If you paddle regularly, you regularly find yourself helping other people to safety and wrangling their boat and gear after a swim. Or maybe you catch an eddy and watch, wishing you knew how to help or fearing an incident in which you might have to help but don’t...
When you go to the river, I see you catching all those eddies, working those ferries and peel outs. I even see you going for some decent surf sessions. You are proudly working the river, developing your skills as a kayaker, building your boat control and confidence....
So you read my previous article and got all your whitewater gear together and found some paddle buddies. So what rivers should you start on? Where should you go next? I’m going to give my advice for Atlanta area boaters. This advice will go to the upper end of...
White Water Boating Is Safer Than You Think (Really!) Apparently white water tragedies make good press; after all, most kayaking, rafting, and canoeing accidents are widely reported in local papers and on the evening news. This creates an illusion that the sport is...
Are you like me, always on the look out for some new canoe or kayak gear that won’t eviscerate the budget. Do you need a really functional dry box to store your essentials while paddling so that your stuff is dry when you need it. Then you will be pleased to learn...
If a member of your party were struck by lightning while you are camping, hiking, canoeing, or kayaking in the "wilderness" of north Georgia, would you know what to do that might save their life? Lighting has been much in the news lately. The Atlanta area has...
Torso Reflex, or Inhalation Response, is an automatic physiological reaction resulting from sudden immersion into cold water. When sudden immersion takes place, the individual involuntarily gasps, which is a reflexive sucking in of air in an attempt to rapidly...
As some of you already know I had a freak accident on lower Big Sandy Creek on the afternoon of May 1. Brent Austin, Brent’s friend Scott, Charlie Walbridge and I were enjoying a magnificent day on the river, the level was a sweet 6.15 feet, the river was running...
Many boaters don't carry a first aid kit, but they really should. Even on an accessible river like the Ocoee, it's good to have bandages, aspirin and antacid tablets to save a hike back to the car. On more remote trips it can make a big...
by Dick Hurd, MDCool weather is just around the corner, so it is appropriate to take a refresher course on hypothermia,which is defined as a drop in the body's core temperature to less than 95 F. I will discuss the physiology, recognition, practical treatment, and...
