[at-l] Crossing the Kennebec

[wb4pan@mindspring.com (Chase Davidson)]

Ya Steve will not carry your pack across anymore. If he carries your
pack it could be considered as an encouragement for a hiker to wade and
could cause a liability on the part of the ATC in the event of a mishap.
He does discourage wading but also chooses to standby for rescue of any
waders before he will ferry anyone across. He is determined that no one
will drown on his watch.

chase

Jim and/or Ginny Owen wrote:
> 
> Considering all the stuff that went by about crossing the Kennebec, no one
> bothered to mention the most practical way for those who believe that
> fording is the "traditional" (and most satisfying) way to do it.  And that
> is to send your pack across with the canoe while you do the ford.  Of
> course, if you believe you "have to" carry the pack all the way, this might
> not be acceptable.  But that's generally a personal problem, especially
> since you're not likely to be actually "wearing" the pack while crossing in
> the canoe anyway.
> 
> There are also a couple obvious caveats on this - like DON'T do the ford if
> the water is high, DON'T do the ford if you can't swim, DON'T do the ford if
> the water is too cold (hypothermia happens a lot faster in water - and even
> faster than that in moving water), DON'T ford alone and DON'T ford barefoot.
>   And finally - DON'T ford at the canoe crossing - the sand bars a couple
> hundred yards upstream are a much better place.
> 
> I think the "DO's" are also fairly obvious - DO learn how to do fords BEFORE
> you get there - like before you even start the Trail.  Keep in mind that
> most AT thruhikers don't have a clue about stream fording techniques - and
> being a thruhiker doesn't automatically confer that knowledge.  OJT
> (on-the-job-training) is real tough if you're trying to do it in the middle
> of the stream.  DO use a hiking pole, stick, whatever -- the "I don't need
> that" attitude is purely dumb, especially when the ford is as wide as the
> Kennebec.  And DO unfasten your pack belt - it's really dumb to lose your
> life just to hang onto the pack.  We watched that scenario on the PCT - one
> man was willing to risk his life rather than lose his pack -- he was a nice
> guy, but in this situation he was dumb, dumb, and dumber.
> 
> There are those who believe that the Kennebec ford is dangerous - and
> they're right, it can be - any ford "can" be dangerous.  We've forded
> streams that were less than 10 ft wide that were extremly dangerous -
> certainly far more so than the Kennebec.  But in most cases the real danger
> is in the ignorance, ego, pride and/or bullheadedness of the individual.
> For the most part though, on a warm day, if you know how to swim fairly
> well, know the basics of stream fording techniques and follow the above
> caveats, the worst that can happen at the Kennebec is that you get a bath
> (which is not a bad thing for a thruhiker) - and the best that can happen is
> that you get a bath (which is not a bad thing for a thruhiker).
> 
> Of course, if you can walk on water, this is all a moot point  :-)
> 
> Walk softly,
> Jim
> 
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