Lost Paddler on Richland

[canoe]

Someone got off the creek between Roadblock and 1st Crack, this afternoon, and was planning on walking upstream with his boat and gear and lighter on river right. Newton county rescue squad and hopefully helicopter will be looking tommorow a.m. Anybody going up there Monday, plan on going up early to help out. There is a group spending the nite at our cabins, they have done all they could do tonite. Any help would be appreciated. Phone #'s 870-294 -5459 and 870-294-5570. Dale

[Ryan Center]

Oh man, not again. My prayers are with this boater tonight. Did he have pretty good gear on?

[hellbender]

headed up that way with the sleeping bag,climbing gear,and coffee.that countryboy can survive...if anyone has update 501-467-4680 Jodie B

[canoe]

Apparently, he was dry, had good river clothes, and had a lighter, so if he knows any river skills, hopefully can get a fire started. Dale

[Gordon Kumpuris]

Any update?? Who, What, When, Where??

[Jody]

we were the last group down (pretty sure anyway) and didn't notice anyone unless he had an orange boat. i saw someone with an orange boat kind of high above the river on river right but thought he was with the group we leapfrogged with all day.

Grant

[canoe]

Paddler Found, all is well. Dale

[JohnB]

OK, Brother Dale, we want the story!
JB

[outfitternb2]

good to hear all is well, did he spend the night out?

[canoe]

I'll let him tell his story, but yes he spent the nite out, but was able to get a fire going. Dale

[Cowper]

When I first heard someone had walked out from near Crack, I wondered "why? The hike out is much worse than continuing downriver, even if you portage a few drops..."

But the story makes sense when you add one detail - he had a near miss at Roadblock, and his paddle was pinned under the rock and unrecoverable until the water dropped the next day. Even then it took a team of determined paddlers and a bit of trickery and good luck.

The main purpose of this post is to comment about the rapid we're now calling "Roadblock". I've now seen and heard of several paddlers pinned on this rock - so far, each has managed to safely exit their boat, but if anyone gets pinned where exit is not possible, this is going to be very ugly.

The pins I've seen have all involved a boater going in upright, the boat being pushed down and pinning, and the paddler being able to exit. I think the boat is basically plugging the undercut, allowing safe upward exit by anyone who is in or on the boat at that moment. BUT - if someone goes in upside down, or swims ABOVE this rock, then I'm concerned that a leg or arm could be wedged in a classic pin under the rock. The force of current going into that rock is tremendous - while fishing for the paddle, we first hooked a tree limb pinned in there, and couldn't pull hard enough to get it out. At low water, you can access the site from mid-stream rocks and possibly pull off a rescue, but it will still take a couple of minutes to get two or more rescuers into position. At medium water, maybe 3.5’ and up, it is going to be very difficult to provide any meaningful assistance to a pinned paddler.

The right-side run is not hard or complex, but it really is a “must make” move. If you aren't sure, then go left. Also, this is not a place for “feet downstream” defensive style swimming, holding on to your boat or paddle, etc. If you’re in the water here, SWIM LIKE HELL for shore or the first eddy.

[RandyJ]

Pretty easy to portage on the left at this spot - correct?

[tomcat]

I've gone left and gotten thru with a little rock bouncing and wiggling. It's kinda trashy over there but can be done w/o having to get out of your boat....and you stay safely away from the big rock.

What are the chances this big rock will move in the future? I've been hoping that some higher flows will wash out underneath the big rock and cause it to tilt just enough to fall downstream a tish....off of the main ledge there. But I have not studied that possibility from up close. From a distance it looks like it's just barely staying where it is now.

[A Savage spanke]

Is road block where the giant boulder just appeared one day at the end of a small drop or shoot?

[Cowper]

Randy and TomCat are both correct. An easy portage on left side, OR, just stay in your boat and bounce down the left side - only your elbows are in real danger. Tom, that's what I thought at first too - I expected that rock to move in the next big flood. But it didn't, so who knows?

Savage, I can't be sure, but I think you're thinking of another new boulder further upstream, because "Roadblock" is at the end of long rapid formerly called "Rock Garden"; I don't think you would describe it as a small drop or chute. I found a picture Jessica posted some time ago, as seen looking back upstream. This one was taken at a level of 4" airspace; At this level the water is faster but the big rock is actually easier to miss because the rocks on each side are more fully covered, so you aren't automatically "funnelled" toward the danger spot.