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Bloomie Release - Sat, 14 Sep - BLIND MEN with ELE...
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Despite the recovery of the paddle, the group should have stayed together below the rapid as safety for the second wave of paddlers to come through. Second wave thought the disappeared first wave was either chasing a swimmer, a boat, a paddle, or all of the above. There was no communication that the person who had spilled had retrieved his equipment. They simply disappeared downriver. The second wave thought they were coming to the aid of the paddler reporting that the paddle had not been retrieved. We were in the process of having a paddler carry up and ferry across to get the paddle presumably left on the shore. Fortunately, paddlers from the first wave walked up to inform us it was not necessary.
In fact, John has gone out and bought a pair - on spec.  We'll try them out on the next big trip, and if they work, buy another pair.
Would two way radios kept in dry bags and dispersed throughout the group be a consideration?
Blind Men with Elephant    by John Snitzer

We had the usual suspects plus a cast of thousands last weekend for the Bloomington release. Leaders: Beth Koller, John Snitzer, Alf. Barb, Peter Ryan, Allison Holliday,  Kathleen, Carrie Singer, Cindy Rogers, Lisa Weed, John Enagonio, Lisa Fallon, Miki Komlosh, Dave Stockdill & bowman, Jean O’Steen, and Doug Johnson, seventeen boats in all.  Saturday we ran Barnum to Bloomington at 1,000 cfs.  Sunday, we ran a lower section from Westernport to Black Oak Landing, details in that TR.

We had a few minor incidents but most paddlers had dry hair days.  Beautiful day. Summer flowers are almost gone with only a few cardinal flowers and a bit of ironweed.  The woods asters were out in the deep woods and  goldenrods flowered on the shore.

One situation, below Robin's Nest became the river-danger poster child for the trip.  A paddler flipped in shallow water, river left, below Robin's and crab walked, still in boat, over to shore where they hip-snapped up.  A second paddler closed on the first to render aid as needed, retrieved the dropped paddle, and threw it to shore.  First paddler headed downstream hand paddling and was reunited with their paddle further downstream by paddler three.  All safe.  End of story?  No.

We all ended up in eddies, scattered out over 200 yards along the river on river right in the long rapid below Robin's (LRBR).  The top group, near the original bobble thought there was a paddle stranded on the bank on river left and a possible swimmer.  Middle group knew that the hand paddler had been re-paddled and was fine.  Lower group was concerned that there was a serious problem upstream.  

LRBR is a long continuous class 1-2 rapid.  The river was tumbling and loud so yelling to communicate was useless.  Whistles carried only a short distance.  During the run through Robin's we had a brief thunderstorm.  The ominous clouds and rolling thunder made the approach to Robin's nicely dramatic as the tree canopy closed in.  But the warm rain and increased humidity combined with the cold water of the North Branch to give us a six foot layer of fog.  Visibility was poor.  Our three groups, each with different concerns, sat isolated and immobilized and unable to communicate.

Eventually, thoughtful people walked upstream and explained the situation and we were reunited.

The problem was that because we were so badly scattered, we had limited ability to address even a minor problem.  LRBR  was not difficult or dangerous that day although there was a lot jam on river right mid-rapid.  The river is cold and LRBR is long so a swim could have serious consequences.  A paddler died here five or six years ago, from a heart problem I believe.  I've been involved in rescuing two different paddlers in this stretch in years past.  After long swims, they were exhausted and disoriented.  Clearly this was a time when we wanted to concentrate our resources and support the group.  Yet we were badly dispersed.

This problem has happened on trips twice recently, on a flooded Tearcoat Creek and on the lower Yough on a cold wet day.  Everyone was safe eventually but I felt exposed and at risk.  This type of lapse can only happen so many times before there is a calamity.  What would prevent these situations?  Please add your comments using the blue "REPLY" arrow above.

One additional note: the tree that fell across the jug handle channel river right, last rapid before the takeout, is breaking up and can be run safely on the left.

Seven of us camped at New Germany SP Saturday night. Special thanks to Peter for an exceptional array of fatty snacks, necessary for nutrient replenishment, to Alf for his bacon and mushroom spaghetti, and to Barb for pre-trip brownies and a fine pecan pie.  No vegetables were harmed in the production of this meal. The best part of camping was, according to several, that the men did all the cooking while the ladies relaxed and enjoyed their beverages.

The combination of two separate sections of the North Branch was pleasant.  Paddling a lower section Sunday addressed the problem of the early shut-off (11 AM) of the dam on non- whitewater release weekends.  For the record, it takes a full hour to get from New Germany to the Westernport put-in and mobile-phone service is dodgy everywhere.
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