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Posts Tagged ‘Falls and Whacks
28
Oct
11
Winter Vehicle Stay Put Kit
Well, I don’t live in the most dangerous environ for Winter travel unless I decide to venture up the Columbia R. Gorge during a Winter Blast affair. But, I do drive to the coast on wet, dark, foggy mornings or push down a few logging roads to gain access to a drift. At any point, I might lose the fog line or sight of the edge of the road and take an unexpected diversion off the side of the road.
In such a case, I might be ok to hike out for help, but I might be better served to stay with my rig until conditions (weather/lighting) improve (stats suggest you will live longer if you stay with your rig). We all know the basic first aid stuff we tend to carry, but do you really know how to use it and do you have enough materials to handle a laceration or fracture? Pain?
Basics Again: Does anyone know where you were headed and/or your scheduled return? The benefit of staying with your rig is that people know the general area of your outing so you will be found. Truly warm clothing and shelter for inside your rig with broken windows or while upside down? Extra clothing? Light? High Energy Food/Calories? Water? Do you really know where you are up that watershed? Maps? Plastic tarp? Waterproofed matches? Light sources?
That survival kit: where is it in your rig? In the back under the canopy or in the trunk? Can you reach into that section now? It might be better to always keep that Winter (or any season) Survival Kit in the passenger compartment where you can access it when out in the wilds.
Many of you travel in serious Winter conditions and are confident that you can handle most anything, because you have over and over. What if’s become muted with the routine of no mishaps or close calls. Your rig can go anywhere. You know better.
The rest of us, have no excuse because we should know we are headed into conditions we are totally unaccustomed to….no excuses…be prepared.
Driver Dies….Not Wearing Seat Belt
Seems about this time of year with the change in the weather, I get into this ‘be prepared mode’. I probably go out into a wilderness setting more in the Spring and Summer, but the elements, light and the occasional lost hiker prompt me to at least share my concerns about being prepared and safe.
The just recent cases of an Oregon lady supposedly lost in the Mt. Hood Wilderness and the recovery/deceased of another woman in the nearby State of Washington raised my awareness to an internal process in Search and Rescue (SAR) missions: The consulting with experts to evaluate your probable chances of survival given the factors: were you prepared (gear), do you have a history of knowing how to conduct yourself in the wilds, the weather, the terrain, your known health/fitness factors, etc.
I want to share some very interesting stats and time line markers re the search and termination of the search should you become lost. The resources are very fascinating and should be read and shared.
“Oregon Health & Science University emergency medicine researchers set out to develop a model that could be used by search and rescue teams to determine when a search and rescue (SAR) mission could be terminated without abandoning potential survivors. The model found time to be the most important variable in determining whether a person will be found alive. Ninety-nine percent of people found alive were found within the first 51 hours after being reported missing. Their findings are published in the most recent edition of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.“
“The model found a high rate of survival for people found within 17 hours of first being reported missing, a moderate rate of survival for those missing between 17 and 51 hours, and a low rate of survival for individuals missing for more then 51 hours. The analysis also found people reported missing in May through October were less likely to survive, as were people older than 60. Individuals reported missing on land were more likely to be found alive than those reported missing from a water-based activity.” (Read the entire report)
The SAR Missions are now, and probably have been, but now it is more openly presented, using these timeline markers and ‘experts’ to decide if the search will continue. If you are lost, you need to stay safe, composed and alert to SAR operations trying to find you. If you are family/friends of the lost person, the difficult decision re termination of SAR ops will be presented to you given the above timelines at some point. The probabilities of survival will be used to protect the searching resources. A fact of life, maybe a fact in death. Be prepared!!!
After a nearly perfect day of fly fishing, I was departing the lake, driving along a narrow road, bordered on one side by a very steep bank down to the lake and on the other side by a steep embankment. I was enjoying the last glimpses of the lake on my left. I turned to the right to see a rather large rock/boulder careening down the embankment. I tried to accelerate. Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.
Regardless the rock smacked into my right, rear quarter panel and did what big rocks do best to cars. I am thankful it didn’t come in slightly higher at the window level.
The Rig After Impact ~SwittersB~
Fly Fishing, Outdoor Safety: It’s a bitch getting old. That could suffice. Says it all. But, then I wouldn’t have anything to write. Random recollections: back pain, hip pain, joints tight, balance issues, tentative moves, a little mounting anxiety, you get there yes, but you still have to climb out.
Muscle pulls and injuries are seemingly normal, early on, if you play hard, work hard. They heal. Some linger. You deal, you wear them like a purple heart…been there, done that. But, later the purple hearts acquire a patina, crusty like coating of something more intrusive…Arthritis
We hear this word, I heard this word, and associated it with little, elderly women with the sadly gnarled fingers/knuckles of their hands. Poor girls. Such dignity while continuing forth. Well, the insidious ‘A’ word does not confine itself to little old hands. It creeps into joints and the spine, into those that are not that old.
Back to the river. As I stood atop the rise above the river, I remarked that the distance and pathway are almost always more cumbersome than it appears from atop. Those rocks are bigger than they look from above. The water is bigger, faster, less than you think from above. So, before you commit down over the edge make sure you size it up well before you make the decision to commit your body to the downward and lateral trek across those boulders.
The ankles, hips and back are tight. The reduced range of motion catches up with you. You commit to those steps out over deep, jagged holes. You reach and place the foot and feel restrictions you didn’t use to feel. The next step is not as fluid as you support your body in a tenuous position over a hole. It dawns on you that your body is tight. You also notice that when you stand upright for a moment you are a bit wobbly. Balance is impeded and you lurch this way and that. Not good. You reach out for the rocks, bent over, holding closer to those abrasive supports. No warm ups or stretching will do much for this reality. You best pick your routes or places to fish with care. The old Clint Eastwood admonition of ‘a man’s got to know his limitations’ is true.
Back Side Creek, Poking Around (SwittersB)
Descending down, fly rod in hand is supposed to be exciting anticipation. A stalking of sort. Don’t let your limitations hinder you, plan ahead. Calculate your route and once you learn that those rocks are bigger than you realize, avoid those routes in the future. Leave it to the younger person that has a bit of Parkour hops in their steps. This is a reality moment that we all must accept. If you don’t, well you will be wearing a bigger purple heart.
Most of us park near the water we intend to fish and don our gear, hike in, fish and walk back out. No fuss. No concern. I have previously written about letting someone know where you intend to fish or trying (if cell coverage allows) to let someone know when you have moved. Proper clothing, water, a whistle, fully charged phone are all a good idea. More challenging hikes up stream drainages or cross country to find that lake you saw on Google Maps require more planning. I came upon this piece @ Stumbleupon that provides some organizing suggestions for your review and possible adoption. Leave room for the fly box and rod/reel case (4 pc.)
Bushcraft Hiking Gear
STUMBLEUPON ARTICLE RE BUSHCRAFT ORGANIZING AND ITEMS LINKING IN USAGE
Taking a Break at River's Edge (SwittersB~PP)
More often than not, you are fly fishing and suffer a tangle of your rigging. The tangle has to be re-rigged and the problem is at the tip of the rod or leader. The angler sets the rod down reel first and often onto a hard surface (rocks). Aside from the cosmetic damage of abrasion to the reel, there is a bigger problem that can cause serious damage to your reel: the reel hits the surface with enough force (it does not take much force) to bend the outer rim of the reel’s spool and crimp that inner slot that fits against an inserted flange that helps stabilize the spool to the reel housing. What results is either a reel that will not turn or turns with an intermittent grinding.
This is a very hard ding to fix and most people don’t have the machinist capabilities to return the reel to normal. Given the price of reels and spare spools, you might want to pause and look where you are about to set that reel down. You will hopefully avoid the grit, abrasion and dings that cause serious damage to your reel.
Reel apart exposing spools inner rim and reel housing (Loudog Pic~My Text added) SwittersB
Finally, a sunny day. Often in Portland, Oregon when the wind blows out of the Columbia River Gorge on a Spring/Summer day the temperatures rise and the trees sway. I was sitting on the back deck gaining some Vitamin D when I opened my eyes and gazed upwards to the tops of the swaying Alders. Imagine my surprise when I viewed a dark shape nearly at the top of the tree. Probably 60+’ up was an animal. A raccoon ? A cat? I grabbed the telephoto lens and shot away as I could see it was a cat. A domesticated cat? A pregnant domesticated cat? A fat cat? Regardless, of its origins, it was a cat holding on as the tree swung several feet in either direction in the strong East wind.
Cat in a Tree 1 SwittersB
Cat in a Tree 2 SwittersB
Cat in a Tree 3 SwittersB
Cat in a Tree 4 SwittersB
On this particular day, I do indeed hope the cat has 9 lives. My back yard has been visited by Coyotes, Hawks and Raccoons. I hope this cat makes it down. The wind will blow for several more hours as temps rise. Hold on Kitty. I have to leave for the afternoon/evening in the midst of this wild life-domesticated pet drama. I will have faith that in any lulls with the wind, Penelope (yes I named her) will move downward toward safety.
Penelope the Cat: Down & Out (SwittersB)
Well now….I arrive home from a family gathering and bit of a drive, tired and ready to hit it. Oh yeah…the cat in the tree? It is pitch black out back, so I get a flash light and shine it to the top of the tree. Bouncing back are the reflective eyes at the top of the tree. And, a non-stop of woeful ‘meows’. The wind had stopped by now. What the hell now? I walk over into the area of the tree, with a small spring separating the tree from myself. The tree is oddly swayed and rotten branches extend up a good 40′ up into the flourishing area where the cat pleads for help.
A few neighbors gather and a discussion ensues with the options of ‘let’s go to bed’; ‘it’s a cat, it will be ok’; ‘let’s cut the tree down’; ‘now?’; ‘would the fire department come out?’; ‘really?’. ‘Here kitty kitty’s’ are offered upward and ‘meows’ respond downward.
Our flashlights point upward, and suddenly as if either drawn to our summons or thinking ‘finally, I can see were I am going!’…Penelope the Cat commences a harrowing, claw clinging, upside down descent from on high. This little drama results in a bunch of ‘oh my God’s’ and ‘I can’t watch’s’. The cat is silent. Every ounce of that cat’s being is clutching that tree’s trunk as it slides inch by inch, sometimes a rapid foot all at once, down that tree trunk. This draws out until, we are certain there cannot be any energy left to continue. Yet that cat did, until the final five feet. It swung around tail (half tail missing) downward and after hanging by the claws it let go into the brush below, beside the small stream. I met Penelope and she was immediately drawn to me.
Well this resulted in a rather sleepless night of my two dogs, annoyed as hell, testing the lightning quick paws of Penelope. Not a relaxing night. And, the cat was/is badly dehydrated and starving. Who knows how long it had been up there? It is now open to debate within the family of how to proceed. I will be dutiful to scour the area for wanted posters.
For now, I need to make a litter box or decide if this is a house cat or outside cat…should Penelope decide to stay awhile. zzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mmmmmmmmmmmmm,,,,, (I do know the cat is fascinated by the cursor moving on the screen here).
Maryam Peigahi of Damsel Flies Fishing Club
“Many of life’s passages leave women akin to a light house on the Oregon coast: weathered, worn, stronger, still standing. The trials of death, divorce, children, health, elder parents, career….the list of life goes on….it tests our resolve, sometimes day after day. So, the other evening I made my way to a club outing (practicing our casting at an area park) for the Damsel Flies, I was self absorbed with my life’s concerns. I arrived and saw the familiar faces and some new faces. I was pleased to see newer faces because it means the club is vital and growing. It has been a positive experience in my life.
But, as I stood there something else occurred to me. I am not alone, as a woman, with the travails of life. As I gazed out at the familiar faces I knew that many, all?, of these women have withstood enormous hardships, heart breaks and the joys of life. Yet, here they stood before me as positive, supportive mentors and ready friends. No need to pour out anyone’s latest woes. Rather, there is quiet strength and warmth from these stalwart women. I was comforted and renewed.
A club provides outings, how to information, the basics for fly fishing or tying. But, this women’s club provides something deeper and more meaningful: quiet reassurance and hope for moving through life and surviving the unique passages of women. I am happy to be part of the Damsel Flies Fly Fishing club. Locate a club near you and join. The advantages are deeper than you might at first expect.” Maryam Peigahi
I believe the advantages of clubs are there for men, women and children depending upon the makeup of the club. It is important to note though what Ms. Peigahi pointed to above….sometimes just being around others that have experienced similar hardships is reassuring and supportive. Some of these lessons may not be realized at the time. I can think of several gentlemen, who have passed on, whom I fished with years ago. In my intense, make the most of every moment fishing, I did notice they were not all that concerned with fishing. They were just out there. Their loss I thought at the time. No, my loss. I should have spent a little more time visiting and listening. They were winding down in life. We may not have even talked about anything too deep. Rather I would just have noted their tempo, their expressions, their joy at just being alive and out there. Slow down, look and take it in like Ms. Peigahi did. Blessings abound where you least expect them.
Damsel Flies Fly Fishing Group
