Left my throw rope on the Mulberry.

[Danimal]

Left a mid-size Salamander throw bag sittin' on a rock at Closet- Eddy. Anyone happen to pick it up? A 12-pack of your choice to whoever returns it. Dan-o

[Jim Krueger]

Dan,

About ten years ago, I had Marlo drop me off one morning on a solo float of the North Fork of the Saline River near where we live. At any rate, I re-shuffled things in my kayak at lunch to get my camera, etc. and left the darned throw rope on a gravel bar.. I never saw that rope again, but wondered what the locals must have made of such a thing when they found it. My ultimate hope was always that someone found it intact and carried it home before it strung out into any kind of a hazard. As evidence of my neighbors 'Dukes of Hazard', 'Mud-racing' mentality, I have since rested assured they had no problem with it, and promptly removed it.


Best Regards
Jim

[okieboater]

Jim and Dan, I feel your pain!

Jim, your post brought back memories of a similar incident that happened more than ten years ago to me.

I was doing a Canoe School clinic and had an almost brand new Kokatat gore tex dry suit on. Back when these things were state of the art and a dollar's purchasing power was worth a lot more than it is now. We took out at campbell cemetery. Running our own shuttle and it took some time to get drivers organized so, concerned about my new toy, I carefully found a nice sized bush off to the side and put my dry suit on it to dry. There were a couple of gentlemen wearing overalls, no shirt, pistols on their belts, beer cans in hand riding 3 wheelers doing doughnuts in the dirt around the parking lot. In the middle of all the action getting students and boats loaded on the trucks, I forgot my dry suit. Got back to the Bend discovered no dry suit. Raced back to campbell's - no dry suit. Put out the word that I had a nice reward for return of my dry suit. Never got it back but did hear lots of rumors that my blue and mango dry suit sans latex bindings had been seen around the three wheeler community. Story was that it made a pretty good rain suit without the latex seals.

That was the time I decided that no matter what, at the take out all my boating gear would be either ON, IN or ATTACHED to my KAYAK, CANOE or what EVER I was boating as I went thru the take out drill. Something I have followed faithfully since then and taught my Canoe School students in the many years since I got a very expensive lesson.

So, I truly understand your feelings about lost throw ropes due to leaving them somewhere on the river! I bet that throw rope made a really good clothes line for some one's yard.

Hope others learn from my experience as well.

dave

[Clif]

Dang Bubba, 'at city boy musta had sum skinny arms

[OzarkTom]

Dave, I totally agree...

I lost a brand new, very pricy spray skirt that way a few years back.. Late in the evening getting off the river,
took it off, laid it on the roof of my car (I think?) and never saw it again.
I too feel very strongly that it is a really good idea to clip all your gear into a bundle and clip it into your boat.
Anymore, I even go so far as to clip my paddling shoes together when I take them off:)

Expensive lessons!

[Jim Krueger]

This has been a fun 'old floaters' discussion for sure. I am only glad all I lost was the throw rope on that occasion now
However, earlier, I did have my first nice Kokatat dry top cut completely off by the nice nurse in Jasper so the doctor could put my shoulder back in place. Sure was glad they had at least one pharmacy down the street at the time

Jim

[sig]

As of a couple of years ago, Jasper still had a pharmacy.

[okieboater]

Hi Jim,

To continue our very similar discussions of past historical events while boating and having fun, on Sept 14, 2012 a mile below Horn Creek Grand Canyon, when the flight nurse got there, she had a discussion with Gordo (just retired Paramedic Fire and Rescue expert) then proceeded to use those magic shears paramedics have to start on one leg and like a zipper, cut up across and down to take off my NRS neoprene shorts, Patagucci shorts under the neoprene, year old Kokatat GoreTex Dry top and heavy weight Smartwool top. All of this really good gear I had purchased just for that trip. Amazingly fast transformation. Gordo managed to save my relatively new Kokatat rescue PFD and 5.10 watershoes for me. I was totally out of it at the time but one of my trip buds kept and sent me the garments just for laughs. I don't regret loosing that stuff a bit!! Helped them access the injuries before the move.

Hope both of us don't have anymore experiences like this.

[Richard]

On the other end. I was with a group and in the process of helping others, I lost contact with my gear. Rodger K and I decided to spend the night at Rush. When I got ready to set up camp, I noticed I did not have my cots with me. I drove back down to the takeout. No cots. Checked with outfitters. No cots. Spent the night sleeping on the ground. Next day I notice a tick (which is a whole different story). After a hike up Clabber Creek we headed home. I stopped by Wild Bills and found that one of their drivers had seen the cots on which I had my address. He had a sister in Conway and was going to get them to her so she could get them to me. There are still a lot of good people in this world.