WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

View RSS Feed

HazBen

Considering an Alternative Thru-Hike for 2016

Rate this Entry
Quote Originally Posted by BirdBrain View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Klynn View Post
I'm really worried about the river crossings, and don't want to be alone when I do them.
I am unaware of any super dangerous river crossing. Of course I only have New England experience. Here us a bit of advice on that. First and foremost, do not be afraid to get wet. Getting wet is often the safest option. Rock hopping can be hazardous. Do not seek the calmest water. Calm water often means deep. Think volume of water through area. If the spot is calm and narrow in one area and rough and wide nearby, the calm area is very deep. I seek wide predictable areas to cross. The East Branch of the Pleasant River (I think that is the name, it is the one before Gulf Hagas I am referring to) is a great river to YouTube for an example of what I am talking about. It is wide and rough, but seldom more than a couple feet deep. If a crossing is deep and swift, it will likely have a rope to assist you. Face upriver a bit and lean upriver a bit as you cross. Use a trekking pole as a feeler ahead to gauge depth. Have everything in a trash bag liner in your pack in case you go over. Make sure to unbuckle your hip belt before crossing swift spots or deep spots. Again, don't think twice about getting wet, possibly to your hips. It will be okay. Hopping across dangerous spots because you don't want to get wet can be a bad idea.