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Monday September 10, 2007

A Foreword to Fun

By Bill Sedivy, Former American Whitewater Board member, Author of River's End, Executive Director Idaho Rivers United
    I remember the launch of my first multiday river trip as if it were yesterday.
   There were six of us -- all fairly experienced paddlers, but novices in the world of river expeditions -- preparing to embark on a five-day journey through Desolation and Gray Canyons on Eastern Utah’s Green River. It wasn’t a pretty scene at the Sand Wash put-in.
   More than a dozen dry bags lay scattered around the beach. Cases of beer baked in the hot sun. There were bags of potato chips everywhere. Everyone, it seemed, had brought along a lifetime supply of Lays. Lying loose in the dirt were ropes, straps, carabiners, and cargo nets. Being safety conscious, we had extra life jackets, paddles, and throw bags, plus climbing rope, plus clothesline for securing odds and ends.
   Now ordinarily, I’m a pretty easy-going guy. But on the day of our launch, at the start of my first-ever river expedition, my temper was as stormy as the winds that must have blown all that gear around the put-in. First, all of our supplies had to fit in one, 14-foot self-bailing raft, which I was rowing. No way. Second, it was 90 degrees by 10 a.m.
   But the bottom line was that we had no idea what we were doing.
   Before long, I began to snap at my traveling companions.

River Management Society News, Winter 2004, Vol. 17, No. 4

Book Review

River Otter - Handbook For Trip Planning

Published by Anotter Press, LLC, Boise, ID.

ISBN: 0-9740046-0-X.

$24.95

Review by Jack Mosby

RMS Member, Alaska Chapter

This 286-page book offers a plethora of ideas, outlines, menus, and check-, shopping-, gear-, cooking-, and packing-lists to help you prepare and plan for any sized road accessible multiple day river trip. It is a complete
reference for the self-outfitted canoer, kayaker, or rafter.

The book is organized into seven parts:
1. preliminaries [river management],
2. trip planning [crew and capacities, communication, timetable], 3. trip organization [team approach for camp duties, meals, clean-up, privy, water, loading],

   “Geez, Doug,” I bellowed. “We said one bag each. What in the hell are you going to do with all this stuff! A wetsuit! You’re kidding. It’s a hundred degrees out here! What are we going to do if I pin this boat? It’s a barge! Isn’t there anything we can leave in the trucks?”
   Eventually, my companions--and worst of all, my wife Maryl--began to snap back.
   For the first mile or so, I doubted we would make it out of the canyons alive--much less make 15 miles to our planned destination for the day. Being an eastern paddle-raft guide, I was used to barking orders at my crew to line up for drops on rivers with current, rivers like the New and the Gauley in West Virginia. Left to my own oars, no real current and no crew to bark at, I couldn’t seem to make the damn boat go straight--even in that placid flatwater.
  Finally, I was able to make the boat go straight. Then, ever so gradually, I seemed to get in sync with the flow of the river. The canyon deepened and the miles slid by.
   The remainder of that first expedition went fairly smoothly. Oh sure, we ran out of beer on day two, crushed chips, and had to deal with Maryl's scary allergic reaction to the wrong sunscreen.
   In the end though, we had a ball. We saw new species of birds, deer and other wildlife. We saw pictographs drawn by ancient natives and deep, beautiful canyon walls bathed in the rosy light of early morning. Then there were the stars at night…and the marvelous quiet…quiet that is only experienced in the wilderness.
   Looking back, that trip -- dramas at the put in and all -- changed my life.
   River trips became an essential part of my being. Rivers became highways, taking me to places of quiet solitude, places where I could forget about the day-to-day stresses of life. Rivers have shown me new, spectacular landscapes…and Mother Nature at her best.
   In time, I realized the importance of protecting our rivers and streams from development, pollution, dams,

Bunny Sterin, Verne Huser, and Maria at RMS and Headwaters "Summit on the Snake" 5/17/04 Hoback Ranch, WY

4. responsibilities [leadership, treasurer, quartermaster, transportation, medical/first aid, safety, meal planning],
5. meals [master menu daily menu, food preparation, shopping lists,
cooler-drybox management],
6. packing [staging, loading], and
7. post trip duties.

Along with extensive appendixes covering a safety talk, menus, shopping lists, packing lists, food management, food quantities, meal planning, fuel estimates, recipes, trip permit information-sources, and other resource contacts (over 150), little is left for even the novice river trip planner to worry about.

The text, along with more than 90 photos and drawings and numerous helpful hints and tips, provides a visual path to plan even your first or 179th paddling sojourn. As Bill Sedivy (former American Whitewater board member, current Idaho Rivers United Executive Director, and author of River's End) stated in
the book's forward:

diversion, and inappropriate mining and logging. That realization led me to the board of directors of American Whitewater. And today I work as executive director of Idaho Rivers United, a nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to helping river lovers protect the wild rivers and streams of Idaho.
   But because that initial launch was such a disaster, my life could have turned out very differently. Yes, that Green River expedition could have been ruinous. My marriage, my friendships, and my river-running career could have ended on that hot, July day had the River gods not smiled on me. Only dumb luck, I’m sure, kept Maryl from leaving me after that first trip.
   That is why I urge you to go forward now -- novices and experienced river rats alike -- and read Maria Eschen’s book.
   A veteran river trip planner and participant, a clear and entertaining writer, Maria has put together for us the Koran of coolers, the Torah of teamwork, and the New Testament of timetables, trip logistics, and multiday meal planning.
   In these pages you’ll also find worthwhile tips on safety, first aid, food handling, communication, and conservation -- taking care of the rivers we float.
   Ah…if only I’d had this book to guide me before that chaotic Green River launch. If only I’d had access to Maria’s chapter on dividing trip chores…on menu planning…on packing the raft. It wouldn’t have been the same, I guess -- but Day 1 would have been way more fun.
   So, novice floaters, read on and benefit from Maria’s wisdom and experience. And you, river trip veterans--read on and add to your own store of knowledge.
   Read this book, then have a good laugh the next time you see me at the put in -- searching frantically for that missing kayak paddle or that AWOL life jacket. Go ahead and laugh as I stuff those extra cases of beer back in the truck.
   And by the way, have a nice trip. If you read this book, and don’t forget to review your checklist before you leave the house, you probably will.

"A veteran river trip planner and participant, a clear and entertaining writer, Maria Eschen has put together for us the Koran of coolers, the Torah of teamwork, and the New Testament of timetables, trip logistics, and multiday meal planning."

With over a third of the book dedicated to meals and menu planning, a future title of "Handbook for River Trip and Meal Planning" might be more appropriate. It is a great read and a great addition to your paddling library. River Otter has many personal anecdotes from the author's 30 years of river running, plus an extensive list of resources, bibliography, and index. I highly recommend it.

And finally, two percent of all proceeds are donated to Idaho Rivers United, a nonprofit
conservation organization.

To contact the RMS:

www.river-management.org or call: 1-406-549-0514