How to NOT die on a lazy river float

Non-business post, but I’m sharing it in the event that the information below might help save someone’s life.

I’ve been obsessed about river floating since I first went tubing down Coquitlam River in 2016. There’s something magical about a cool relaxing float with good music and a can of beer on a warm summer day. It’s my happy place.

But…in 2018, I almost died.

Every summer, I see picturesque posts like “top rivers to float on a lazy summer day”. However, few provide enough information to ensure that you have a safe and amazing experience. In this post, I’ll share my near-death experience and everything you need to know to ensure you don’t go through what I did and have a great time.

Before we begin:

• Please practice Leave-no-trace! Rivers are the lifeblood of our ecosystem.
  • If you’re going with beer cans, they will end up in the river if you don’t have a plan for how to store them when you’re done.
  • Pack out what you pack in, or even better, bring a bag to collect any trash you come across.
• River floating is actually fairly safe. It can be a fun and relaxing activity if you treat the river with the respect it deserves.

Here is a quick legend if you’d like to skip to any of the sections:

• My near-death experience
• What I learned and what you should know before you float:
• When is the best time to go?
• Learn to read the river
• What to bring:
• 5 ways you could die:
• Bonus: Dreamboat Float Map of British Columbia

My near-death experience

Early June, 2018. Spring was turning into summer and I was craving a float sesh. I recently saw a post about floating down Similkameen River and had made the decision to camp at Bromley Rock Provincial Park with my wife, dad, and a friend (who had also just became a new father). We got there on Saturday, camped the night, and decided to float on Sunday. It was a nice warm 20-25C the next day, I had dad drive me upriver and we put-in close to Princeton. The plan was to float back down to Bromley Rock in time for lunch. Since it was our first time on this river, I decided to go with my buddy and leave my wife out since she was 4-months pregnant (luckily I did!). We were using an inflatable vinyl rowboat (Intex Seahawk 2), which I bought from Walmart the year before for a low $25. Having lived in Canada since 2010, I know how deceivingly cold waters can be despite it being nice and warm on land. We brought and wore our foam life jackets just-in-case.

Some context before we get to the life-or-death moment:

• This was only my 2nd-time river floating.
• I couldn’t find anything online that suggested good put-in (entry) and pull-out (exit) points so I eyeballed the river on the drive there.
• I didn’t know anything about reading rivers, scouting if you’re uncertain, and how dangerous it could be.
• I also didn’t know when was the best time in the year to float.

Our journey started out pretty well. The river was nice and wide where we got in, with some minor waves where when it got rockier. We were enjoying our relaxing float with a few exciting bouncy moments. About an hour in, the river started branching around some sand and gravel bars, the water was speeding up and taking on some twists and turns. That’s when we came across our incident. We were floating along merrily until we noticed that the current was pushing us straight into what looked to be a curve in the river (current normally flows around, not through obstacles). Turns out that curve WASN’T a gravel bar, it was a fallen tree in the river! We realized a little too late and couldn’t paddle fast enough to get out of the way. Our boat collided with the tree and the current continued to push us against it. With nowhere to go, the boat started to get pushed under the branches, we both jumped to the side just before our boat went completely under.

It all happened so quickly. I frantically grabbed onto my glasses, took a deep breath, then tumbled through a mesh of jumbled branches. A few seconds later, it spat me out the other side. Gasping for air, I floated for a few meters before regaining my bearings and proceeded to swim to the gravel bar. I started looking for my friend (he couldn’t swim, but was wearing one of my spare life jackets). I spotted him a few more meters downriver and saw that he had also crawled his way onto the gravel bar. We laughed nervously about what just happened and I walked back to the tree to look for our boat. It was still there, the perimeter rope had caught onto some branches and it was pinned under. I climbed onto the tree to see if I could get it unstuck, I had brought along a knife for emergencies like this, but it was stored in a pouch on the boat that I couldn’t reach. I gave up after a few tries, the current was too strong and the tension on the rope too great to get it off without cutting it free. We then decided to figure out how to get back to camp, we were about another hour (by foot) away. The gravel bar we were on was in the middle of the river, we had to swim to either side to get out. There happened to be a small cabin nearby, our best bet was to head there for help. I walked upriver on the gravel bar so that I could swim diagonally with the current and end up at a clear spot near the cabin. Made it. The current was pretty strong so I doubt my friend who didn’t know how to swim could, I told him to stay put while I went to the cabin to seek help.

Fortunately! There was someone at the cabin that weekend, it also happened to be their first weekend there that season. He got some rope, swam to the other side, tied my friend up, and swam back with him in tow. They then gave us a ride back to our campsite. Only after everything was over, did I realize that I had a gaping hole in my swimming trunks and my silly ass was available for public viewing, the folks who helped us probably saw but never said a thing about it.

What I learned and what you should know before you float:

• I was lucky I wasn’t trapped under the tree, I could have easily drowned.
• My life jacket probably saved me too, I could have been impaled by a branch.
• I should have kept my knife ON me, not in the boat. It would not have ended well if I was tangled up in the rope too.
• Don’t climb back onto a strainer like I did, it’s not worth risking slipping and getting stuck under just to try and recover your boat.
  • Fortunately, the only thing I ended up losing that day was my phone.

Some other tips:

• Always go with someone – If one person gets in trouble, the other can assist or find help.
• Go with 2 cars, or have someone drop you off at the put-in and meet you at the pull-out.
  • Otherwise, you’ll float downriver only to find that you have to walk all the way back to your car.
  • If 2 cars, keep your keys ON you in a zippered pocket, not in your floatie or in a bag (that might also get lost). If you have an electronic key, separate it and only bring the physical key with you to avoid water damage.
• Make sure you waterproof your electronics if they aren’t already – You will capsize at some point and things WILL get wet.
  • I have a waterproof Samsung S8 with a waterproof phone case and I even put it into a waterproof phone pouch to be extra safe.
  • Don’t have loose items in your boat, keep everything in a drybag or in a zippered pocket/pouch. It’ll prevent them from falling out and getting lost in the river. The fewer places you store things, the easier it is to find them when you need to.
• It might take longer than you think – Assuming you don’t take any stops or need to portage (carry your boat on land) around any obstacles, you’ll be floating at the rate of 2-5km/hr.
• As they say, alcohol and water don’t mix – Let’s be realistic here, you won’t listen (and neither did I). A small amount is fine if you keep your wits about you, but NEVER get wasted on the water.
• If you capsize, practice defensive swimming – Float on your back with your feet pointed downstream and arms out to your side. Float as high to the surface as possible. This allows you to see and react to obstacles and prevent yourself from getting caught or snagged by trees or rocks underwater. Do not swim headfirst down a river.

When is the best time to go?

Depends on where you live, rainfall, snowmelt, or if the river is dammed.

In BC, despite warmer weather in May/June, it’s still too early. Snow melting on the mountains during late spring makes for pretty fast rivers. The increased water level results in more logs being washed down and trees falling into the river.

Aim for July/August when the rivers are lowest and slowest.

September is also an option if it hasn’t already gotten too cold.

Learn to read the river

Learn to recognize different river hazards and how to survive them. Here’s a great post from Paddling.com.

Here’s a video on identifying river features:

Here’s a more detailed video on reading and navigating them:

Some other tips:

• Don’t be like me, notice if the current isn’t flowing where it should be. If you see an obstacle, but don’t see the current conforming around it, it could be a strainer or sweeper like a downed tree.
• Use eddies to take breaks and scout ahead, you don’t need to continuously float the entire way.
• Current is strongest and the river is flowing fastest when it’s shallower or narrower, just like what happens when you squeeze a watering hose.
  • If you aren’t certain of your skills, you might want to get out and portage if you notice the river getting rapidly narrower. Better safe than sorry.
• If you want to get really technical, check out Willem’s post on trip planning in wilderness areas.

Agree on river signals with your group before hitting the water:

What to bring:

For a good time:

• Waterproof music speaker (or you could just enjoy the sounds of nature).
• Towels and change of clothes for after (leave them in your car).
• Emergency blankets – Water can be a lot colder than you think, even on a hot day. Especially if you’ve been in it for an extended period of time.
• Sunscreen – You might feel cool in the water, but that’s not how sunburn works, UV will still get to you!
• Water shoes – Rocks on the river bed can be pretty sharp and uncomfortable to walk on!
  • Nope, your flip flops won’t make it, they’ll be washed away.

For safety

• Rope/Throwbag
  • Brightly coloured for visibility and floats so that it can easily be grabbed onto.
  • Thinner ropes are lighter to carry but are also harder to grab onto or pull with. They also have lower tensile strength.
  • You’ll want at least 25 feet, with at least 500lb (or 200kg) strength.
• Life jacket (foam recommended) – PFDs (personal floatation device) are meant to support you if you’re conscious, life jackets are designed to support and keep your head above the water even if you’re not.
• PFD Knife
  • Rope comes with the danger or entanglement. It could save you, but it could also kill you.
  • A good PFD knife should be waterproof, have a blunt tip (to avoid accidental stabbing), have serrated edges for cutting rope, and be simple to use.
  • Avoid folding knives – They may feel safer, but the complexity needed to unfold them might cost you during an emergency. A good sheath should protect just as well.
  • The sheath should be attachable to your PFD (usually near your chest for easy access).
• Drinking water – you may be surrounded by water, but it may not be drinkable. You’ll definitely get thirsty.
• Food – being in cold water drains lots of energy, you’ll get hungry fast. Bring food that you can easily eat with wet hands.

As a floatie:

Tubes are the popular choice, but after my experience, I’d like something that gives me a little more control and speed if I need to get out of the way of something.

Since you’ll want a comfortable ride that will allow you to lie back, and if you want the manoeuvrability to get out of a pinch, I recommend an inflatable kayak, or better yet, a packraft.

Check out this video on selecting inflatables:

You might be wondering: won’t inflatables puncture easily? Yes and no. You get what you pay for. New technology has made it possible for inflatables to be extremely durable, they do tend to get expensive though. A good boat will set you back at least $500 if not more.

Common materials:

• Vinyl: Cheapest, lowest quality (Piece of shit in my opinion, spend the extra money to get something durable. It’ll reduce pollution too since you won’t need to buy a new floatie as often).
• PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride): Vinyl that has gone through a process known as polymerization. Makes it stronger. Medium price.
• Hypalon (CSM): Really strong, used in many rigid hull inflatable boats like the popular Zodiac boats.
• TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane): I’m listing urethane and untreated polyurethane under here as well. Depending on how it’s made or coated, they could be slightly weaker than PVC or even stronger than Hypalon. TPU is also heat welded at the seams instead of glued, making seam failure a lower possibility.

Denier count: Is a textile unit of measurement e.g. 500D PVC vs. 1000D PVC. Generally the higher count, the more durable (also depends on weave and thread count but I won’t go into that), but it also makes it heavier.

Packrafts are another good option not mentioned in the video above. They don’t track as well as inflatable kayaks and are more prone to being affected by winds on open water. However, they’re a great choice if you plan on being in rivers. Some benefits:

• Light, easier to pack in and out.
• They’re far more durable than your average vinyl pool toy. Depending on the material, they can be more or less durable than comparable inflatable kayaks.
• Displace more water, thus posses greater weight capacity. A great option if you’re planning on bringing camping gear with you on your boat. Look up bikerafting, some even bring their bikes on their packrafts to access remote areas.

Tips regarding your inflatable:

• A paddle leash could be handy so that you won’t lose your paddle or have it float away from you. But remember, more ropes = higher possibility of entanglement, attach it in an area that won’t be obstructive.
• Having a perimeter rope will help with grabbing onto your floatie if you fall off it, but again, it could trap you.
• If it’s an expensive boat, register it and have an identifiable serial number on it. It may help with tracking it down if you lose it and someone turns it in.
• Learn to tie a water bowline – it’s one of the best knots for wet ropes and won’t come undone by accident whilst still being easy to undo when you need to.

5 ways you could die:

Just so you know what could happen and plan for it.

• Pass out from drowning because you knocked your head on a rock
  • If you’re doing Class 3+ rapids, definitely wear a helmet!
• Getting your feet caught between some rocks and drowning.
• Impaled by a log or branch.
• Trapped under a strainer or undercut rock.
• Suck into and trapped in a hydraulic hole or current (typically created from water flowing over an obstacle and rushing backwards to fill the gap – like beneath a waterfall).
  • Escape the current by swimming out the bottom or sides where the water flows away.
• From hypothermia.
  • Which is why I only go on the water from late spring to early autumn.
  • Always dress for water temperature.
  • REI has a good guide here.

Bonus: Dreamboat Float Map of British Columbia

Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments below!