I'm sure we can all look back at those moments now and wonder how the heck we made it this far.
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My afternoon
- Thread starter Hasselhoss
- Start date
I'm sure we can all look back at those moments now and wonder how the heck we made it this far.
I had a chance to sit down with my son last night and do an "after action report". I asked him what he would do differently or how he would prepare for such outings in the future. I asked him what items he found himself missing or wishing he'd remembered.
His response:
- He had no idea why he had decided to take my survival hawk for a boat trip nor why he had turned around at the door and retrieved a Bic lighter from the drawer as he was leaving. He was very glad that he did though.
- While he did pack a lot of supplies in an army rucksack and lashed it securely to the canoe he did not take measures to waterproof the sack. He said that next time he will put the pack in a large thick trash bag.
- Wet towels are heavy and worthless
- Wet spare clothes are heavy and worthless
- He would have left his truck keys hidden near the truck rather than taking them along.
- In the future he will check the river level and call the DNR if it looks questionable.
- He will make sure he checks in periodically at predetermined intervals with his position so that they could be located with better accuracy if they were to get stranded again.
- Every person on the trip needs basic survival tools. Had the lighter been lost or ruined they would have been in bad shape. The water was frigid and the only thing that saved them was getting that fire going quickly.
- Using a river kayak without training or a Kayak skirt was a bad idea (he was in a canoe but his friends used river kayaks w/o skirts)
- Bring "just in case" food/water that you do not plan on using on the trip.
- A real handheld GPS would have been extremely beneficial as the phone's GPS wouldn't work without cell signal.
- Cowboy boots were a poor choice in canoeing footwear
Jim, I can not believe this. I am scared three days later and just reading about it. Glad everyone is safe.
glad to hear outcome ,I'm sure it was a ton of bricks lifted off your shoulders when you seen him. as a daddy myself we will do whatever it takes to get our family out of harms way no matter if they are 17 or 77 . good job daddy not just for getting him out but for teaching him what to do.
Glad everyone is ok
Man that OP read like a suspense novel. Glad all are safe.
Just about split my sides when I read the line about cowboy boots not being a good choice for river wear. Glad all ended up well. Vini vedi vici !
