What a nice way to prepare for the club AGM! Last Saturday, nine of us, including four who were there for the first time in a kayak, embarked for the run of an interesting section of the Rouge river, ending in the Ottawa river Quebec side just upstream of Hawkesbury. The river level was 75 on the gauge, the beginning of the 'intermediate' range: as our group varried considerably in skill, it was natural that 'adventure' would ensue. What was not expected was that the adventure did not come exclusively from the less experienced bunch...
Unlike the Ottawa river, this section starts with nice long warmup Class II-II+ rapids before the first significant drop, itself followed by a recovery pool. Then the fun starts: a long rapid (1.5 km) containing a mix of Class II-III with a couple Class IV features. At the beginning, there are two main lines to navigate the 'Slice'n'Dice'. Caroline, undecided, went right in between the two lines, into the hole that separates the two. I am happy to report that we were able to fish her and ALL her gear before it got serious.
Most that attempted the following part did well, ending up where they had planned. I, for a change, wanted to be creative and chose a less-than-optimal line. After rolling up 2-3 times in the holes and boils that followed the 'Mushroom', I found myself upright in calm waters... just above the Washing Machine. One gulp of air, one paddle stroke, then the wash/rinse/spin cycle...
I found myself very clean indeed afterwards, as I paddled back up the eddy to watch Jacques demonstrate how to run this drop. He did a good job, only to be caught by a boil. The poor guy was repeatedly tossed against the shore trying to roll, while people were standing powerless mere feet away. Until he pulled the plug that is, after which he was safely roped to shore. The water was pushy and he would otherwise have had an unpleasant ride all the way down the 'Surprise' (Class III) and the following rock garden.
I ended up chasing his boat for about 500 m in Class II-III waters before I could secure it on the shore. Then the rest of the run went without incident. Many tried the seal launch between the last two waterfalls, and the last rapid was a nice long Class III finsh for the day, without unwanted sights...
This is a good opportunity to emphasise two points related to safety:
(1) Jacques was safely brought to shore because someone was right there with a throw bag IN HANDS. Ironically, it was his own rope which he had lent to a less experienced paddler that skipped the rapid. EVERY paddler on a river need to carry a throw bag and have it handy when scouting/walking. If more than one person had been swimming, the one throw bag would not have been enough (they can't be re-used immediately). If you feel that you don't have enough experience to use it, carry one anyway: someone else could use it. Or it could be needed to extract something out of the river.
(2) I chased Jacques' boat for over 500 m because I could not hold it long enough to empty it, nor push it on shore. The problem? Inadequate floatation. Why wasn't the boat fully equipped with floatation bags? Because one less experienced paddler had NO floatation at all in the boat, and Jacques took the risk of lending his own air bags. It is imperative that EVERY paddler, regardless of skill level, paddles a boat that is fully outfitted with floatation.
A classic case of unforeseen 'Domino Effect': the choices made by some paddlers (insufficient floatation, inadequate clothing, lack of safety gear etc.) have repercussions for people OTHER than them. You will recall that the person who unfortunately died on the Moose river this fall was chasing after SOMEONE ELSE's gear. I took the time this Spring to write about minimum safety gear requirements when running rivers:
http://www.cdb-ottawa.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=4403.0Read it! The topic has only been viewed a relatively few times, generated only one real reply, and clearly wasn't taken seriously. Proper attention to safety could save your own life, but just as importantly, it could allow you to sleep at night for the rest of your life if a tragedy is avoided.
On a lighter note, below are a few photos from the run. Cheers! --Christian
