Planning Keeps Adventures Afloat Putting Extra Thought Into Your Outing Can Make It More Fun

The lesson was unplanned. The teacher was all wet.

But participants in a recent four-day wilderness canoeing class got their money’s worth during the overnight graduation trip on the Clark Fork River.

Alan Kesselheim, a veteran Montana paddler with thousands of canoeing miles under his keel, was demonstrating a technique for negotiating a Class 3 rapid, the rating given whitewater requiring difficult maneuvering. The waves were big enough to swamp an open canoe.

After scouting the frothing stretch of river, the other instructor, Tim McWilliams, showed students how to skirt the shoreline to avoid the wild water. He and his partner kept their canoe poised below the rapids. The other students fixed their attention on Kesselheim, who was paired with a student in the bow.

The plan was to demonstrate that floating backward through broad rocky rapids can sometimes be more prudent than going bow first with a heavily loaded canoe. With the bow pointed upstream, canoeists can avoid backpaddling and use more powerful forward strokes to inch downstream and ferry from side to side through the chutes and rocks.

But a huge bulge of water foiled Kesselheim’s plan midway through the rapid, forcing the boat into the stronger current. The instructor had no choice but to spin the sluggish canoe and try to run the waves head on.

Unfortunately, the student in the bow didn’t quite catch the drift. The canoe flipped in a heartbeat during the maneuver, ejecting the two paddlers for a chilling swim in a river frothing with snowmelt.

But nothing was lost.

The paddlers were free to swim to shore because the canoeists at the bottom of the rapid were in position to round-up the canoe.

All the gear had been securely strapped, covered and contained in the boat.

“To tell you the truth, I’ve never dumped with a fully loaded canoe,” Kesselheim said. “In a wilderness situation, you don’t take unnecessary chances.”

Cascade Rapids is a stone’s throw from the Montana highway between St. Regis and Plains, Mont. The consequences of a mishap are much less severe than in the Canadian arctic, where Kesselheim once endured a 13-month adventure with his wife, Marypat Zitzer. The mid-stream change of tactics at Cascade Rapids probably would have been no big deal had Marypat been in the bow. But even two paddlers familiar with each other’s skills should always be prepared for the unexpected, Kesselheim said.

In the four-day course, Kesselheim, Zitzer and McWilliams spoke specifically about planning and tactics for long backcountry canoeing expeditions. But much of the advice is germane to the weekend paddler.

A spray skirt, for example, is cheap insurance for paddlers, Zitzer said. Covering the boat to keep out water makes lake crossings much safer.

“Sometimes having a spray cover is the difference between paddling and sitting on shore for days waiting for the wind to die down,” she said.

On rivers, a cover can be the difference between a quick, easy float through a rapid and the play-it-safe choice to hump all the gear around the obstacle.

For the few hours it takes to compete in the Spokane River Canoe Classic, some paddlers duct tape a sheet of plastic over their canoes. Zitzer has enjoyed years of use from the homemade coated nylon cover she snaps on and off as needed.

McWilliams professed keeping overnight gear simple and contained, rather than sprawled in small pieces throughout the canoe. This makes loading, unloading and portaging much quicker.

Consider the trim of the boat when loading. If a lighter person is in bow, put the heaviest pack toward the front so the canoe is level in the water when everyone is aboard. This improves handling and paddling efficiency.

Keep rain gear and a tarp handy under pack flaps or in small dry bags fastened to thwarts.

Tie maps in waterproof holders to the canoe so they’re available for frequent consultation.

Always have a spare paddle lashed to the thwarts or stashed between packs and the side of the canoe.

Some gear, such as camera cases or waterbottles, can be clipped to a tie-down rope with carabiners.

McWilliams fastens a large fanny pack to a thwart for handy access to first aid supplies (in zipper-type plastic bags), sunscreen, insect repellent, knife, fire-starter and other items.

“Anytime I leave the canoe, I take the pack with me,” McWilliams said.

One box, cooler or pack should be dedicated to food and cooking gear. This simplifies the task of setting up the kitchen and keeping food odors away from sleeping areas in grizzly country.

Most important, Kesselheim said, is to plan carefully - not just before you leave town, but also each time you shove off in your canoe.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo; Graphic: Rigging a tandem canoe