Wasit throwbag; in-boat throwbag; pin kit including two light pulleys, four prusiks (two long, two short), four locking Omega D's, four webbing pieces (five foot, 2-ten footers, twenty footer); breakdown paddle; duct tape by the oodles; extra foam; hiking shoes or Chacos; Extra downy fleece getup in a drybag including socks; waterproof matches; small baggie of dry starter tinder (when you boat the NW you know this is a good thing); whistle; knife; folding saw; extra NRS cam strabs for holding things together...
If you are in the right area a rappel rig is useful, too. With a spectra bag, a harness, an ATC or figure 8 and a locking'biner you can get tons done. Be sure to clip your boat to your belay loop and not to the harness proper.
First aid kit: Sam splint, CPR mask, occlusive dressing, cravats galore, gauze, tape galore-duct and medical and curlex, iodine, advil and percoset, epi-pens, neosporin, burn salve, space blanket or two-maybe a bivy sack if it's winter or early spring, iodine tablets for drinking water
DON'T FORGET THE ENERGY BARS/PACKETS
And, actually, one of the things I got into doing on longer trips is to bring a small canister stove in a drybag and a pot. When it's a long, wet day and you have a cup of tea to relax at lunch or some ramen it makes it really nice. Yeah, a fire on the side of the river works just as well, granting you can get one started even if it's raining and it's worth it to you given time constraints, but the stove is really simple and nice to have if you can fit it in the boat.
I also take packets of Emergen-C. One of the tricks I learned mountain guiding was that often times when people are bonking they're just low on electrolytes. Boil a pot of water with two Emergen-C packets and have 'em slurp it down and it can really do the trick. Stuff is AWESOME!
I often think that the epic prevention kit can be whittled down to just a basic un-pin and fix kit and you can avoid most problems. Yeah, the cut you got on your face from that rock might get infected, but you take that risk, eh?
Ever been in a siteation where your buddy boats ahead of you, pulls into an eddy below a hole and you end up stuck in the hole unable to escape and you end up swimming and he's desperately trying to pop his skirt and reach for the bag? I have, and it sucks, so a waist bag is well worth it. So is having an extra, long standard bag.
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
pin kit including two light pulleys, four prusiks (two long, two short), four locking Omega D's, four webbing pieces (five foot, 2-ten footers, twenty footer);
I took a SWR course with a guy that thought pulleys were overkill and you only needed a couple of 'biners. He's probably right, but I like having the pulleys along anyways, and the little ones take up minor space. We all know what the rest of the stuff is for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
breakdown paddle; duct tape by the oodles;
Obvious again...paddles break or get let go of. Helmets break, skirts tear and duct tape and elbow pads can make awesome emergency helmets (thanks to the Cobra crew in Steamboat for your story on the Elk).
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
extra foam;
Ever had your hip pads float away in a nasty swim? I have, and it sucks boating down the river in a modified bath tub.
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
hiking shoes or Chacos;
For the inevitable long hike out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
Extra downy fleece getup in a drybag including socks; waterproof matches; small baggie of dry starter tinder (when you boat the NW you know this is a good thing);
When your boat breaks and you're miles out and you're soaking wet you'll be glad you have something warm and DRY to put on...and also start a fire. The fleece might be the bulkiest thing I carry, but it's many uses make it worth it. Also nice when the weather turns bad and your little polypro getup under your drysuit(top) isn't doing it anymore...or you realize the water is just plain colder than you thought.
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
whistle; knife; folding saw; extra NRS cam strabs for holding things together...
Rivers are loud, skirts snag, strainers happen to good drops and boats crack. I seriously saw a guy fix a three foot piton crack that ran lengthwise down his boat with three cam strabs and gobs of duct tape. Finished the rest of the day in style!
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
If you are in the right area a rappel rig is useful, too. With a spectra bag, a harness, an ATC or figure 8 and a locking'biner you can get tons done. Be sure to clip your boat to your belay loop and not to the harness proper.
First aid kit: Sam splint, CPR mask, occlusive dressing, cravats galore, gauze, tape galore-duct and medical and curlex, iodine, advil and percoset, epi-pens, neosporin, burn salve, space blanket or two-maybe a bivy sack if it's winter or early spring, iodine tablets for drinking water
I am, after all, an EMT and an ex-ski patroller. Ask the other patrollers here how nasty it can get fast and how nice it is to have old reliable in your stern bag. Oh, and iodine tablets...I survived a climbing week in the Wind Rivers with iodine tablets and nothing else. If you really wantd to make it a survival kit you could throw in some fishing hooks, a baggie of powerbait and a couple hundred feet of 10 weight line...takes up almost no space at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
DON'T FORGET THE ENERGY BARS/PACKETS
We all get hungry. Even on short trips when you're exerting yourself hard you can get surprisingly hungry. Burning food and sugars can also help heat the body in the cold and potentially stave off hypothermia/shock.
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
And, actually, one of the things I got into doing on longer trips is to bring a small canister stove in a drybag and a pot. When it's a long, wet day and you have a cup of tea to relax at lunch or some ramen it makes it really nice. Yeah, a fire on the side of the river works just as well, granting you can get one started even if it's raining and it's worth it to you given time constraints, but the stove is really simple and nice to have if you can fit it in the boat.
There's no real justification/need for this. It is a true extravagance. However, when you whip out the hot tea on a 12 hour boating day in a really far out canyon your buddies will promise to buy you heaven, guaranteed. A Jetboil is tiny, and the pot doubles as a container for holding things like first aid necessities or elements of your pin kit or, heck, your socks and fleece shirt!
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
I also take packets of Emergen-C. One of the tricks I learned mountain guiding was that often times when people are bonking they're just low on electrolytes. Boil a pot of water with two Emergen-C packets and have 'em slurp it down and it can really do the trick. Stuff is AWESOME!
I saw many a flatlander come to life at 12,500 feet after bonking hard enough to convince them they would not be summitting that day. It's like a second wind in a pouch. Most people don't realize how many electrolytes they need and that they also need it for the body to utilize water effectively. Without it water just sits outside the cells...put in a little electrolyte stew and the cells start drinking it up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhoser
I often think that the epic prevention kit can be whittled down to just a basic un-pin and fix kit and you can avoid most problems. Yeah, the cut you got on your face from that rock might get infected, but you take that risk, eh?
This statement was to imply that yeah, an ultimate creekin' kit is just that, ultimate, but is in no ways the necessity. You have no idea how many days I've headed out with a buddy to scout a river and some drops and we end up putting in for a four hour gnar fest replete with bad swims, nasty pins and cuts and bruises. Those are the days you rethink what you should ALWAYS have in your car for "just in cases" as you run the steeps with little more than a single throwbag between two of you and a couple of 'biners and some webbing for anchors.
As an example, we had a day during flood in the UP where we went to run a creek that had been run a sum total of once before. Actually, we started by going to scout it (hike it with boats) and we had about two hours before dark. It's not long, but the put in and take out are far enough from each other that a hike out would be miserable. We had one bag and I had two 'biners (luckily) and a five footer of webbing still in my vest. The run was *mostly* uneventful until we got into the thick of it. It goes V, V, V+, V, V+. We were so honed in on the drops (after deciding to do it) we barely noticed the time when it started getting dark. We were three drops from the take out when we noticed. One bad swim by my buddy led to a really cut badly leg. We didn't have much, so just kept going. We were in a deep gorge and the only way to hike it would be back up the creek, so we just kept on it. Last drop before the mile long hike out and I took a really bad swim. Hit a sieve, boat pinned and I grabbed the rope in the nick of time. Paddle was 15 feet under water in the sieve...minimal pin kit with a trucker's hitch got the boat out, and I hand paddled the last 1/4 mile to the take out. It was pitch black (which reminds me about how useful a headlamp is for the "ultimate creekin' kit") when we took out and started the hike under the stars.
We were cold, hurt, rattled and jazzed on what we had done, but we realized really quickly that there are roadside park and hucks and then there are creeks in boonie country.
Granted, I drive a CFS and have the room to take the ultimate kit, but I think it's worth stuffing a lot of that in there for those long days. I know that years after my learning experience and the value of my ultimate kit has provided me with enough comfort to make me think about even more (could I fit my Crazy Creek in there, too?). I know I read about the 1 day descent of the Stikine where they took a long a starter log soaked with gas and had a quickie bonfire...stuff like that can make or break a big trip, even if only a day trip.
LOL, Jessssus! WOW, climb you haul the shit around. That's more than I take to upper cherry or middle kings.
Day of creeking- 2 pulleys, 3 prusiks, 2 5ft 8mm rope tied in prusik, waist throw bag, dry bag, baggie of cut up bike tubes and lighter, wp matches,gum, duct tape and an apple. Over nights different stories and depends the trip and climate. For instance no need for bivy in cali in june july, ect..
Gary I take it the tubes are for fixing cracks - what's your routine for that?
I'm actually more curious to know what people carry playboating than creeking. We all know creeking requires more thought and care, but what about play runs? I stopped using floatation in my playboat years ago to improve the balance when cartwheeling, but I tend to carry hand paddles and Chacos. Throw rope on the PFD and a few locking biners - that's all I tend to take on play runs. Probably ought to re-evaluate that.
On a play run it depends...play runs can actually be just as remote as a creek run if you think about it...it's just the style of the river that differs. That said, I don't generally take as big a kit for play runs and for a couple of good reasons:
What do I need a saw for on established play runs like the Gorge? Impromptu and unplanned strainers are few and far between on play runs. I also don't generally need the backup fleece because I generally run creeks in the cold spring. Think UP in April when you're running creeks in 30 degree weather with four feet of snow on the ground. That's creek season, not playboat season.
My un-pin kit is usually smaller. I feel I can get by with two 'biners and a piece of tubular webbing 10' long and a trusty bag. Always have a river knife. I like a good first aid kit, and take that on play runs...my first aid kit includes the Emergen-C and iodine tablets for water. I don't need a stove, and I take a nalgene wrapped with many feet of duct tape.
I also don't usually take a breakdown paddle, but probably more for space saving reasons than overkill reasons. They are nice to have in a pinch. I always bring my Chacos in my stern.
No need for a rappel rig, still always have some WP matches, even on a play run, it's part of my first aid kit, as is a space blanket.
So, much less on a play run.
Also, I don't get how flotation unbalances your boat for cartwheels. Bladder or not it's air trapped in your boat. In a bladder it's just sectioned. I carry a small stern bag.
Also, I like having a waist bag for creeking or running anything big, but for playboating I hate having it on my person. So, I don't take the waist bag, but sometimes I think I should. Running something like the numbers it can be nice just to make sure your buddy isn't going to have a long swim.
So, to sum it up:
Light unpin kit-two 'biners and some webbing
throwbag
Chacos
First aid kit including WP matches, Emergen-C and a space blanket
River knife
Water
Maybe some energy bars or gu
Small stern bag
Now, if it's park and play all this stuff stays in the truck!
Also, I don't get how flotation unbalances your boat for cartwheels. Bladder or not it's air trapped in your boat. In a bladder it's just sectioned.
That's what I thought before I tried it. I had a friend who said it made a difference so I tried it and it did. Of course playboats were longer so the floatation weighed more, and modern boats have less swing weight. Might not make so much of a difference now that I am a better playboater but even then I wasn't swimming out of my playboat so it didn't matter really. I know it sounds kinda loony and I thought so too until I tried it. Not something to do until you know you aren't going to yard sale, or your friends will be pissed.
and i like how climbhoser reminds us to leave the safety equipment in the truck when playboating. I want to see the loops with the kit in the boat and without.
but seriously, his final summary seems pretty good. I don't have all that stuff, but a few of the people I boat with do, and maybe someday when I get a job I'll have it all too. For now I'll follow those that do. And I must say how impressed I am with the extremely detailed post.
I think the Deputizer is stoked safety equipment was around last week.
Last edited by iliketohike; 06-05-2007 at 03:10 AM..
I want to see the loops with the kit in the boat and without.
hmm, anti-thruster, it sort of makes sense, throw some weights in the bow and stern and get the ends deeper
I like my arcteryx shell for emergency gear, it takes up virtually no space, its coated with super micro fleece.
I am having a hard time imagining why someone would need prusseks and loops of webbing, when you need to tie some knots, and you have a rope otherwise, doesn't a flat or circular prussik rope equally well?
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