Posted: 11/4/2007 3:13:45 PM EDT
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Welcome aboard! I would map out all possible routes home, noting every single bridge accross each river. Swimming the rivers in the winter, or trying to carry some sort of inflatable is not a good option. Figuring out the shortest way home on non interstate roads will get you home faster than trying to stay completely concealled. Pick up a Get Home Bag that is a normal simple back pack so you don't stand out in a crowd. Pack some sort of light weight shelter, rain gear, clean set of clothes, and a few days of food. Most regular folks in rural areas won't think much of a guy just trying to get home and may even help you. As long as you don't stand out as some survivialist nut or appear to be carrying a weapon.  A concealled pistol would be your best bet to get home with protection, but not look out of place. |
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I would recommend swimming a major river either. However, I saw a good article in Backpacker Magazine that showed a tire inner tube being inflated with a compact bicycle pump, with the backpack being tied to is so it could be towed by a swimmer as they move across a water way. |
A properly waterproofed pack is somewhat bouyant. I would suggest keeping your clothes / sleeping bag in a dry bag like this: I keep my poncho liner and a change of clothes in one of these (but mine's black). they are a little heavier than a bunch of ziplocks, but they are bombproof, and carry water well too in a bind. This will help keep your pack afloat and you can just tow it behind you on a short rope. In a real pinch you could even use it to float. Just remember to strip all the way down before crossing. The clothes won't help you at all once wet, and will even slow down your swimming. Not to mention wet clothes on the other side are completely useless. If your a weak swimmer keep a garbage bag or two in your pack to add "air" and make your pack float more. Garbage bags are lightweight and have multiple uses. |
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OK swimming with a properly packed backpack is fairly easy. Start with a simple rucksack (like an Alice Pack) and then line it with a Waterproof Bag. Inside that subdivide your gear into logical sets (one days clothing, sleeping bag, etc.) and wrap them in plastic trash bags. Squeeze out as much air out of each bag as you can before you seal it by twisting the top up and tying it in a knot. When you have everything in the Waterproof bag, squeeze as much air out as you can, twist the top, folding it back on itself and use the string to tie it up. Anything in the outside pockets of the Alice Pack needs to be water resistant or individually packed in plastic bags.. I've seen fifty pound packs float just fine when packed this way. |
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You might consider some of these: www.outdoorresearch.com/home/style/home/storage/storage_stuffsacks/HDS Use one as an "inner bag" inside of your BOB/backpack. There should be enough air-space inside of your pack to be bouyant. Try it out in a pool first. This, of course also, doubles as a water proof storage solution as well. Be cautioned that river crossings are extremely dangerous. I remember reading in one of Andy McNabb's books that the Brittish SAS loses more men doing river crossings in jungle training than any other obstacle. Those are bad MFers that have already passed a rigorous selection process, so we are talking about men in tip-top physical condidtion. And that doesn't even factor in the risk of hypothermia in colder conditions...  I'd avoid it if possible, except if I had a wet suit. |
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Thanks for the instructions on water proofing. I'm actually using my moms medium alice pack from when she was in. I like that uscav site to. I've gone across the ohio before (wasn't a very smart kid) but that was in the middle of summer when it was low and without a 40+ pound pack. My problem is that right now I don't know the kentucky river at all...hope to remedy that in the near future. What do you think about a cache with maybe a buried inflatable raft or well concealed canoe? Or am I just over analyzing this whole river thing? |
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Oh boy did you just hit home. I've swam across both of those rivers. The Kentucky is no big deal really. Just waterproof your pack, float it, use the flotation to help you stay a float, and you will do fine. Now the Ohio is a whole different world. That's about a ten knot current or better that is constant, deep, and persistent. You pick up the current right off the bank. There's no fighting it so don't even try. Fighting it will just tire you out more quickly and you'll still end up farther downstream except too tired to move. What makes it even worse is its constant barge traffic which will have you back tracking and waiting till they pass. You better watch for them for they damn sure won't for you. You better figure ending up 2-3 miles downstream from where you start. The river on average is 30' deep and its almost flat bottomed. That means the banks drop off real fast only feet from shore if that. That flatness also can mean some pretty nasty chop in high wind. Avoid east to west sections of the river. That's where the wind stirs up the surface the most. Tj Story Time When I was young, three of us noticed an abandoned cruiser on the far bank of the Ohio River. Half tempted by the idea of salvage and half tempted by bragging rights, we decide to swim the river to check the boat out. Using drift wood we build ourselves small rafts just large enough to hold our gear (clothes, small packs of clothes, water, food, etc.) just large enough to keep the afloat and provide us a little flotation. Off we set on our adventure. The current was wicked. Despite our best efforts to hold a straight course, it continued to pull us farther down river from our goal. By mid-river, we were exhausted and finally agreed to stop fighting the current out of fear of drowning. It was then the largest barge we had ever seen came into sight. As it neared, we realized we were in its path. We back tracked and waited as the monster passed. It was then we noticed our gear wasn't high and dry anymore. The drift wood already once water logged had taken on water much faster than expected. Other than what we thought enough to seal in plastic everything was wet. About a 1/3 of the way from our goal, our gear rafts began to sink. We not only lost our flotation for our gear but our assistance in keeping us afloat. We abandoned the now useless small raft wood and added the weight of our clothes and small packs to our weight. Our legs ached and we were so tired we couldn't talk. Myself and my buddy Carmen reached the far bank first. It took all our energy just to crawl up on the bank and turn over on our back sides. We were both gasping for air like it was like our last breath. It was then, we noticed our buddy Greg wasn't going to make it. The look of shock in Greg's eyes was obvious. Though he was too tired to talk we could tell from his face he was pleading for help. The two of us on the bank looked at each other and both instantly became distressed for we knew we not able to move yet and if either one of us went in our friend would just take us down with him. We watched helplessly as our friend sank beneath the water. Tears swelled in my eyes as I struggle with all my might to lift myself but I couldn't. I had no strength left at all, none. I managed to scream in agony at the thought of my best friend dying before my eyes. It was then Greg's head popped to the surface. He was in three foot of water. By shear luck, the bank didn't drop straight off there. Exhausted as we were Greg inch by inch made his way towards us. Our energy began to return and a few minutes later, we were able to wade out and help him in the rest of the way. After building a fire to warm ourselves, the water had chilled us to the bone, and dry our clothes. We started our trek to the abandoned boat now miles up stream. Once a nice boat, it now had a rip in its hull aft to stern and its inside totally stripped of anything of value. It was a long trek home as we walked now to the bridge and looking like wet river rats made our way through the downtown to our homes. Here we were three young men all three certified lifeguards and avid swimmers almost killed from an adventure. It wasn't all wasted though for we learned some invaluable lessons. Don't fight the current, anticipate the worse, and drift wood water soaks real fast topped the lessons. I have used those lessons all my life. The most recent this summer white water rafting. First helping my son by telling him to not fight the current but come up behind a rock in the eddy while he was diving off a rock into the white water then later as I was dumped during an overturn making my way to shore.  That's my son "Riding the Bull" in a class 4. Tj |
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I used google earth to find and then scout out ALL the bridges (train & car) and low water crossings and narrow areas I could find with the rivers I might have to cross. Made me feel alot better. The tire tube and bike pump sounds like a great idea. I'll have to ponder that further. |
| As above post stated, railroad bridges could be a totally viable option that are all over. Hell, it may be good sense to plot out the entire route home via railway beds, as it would initially be free of all motor travel and probably other foot traffic as well, just watch out for the Sante Fe if they are still runnin'! but obviously thats up to your specific goals and parameters. |
+1. Missouri has some of what most people call "rivers"... and a pair of world-class rivers, the Missouri and the Mississippi. The Missouri isn't bad, but can be easily a thousand feet wide, and the Mississippi is often between that and over a mile. Major rivers are one of the most significant obstacles to travel that exist - without a bridge, your vehicle isn't making it (bicycles with floation aside) across. I've been boating on the Mississippi, and it's by no means a tame or safe river - some areas have nasty, quick currents (perhaps only a hundred yards wide) along the edges, which tend to pick up driftwood (from sticks to trees) and other nastiness. During the winter, too, the water is cold, cold, cold - until, of course, it starts to freeze, and then you have ice to deal with. Hypothermia while you're a hundred yards from shore, caught in a fast current, is not a good thing. I wouldn't be willing to try swimming the Mississippi, and even then, only with a life jacket, and expecting to land many miles downstream. I would be willing to try swimming the Missouri in summer - but only with a life jacket, and perhaps an inflatable boat. Drinking the water from either, however accidentally, isn't necessarily that healthy, either. Bridges, railway bridges, and lock and dams are the best ideas I've seen aside from having a real boat, or even one of the inflatables to get you across, or even partway across. I would strongly recommend a life jacket, however - any kind of floatation aid could be very useful. |
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Ever wonder what Marine Recon and Navy S.E.A.L.s do? high speed cast /recovery,,water S.P.I.E.,,helocast,,, Hollywood SPIE www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGv2N13ovbg WP water proof the ruck,,even with a PRC 77 and a KY38 in it it still floats. 90+ lbs |
You will probably die trying or shortly after you reach shore from hypothermia. without a flotation device you will surely be dead. There are small inflatable PFD's that fill with gas when neded. Planning to fail is not a plan. Cross a railroad bridge or walk 100 miles in one direction until you find a bridge that is up and safe, if tha is what it takes. Better plan, learn to hot wire cars and boats. Even better, hop a train for the whole route. |