We've had a very warm November, and have had a lot of good group outings very late into the season.
Having just come off a cold day on the Ottawa, I want to gently remind everyone that a cold weather run is serious business.
One member of today's party, a paddler with only a few months of experience, showed up at the put-in with a 20+ year old slalom boat that they had only paddled once before, on flat water with no skirt (the skirt was brought today).
While a dry-suit is an excellent piece of safety equipment, a long swim in water of this temperature will still lead quickly to hypothermia. Further, an unfavourable encounter with a rock or tree, and the dry-suit very quickly becomes an unmanageably heavy wet-suit.
As was tragically demonstrated on the Moose river this fall, others put themselves at risk when attempting to rescue you and your equipment. Your decisions affect more people than just you.
I was seriously tempted to refuse participation in the run. Instead, I chose to voice my concerns, pack some supplies, and evaluate how McKoy's played out, as we had a reasonably easy exit route below Little Picky, should the poop and fan meet.
Our eager slalom boater demonstrated an impovement in judgement by portaging the better part of the rapid, and taking some time in the wavetrain below Horseshoe to acquaint themselves with the unfamiliar craft in busy water.
Improved judgement was the theme of the day, as rapids were portaged as appropriate, and everyone had a safe and enjoyable run.
To recap some lessons from the day:
1. December is not the time to try out drastically different equipment.
2. December is not the time to test equipment that hasn't been proven in battle.
3. A dry-top or dry-suit doesn't make the water any less cold.
4. Means to start a fire becomes a necessary part of your safety gear.
5. Your actions and decisions can and will have an impact on others in your party.
I hope this doesn't come off as overly finger-waggy, as it isn't meant to be. I merely wanted to share what I learned today.
Edit to add:
At the take-out, it became clear that the webbing feeding through the buckle on my quick-release rescue belt had frozen, becoming a no-release belt. Keep this in mind when towing a boat or performing a live-bait rescue.
