Quote:
Originally Posted by brendan's dad
My only advice would be to take some sort of communication like a "spot" in case of an emergency. The great thing about a river as opposed to the bush is that you will be easy to located if you need help, only problem is that you need to be able to call for that help if needed.
I don't look at taking the "spot" as being a newbie or wimp, I look at it as I owe it to my wife, kids, parents and anyone else that might give a damn about me.
Also, put your survival kit (you know the items plus the "spot") in a water proof bag and tether it your ankle while canoeing with a simple velcro strap. While on a solo canoe trip in the bush it is more important that putting your life jacket on.
|
Just for the record, I don't leave the cell phone behind out of some misguided macho thing. Its just that the experience that I'm after involves there not being a cell phone, a person canoes a river in late October because they want some isolation from the rest of the world for awhile and to me the cell phone spoils that. I've thought about Spot before, but it wasn't considered irresponsible to go deep into the bush without any connection even as little as 10 years ago, we did just fine back then and I'll do just fine now.
I keep all the vital survival items on my belt or in my pockets, if I am dressed my survival kit is on my person. Believe me, after 12 years or so of doing canoe hunts, I don't take these ventures lightly. Making it back home to my family is the main goal, having some meat to show for the whole venture is secondary.
From a completely logical point of view, although one can feel very vulnerable alone in the bush without the technology security blanket around, I honestly think a canoe hunt is actually far more safe than many of the more common types of hunts that people do. Break downs and getting stuck are a non issue, speed beyond the pace of an elderly snail is rarely achieved, the presence of the river makes it practically impossible to get lost, there is no tree climbing involved, there's no booze, few other hunters, no ATV's to roll... compared to the average day hunt that many of you fellows somehow manage to survive a canoe trip is really quite tame.