there for the longest time and then got the key in the ignition .
My right shoulder was broken and the truck has a standard manual transmission . I got it started and reached across with my left hand to get it in gear . Things were starting to go black as i was passing out but i struggled to keep going and managed to shift up to third which is where it stayed for the 40 mile ride back to town .
I drove straight to the hospital and into the emerg entrance and layed on the horn . Some nurses came running out , shut the truck off and someone managed to get me on a stretcher .
I somewhat recall a needle , some x-rays and then wakeing up in recovery . My shoulder was broken and had to be drilled and pinned , my collarbone was broken and was also pinned , my bicep was detached which required another operation and the rotator cuff torn which required another operation . My knees required stitches as did my forehead and they gave me a few shots of something to counteract the insect bites . They pumped gallons of fluid into me to rehydrate . I survived but recovery took a year . The short bicep detached again and they went back in and drilled a hole in a shoulderbone to fish it through but it didn't work . The long bicep has remained attached but the rotator cuff still gives me lots of problems even with all of the repairs .
As i look back there are many things that i should have done differently so i ask , what were they ?

 

[Kayak Jack]

Art, you already listed the errors. Glad you are recovering. The one mistake you DIDN'T make was losing your determination to stay alive. You get an "atta boy!" for that.

That must have been the circle river that Paul Bunyan logged one winter.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: What went wrong 2

As i look back there are many things that i should have done differently so i ask , what were they ?

Friend Art,

I reckon ya coulda done a heap a stuff different, but then it woulda been somebody else, not you. :wink:

regards,

bearridge

 

[Swampy]

Art, there a couple or more things that you have learned from your trip on the Ten Mile River. Some of this might pee ya off, but I merely answer your question with a straightforeward answer so that you realisticly weigh it and produce a better trip plan next outing. I salute your fortitude and perserverence but not you pre-planing.
It's apparent you thought you could handle this stretch of water within a one day paddle.
What you didn't do was call ahead for a river report or stop in the area and ask about the conditions on the river.
You planed poorly for the day. Your "emergency pack" or day pack was inadaquent for any river travel where ever.
That pack and some real soul seaching on your skills in the backwoods weren't mentioned nor looked to be investigated by you.
Never go solo without anyone knowing where you'll be and a schedule of some sorts.
You said warm weather... how about the nights?
I wonder about your personal wearing gear... shoes or boots?
Before you toss a canoe on your sholders you'd have to look ahead at the trail ahead to see what was there and if footing was good or poor. Look at this with a critical eye next time.
Never throw a paddle anywhere! Beavers love the salt you put on it from sweating on it.
Carry at least a cell phone with a good battery in it. 911 can help out! I don't know abut the Canadian laws but here in the USA it is federal law for phone companies to allow an emergncy call 911 regardless of account condition. Carry this also in a water proof bag (s).
Then Art, ask question such as you have done here and continue to pass on to others this exoerince so that there is an actual account of someone who went out for a fun day and had a nightmare of several.
Nature is mean. horrible, un-forgiving, un-expected. Plan ALL trips accordingly. It is not the Walt Disney world that many feel it is.
Once into this trip of yours, I think ( rather I know) that I'd drag that canoe instead of carring it. That's not the best remidy but the safest.
I'd have carried my fanny pack with everything in it. Make 3,4 or more trips back and forth for gear...
Then too, if the river was that cluttered with beaver dams and such, a thought of going back up river should have been a thought.
Then also, head back to the truck right then and there. Return for help later to collect the canoe.
I know a lot of this has gone over your mind many times sence then and your a better planner now than before.
Solo means by yourself... anything that happens , good or bad, is on you only. Plan for "what ifs" and make alternant plans to keep ypou safe and healthy.
There's more , but this will give you a start for the next trip. ANd make another trip... but take a friend!
And join the forum here! It's a neat place to keep asking questions and give advice! And you've got a lot to give to others now.
When the server went down last summer a lot of great information is lost, but that also means that a lot can be added to this new forum!
Your thoughts now/
swampy

 

[Kayak Jack]

I'm wondering how a river can travel a 10 mile near-circle, return to near itself, and have enough drop along the way to support that many beaver dams? That last few hundred yard portage must have been pretty steep. Interesting terrain, ehh?

 

[Swampy]

I thought that too Jack. Immagine the pools and the amount of trees about to hold that many beavers. This has got to be true wilderness . Down here the loggers would have cut a cannal across that to save a days paddling. Art, what is the distances from diff points on that stretch of river? I don't know what "There is a small river that runs in an almost complete circle " really means. Was the put in inside that "circle"? Is it a popular section with other paddlers?
I can see where generally speaking, the trip was thought of as "a no brainer" to paddle and many items were thought "not important enough" to a beginner. ie 1 gal of water, no maps/compass, one paddle only, no trip plan, not another system to gain help if problem(s) come up... your really rolling the dice when alone. I read a story while back about a guy who in the early part of the 20th centry, set out to walk, I thnik, about 5-6 miles durring winter in Alaska. It was a short fiction story but the essence was not being prepared for nature's curve balls. The dude froze to death several hundred yards from his destination. He started off with matches for fires but a string of "no-no"s cost him to lose even those.
I also wonder about the physical condition of Art. How old those dams were ( hence how steep the dams and the cut down around them).
It is always 20-20 hind sight setting here in a warm house sipping coffee and pondering "What if"s. But one thing should be clear to all... be prepared! You can roll the dice but be cautioned! They may come up snake eyes!
swampy

 

[Anonymous]

[I did a few things wrong on a day trip 4 years ago and i invite everyone reading this to identify some of my mistakes and tell us what you'd do different ]
Art, maybe it's cheating, since I know you, for me to even get in on this, but here goes anyway.
I think the #1 mistake you made that day that led to all the rest was that, through all your years as a professional woodsman and guide, you allowed yourself to become too casual or complacent about the ultimate dangers offered by the Canadian bush. You, better than 99 point something percent of the population, know and have dealt with those facts of life in the woods so long that you showed contempt for the natural world by complacency so it reared up and bit you on the a-------er, shoulder.
Put another way, you, better than most, KNOW to expect the unexpected yet you didn't REALLY prepare for it. I don't recall any mention in the story about a weapon, gear to cover a true emergency nor, as already pointed out, notification of anyone about your destination, time expected to be absent or when you expected to return.
I can't, at the moment, recall the name of the old Indian 'Booger of the woods' you've told me about so often, but I suspect he isn't enamored of arrogance from those who presume to invade his territory.
Anyway, that's my 'take' on it. :wink: OF

 

[Kayak Jack]

Nessmuk?

 

[oldsparkey]

Art

You were one of those folks that I spent uncountable hours out in the bug's, heat, cold, rain, storms and always nasty weather looking for when I was working at the Sheriffs office. But they did one thing you did not do .... They told someone when they would be home and sometimes even the correct area they went to.

Proper gear, when you have it with you , even for a day run, and down here in the South we advise a person to stay with there boat .... A boat is a lot easier to see then an injured person.

I would like to answer more of your questions but you are in an area that I have absolutely no knowledge about. I do need to add one thing ... we don't portage down here and I guess no matter where your are carelessness does led to injuries.

Most of the over due boaters, fishermen that were called in to the office by family members were usually located at the closest tavern but there were some real emergencies also.

One fellow had his arm chopped off by his airboat when he tried to hand start it and another fellow tried to run thru a barb wire fence, the fence won.
Chuck.

 

[Anonymous]

Friend Tom,

My comment above wuz also based on knowin' Ole Art. Ya may recall that time I wuz talkin' bout paddlin' in cold weather. Art tole how him a few buddies would play on the froze up rivers jest when they wuz bustin' up? They would jump frum one ice berg ta anuther fer fun.

Well, I kinda figger Art done a heap a stuff (not when he wuz responsible fer others) where he jest dared anything ta git him. I caint believe he never tole that paddle trip before, 'er mebbe I slept 'n jest fergot, but I think Art knew what he done wuz danger filled.

Anuther idea come on me. Remember that nurse who took care of him? Well, he mite a tore hiz shoulder off ta see down her shirt agin? :wink:

Now I kin see a heap a stuff he done wrong. When I first read it the only thing I seen wrong wuz fallin' down, not wirin' hiz key on the outside a hiz truck 'n not keepin' a Bic in hiz life saver. He wuz careless, but I figger it wuz mostly on purpose. Sometimes Art dont want ta rely on nuthin' but Art. Part a me thinks he mite like ta lose one day jest cuz he dont like the way most folks check out. I admit ta that one myownself, but then we aint old like you 'n Kayak Jack, so I mite feel different if I git mature.

I dont figger Art iz gwine ta git any more mature.

regards,

bearridge

 

[Anonymous]

[quote="Kayak Jack"
[Nessmuk?]
Nah, that was George Washington Sears. 'Skookem' may be what you're trying to exhume from the memory vault.

 

[Swampy]

Wisdom is a virue that when used can save... when ignored can kill!
Old age isn't garanteed to all, but it's a garantee that knowledge unused is detrimental to old age...
old swampy thought

 

[Kayak Jack]

Wisdom is a virue that when used can save... when ignored can kill!
Old age isn't garanteed to all, but it's a garantee that knowledge unused is detrimental to old age...
old swampy thought

WTH did you say???? "Splain yoself, Lucy." Pretend I'm a six year old child.

 

[Swampy]

ok.... if someone who wants to grow up in this world to a ripe old age, that someone needs to learn alot along the way... and then use what they collect along the way to be able to gather more knowledge to increase wisdom to continue to grow up to old age. :shock:
Lucy, it's sort of like when you go to the potty and don't wipe... you'll piss off many and find that you've only pissed yourself off in the long run...
now here's a candy bar... go to mommy...
Now the Marines had another way to put it....
but that's for another day... :lol:
swampy the swamp stoic

 

[Anonymous]

Complacency Kills . The 'Windego' kills . Lack of preparation kills . Many things will kill you in the bush . I've lived a half century in some of the remotest places there are and have usually been prepared for the unknown and unforseen but all it takes is once . That story was my big , once . The day trip was going to be an enjoyable afternoon and no more dangerous than a trip to the mall but i was complacent . It's not that i lost respect or felt like the master of the enviroment , it just seemed like it would be an easy afternoon . It happened 40 miles north of Thunder Bay , Ontario on the North Branch river . Cell phones don't reach into there . There are places on the internet where maps can be found but i'm not sure where right now so if anyone finds it you'll recognize it right away by the path of the river . From above , on a topo map it doesn't quite look like a full circle in the river , more like a big ' C ' when you're looking down at it . Being prepared , it seems , nothing goes wrong . It's the one time that you're not ready for it that something happens and that something may cascade into a tragedy . I posted my story but it could be anyones when you become complacent and assume that the other guy won't run the red light . In this case there was no other guy to blame , it was all me and i paid a price .
Sometimes physical preparation isn't enough . A few years ago an American fighter pilot had to bail out over the north shore of Lake Superior about 100 miles east of here . For some reason his engine shut down and the plane went to the bottom of the lake but he drifted in his ejection seat over the lake and into the bush . He was an instructor . He taught survival to fighter pilots . Either strapped to him or to his seat he had every kind of survival item imaginable . He was found on the third day , dead . He had broken his leg by walking off a ledge and died there dureing the second night of hypothermia . He had the knowledge and the tools but the Windego got him .
The Ojibway say that the Windego is an evil spirit that lives in the bush and kills people . The Windego is real but he's not an evil spirit in the bush he lives within all of us . He is the one that turns fear to panic and clouds the mind so that appropriate decisions can't be made under duress . He is the one who tells you to run in the dark or swim farther than you can or to press on into the cold darkness when you should be lighting a fire and building a leantoo . When it's still and calm and something crashes in the bush and momentarily your spine is gripped with a fright , this is the Windego and he will kill you or cause you to kill yourself .
I did not meet the Windego on this occasion but the pilot did .

 

[Swampy]

Thank you Art. I believe you have saved someones life here. It can't be said enough that the outdoors is the last place to learn how to survive it. We've lived in times where we are used to comfort in everyday life. I for one believe that 90% of all peoples haven't an idea how to make it through a week without electricity, let alone a phone, a car/truck.
Your words will take someone to realize it is for real out there and yes, you can lose your life too.
Thanks again Art!
swampy

 

[Anonymous]

[Complacency Kills . The 'Windego' kills . Lack of preparation kills . Many things will kill you in the bush . I've lived a half century in some of the remotest places there are and have usually been prepared for the unknown and unforseen but all it takes is once . That story was my big , once .]
Thanks Bud. It takes a big man to use his own mistake to create an object lesson for all. Can't believe I couldn't remember the name of the Windego.
If you'll recall I was concerned a couple of months ago that you might be becoming too complacent about finding a good bear for your son Matt. Can't forget the story about how you came to buy your Security Six.
Don't miss Dave Wallaces' hunting stories that Sparkey reposted somewhere here on the board. I think you and Dave need to get together and compare notes. Seems like a Canadian bear hunting guide and an Aussie 'Roo eradicater may have a lot in common. 'Course both of you are reformed at this time, but just look at the freedom it gives you both to not allowed inconvenient facts to interfere with a good story. :wink: OF

 

[john the pom]

I don't know what made me click on this article. From the dates it's been here forever and yet I'd never noticed it before. I'm sure glad I did. Let's face it, all day paddles are just gonna be fun right...