12-28-2004, 06:57 PM
[black][size 4]How to Cross a River on Foot[/size][/black]
It's cold and fast—and you need to get across. But hopping from rock to rock with your boots on is exactly the wrong way to do it, says veteran river runner and Sobek Expeditions founder Richard Bangs.
"Find a wrist-thick, shoulder-height stick—best if it has a natural fork at one end for wedging between rocks," he says. With boots off (you'll have better traction barefoot), "enter the stream facing at an angle against the current, planting the stick upstream, and work slowly across." Your feet will warm up once they're back in dry boots.
[signature]
It's cold and fast—and you need to get across. But hopping from rock to rock with your boots on is exactly the wrong way to do it, says veteran river runner and Sobek Expeditions founder Richard Bangs.
"Find a wrist-thick, shoulder-height stick—best if it has a natural fork at one end for wedging between rocks," he says. With boots off (you'll have better traction barefoot), "enter the stream facing at an angle against the current, planting the stick upstream, and work slowly across." Your feet will warm up once they're back in dry boots.
[signature]