Never paddle alone

Never paddle alone.  Paddling alone is risky.  You have no backup, no safety.  Paddling can be a dangerous sport.  You put yourself on that thin plane between worlds, and having another person along can be crucial.

If you’re a beginning paddler, a bit hesitant on the water, or in the least bit apprehensive of your level of skill, then you can skip reading the rest of what’s written here.  Take the advice above and move on.

However.

As a lifelong paddler, I can say that I have often paddled alone.  I’ve gone an entire day on the water without seeing another paddler.  I’ve done solo overnight trips.  Sometimes it’s as simple as not being able to find someone to paddle with. Other times, I just need to be alone on the water.  If you’re in this sport long enough, you will get to this point, and then you will bend the rules.

What follows is how I approach paddling solo.  These are my guidelines.  They are by no means complete.

1.)    Wilderness rules apply.  When paddling through remote wilderness, an experienced paddler will adopt a different outlook.  You simply cannot take the chances with an injury that could at the very least mean a costly extraction, and at worst, death.  For example, I walk a slackline in my backyard.  I wouldn’t even consider taking it on a wilderness paddling trip.  A broken leg at home is a pain.  A broken leg miles and days from the nearest help is terrifying.  So for me, wilderness rules apply when I paddle solo, no matter where I am.

2.)    Bump every class.  I won’t hesitate to run class IV rapids with a group of experienced paddlers.  Solo, I run nothing over a class III, and those I look at pretty carefully.  Again, a different approach is needed.  A swim with a group is inconvenient; a solo swim is much more serious and can be compounded by lost gear, a pinned boat or an injury.

3.)    Be prepared for anything.  On a day trip with friends, I’ll carry water, a bit of food, first aid, and a rain jacket.  On a solo trip, I add more food, extra clothing, lights, an emergency shelter, and fire at the bare minimum.   Remember that paddling lesson about your responsibility as a swimmer?  Your first responsibility is to yourself.  Your best approach is to self rescue.  But in a group you always have that thought in the back of your head that someone else can help if you need it.  Not so alone.  Self rescue is all you have.

4.)    Know the river.  Be familiar with the levels, the obstacles, the hazards, the nature of that particular river.  Never assume that one river is like another.  No two rivers are the same.  I don’t run solo on any water that I’ve never been on before in a group.

5.)    Nosce te ipsum.  Know thyself.  Know what your abilities are.  Know where your weaknesses lie.  Solo paddling demands that you have a very good understanding of who you are as a paddler.  You cannot lie to a river.  You cannot impress a river.  The safest approach as a solo paddler is to be honest with yourself and don’t take chances.  Sometimes that means walking a rapid.  Sometimes it means staying home.

Above all, remember:  You should never paddle alone.