River crossings in Maine

[Water Rat]

It takes a tough cookie to admit they have fears!

I think you are getting lots of wonderful suggestions. The bottom line is you will need to judge what is safe for you. There really is not a one-size-fits-all answer to your question. Maybe judge each water source as you come to it. You will figure out what method works best for you.

Of course, it never hurts to pack a Sherpa. Then, the Sherpa could carry you across and you wouldn't even have to get your feet wet. THAT would be the way to go.

[Miner]

NEVER left someone else take your pack across if you are small and will be crossing as an individual. In the case of a small woman, the pack adds ballast (ie. weight) which you need since your body wants to float which is bad when you need contact with the bottom to move in the right direction. The weight of your pack can act as ballast and keep you from floating. There are methods of crossing together as a couple or as a group that can help a smaller person that a guy from New Zealand once explained to me. Try googling for info.

As for Skywalkers AT book, his PCT book was written the same year I hiked. His scary description of going over Muir Pass the day before me sounds like a completely different place than the easy straight forward crossing I had. So you have to remember he is writting to be interesting and funny, and he has his own fears and problems that may not be yours. There may be a reason that most people don't write about the river crossing in Maine as in they maybe weren't a big deal to them.

[WingedMonkey]

There may be a reason that most people don't write about the river crossing in Maine as in they maybe weren't a big deal to them.

Maine did seem mild to me after much earlier in my hike in Virginia. It rained for ten days and nights. Foot bridges and logs were out and even the springs were shooting out of the ground where the guidebook said it might be a trickle.

I got so tired of the sound of water, I didn't even want to stop at shelters near streams for a while after that.

It was riskier crossings than Maine for me because it wasn't the norm and so unexpected. In my later visits to the same area what was scary before was back to just rock hopping across.

[freckles]

I can't swim a stroke, but this doesn't stop me from enjoying the risks, trials and tribulations of hiking the Trail. Always be safe.

Good to hear from a fellow non-swimmer. River crossings scare the bejeesus out of me because I can barely swim in a swimming pool. When you add current, I'm totally useless. I've been concerned people would tell me that it would be impossible for a non-swimmer to thru-hike because the river crossings would be too impossible.

[fiddlehead]

If in doubt, PRACTICE!
Go out to a river and wear a life jacket (and running shoes) and simply practice.
I have forded many rivers.
I'm much better at it now than I was before. Why? Experience.

Do the 3 or 4 point stance, lifting only one at a time.
Face upstream.
Learn how to swim in shallow, rocky water when you do fall in (facing downstream, feet up, pack jettisoned, etc.)
Go to whitewater websites to learn this if you don't understand it. (and then PRACTICE)
Try it with all the different options on your feet: barefoot, running shoes, neoprene slippers, hiking boots without socks (Yeah, I've seen rangers do this method), hiking boots with socks, etc. Don't try flip flops. They'll fall off and you'll be swimming after them, or saying goodbye to them. Running shoes work best for me.

You can and will get so good at it, you'll look forward to those fords. (and maybe even do the Kennebec)

Being scared is just something that happens when you don't know what to expect. (usually)

Same with an ice ax for traversing huge snow fields.

How else are you gonna learn?
How else are you gonna be an experienced, well rounded hiker?

I've hiked with guys who swam the Kennebec towing their pack (in a big garbage bag) behind them.
I've been to seminars where folks carried a cheap air mattress to place their pack on and pull it across with a string/rope.
My friends are now into slacklining (hey, look at all the options, right?)

Get so good at it that you'll be giving seminars at future years gatherings.