Stream crossings

[Pringles]

I'm making plans for hiking trips next summer. I've been backpacking for years and years, but I've almost never had to do any stream crossings. I know to undo the hip belt, so I can get out if I tumble in. And, I have my hiking poles to use for balance. I take my socks off, and the insoles out, and put them back in after the crossing. But, there are places I am hesitant to go because of stream crossings. Places that are an easy drive and most likely beautiful. I'm thinking of one trip in particular, where the trail led to a gushing stream. I looked upstream--and walked up a little ways--it didn't seem to get better. I looked downstream--and walked down a little ways--it also didn't seem to get better. I set up my tent and enjoyed where I was, but I've felt like a big chicken ever since. I watched a group of people cross, at the mouth of the stream, as it emptied into a little lake. I figured if I had tried to cross there, I'd end up hip deep in muck.

It's easy enough to cross when there are rocks that stick out of the water, and I just have to balance on them, but I think I'm afraid that if the stream is "mellow," and I cross, I'll end up in two feet of mud. That gushing stream, I could see a number of places to step, but not quite enough. There are places I'd like to camp in Yellowstone, the Beartooths, and the Bighorns, but the trailguides comment about stream crossings. How do you pick a safe spot to cross, where you don't end up sinking in the mud, or being hurtled downstream? Do you trust the place the trail goes into, and seems to come out of, the water? Thanks for any advice.

 

[LarryBoy]

Braided streams are generally a good bet. Other than that, just staying in higher terrain

Translation - I have no good answers.

 

[Wanderlust073]

Rocks, jumpable distance, log to walk over, obvious trail. The one time I thought I would just step in and out of a pleasant little meadow stream no more than a foot deep, exactly what you are afraid of happened - sank past my knees in mud, lol.

 

[Pringles]

Thanks for your answers. Wanderlust, I'm glad to hear it is'nt just a fear... that it really can happen. I'm not exactly sure why I find that comforting, but I do.

I was hiking on the AT in March, in Maryland. It was cold, but it was when I had spring break. I got to a stream crossing. It was a little too deep just to splash through. There were plenty of nicely spaced rocks, but since it was cold, they were covered with ice. I realized that if I slipped and fell in, I'd have a real problem on my hands. I was extremely careful, but when I got to the next road crossing, I stopped. The consequences were not simply getting a little wet. It would have been serious. When I think back to that, I always have a little knot in my stomach.

 

[Jackson]

Definitely go where the trail goes unless it looks completely impassable. You should be able to get your feet in and get an ok feel for how deep it is/is going to be without going in too deep right off the bat. And most streams in those areas you listed should be pretty clear, so you can see where the bed drops and the water gets deeper. I was off-trail for a while on a trip last summer and had to do several stream crossings. The best way I could scout them was to look for and then avoid where it looked deeper before getting in. Then I'd just take a crack at it after I thought I had found a good place. Ended up working out fine, but I had to go up the stream maybe 25-50 feet a few times to avoid deep spots along the opposite bank.

Time of year makes a big difference too. Crossings in June and early July are going to be a lot more challenging and maybe impossible, depending on how much snow fell over the winter.

To avoid falling in faster water, try to face upstream and sidestep across. And use poles, like you said.

 

[Rockskipper]

You could get a llama to carry a big log for you, or ride a horse. I joke, but I also am intimidated by stream crossings. I recall reading a great book about a guy in Alaska who crossed a stream, no trouble, but on his way back a few days later things had warmed up enough that it was a raging mess (glacier fed), not to mention that at that point he was being stalked by a bear.

(Walking Home: A Traveler in the Alaskan Wilderness, a Journey into the Human Heart by Lynn Schooler)

 

[Pringles]

Jackson, those sound like good things to look for. I don't usually push any envelopes, so if I'm out early in the season, it won't be super early. I see pictures of people wading through streams, to mid-thigh, and I know I'd be setting up my tent rather than heading down the trail.

Rockskipper, I love the horse idea, 'cept I don't have one, and I'm allergic to them. I think it would be nice to have an alpaca, but I'm just not really an animal person. So what happened to the guy with the bear/river problem?

 

[Rockskipper]

That was a great story. It's been a few years since I read it. I'll probably recall it all wrong, and it's well worth buying the book, but this brown bear stalked him for two days and he had several close calls, but he finally realized it was stalking him based on a limited sense of vision (something was wrong with it) and was following the scent of his tracks, so he walked into the ocean for awhile, then followed what had become a raging river upstream until it finally braided out enough that he could make a sort of crossbow and get his rope to the other side. He then tied off the rope and used it to hold his kayak steady as he crossed. The bear did not follow him.

Here's an excerpt from it, but this particular media outlet is well known for its hyperbole, though most of it is in Schooler's own words. The article skips over his entire ordeal trying to cross the stream a.k.a. river.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ans-petrifying-story-attack-Alaskan-bear.html

It really is an interesting book if you are into Alaskan wilderness and history.

Sorry for the thread hijack, but it might be worth buying the book if you ever think you might need to make a primitive crossbow for a rope-assisted stream crossing.

 

[Miya]

I think your worries are legitimate. I feel like I have good exposure to this. I am blindly determined when it comes to this though, I just keep going, no stream has stopped me YET.
My first backpacking trip ever, the last mile was marsh, calf to knee deep mud. The initial sink-in was quite an unpleasant surprise, but after a few more steps you just accept fate.
I have only had to cross a handful of creeks as well, ranging from calf to hip. My biggest failure is always the slippery rocks. I almost never travel up or down the river more than what is in eye sight. I just make sure wherever I start, has some larger/taller rocks that I could hopefully use to stop me if I start floating down river.
Once I make it across, I always take the time to dry off best I can. So far the water I have crossed is snow run off, so very chilly.
I have yet to use trekking poles to help, bc I never had any, but I am sure those will help!

 

[Pringles]

It appears I need to do what Nike says, and Just Do It.

But maybe... I'll buy that book, set up my camp this side of the river and read.

 

[Brendan S]

some good reading:
https://bedrockandparadox.com/2013/06/04/upper-level-stream-and-river-crossings/

I agree with Dave in this article that unbuckling your pack is a bad idea. If you're wearing such a monster pack that you're afraid it would keep you down then you probably aren't going to have safe enough balance to do it safely anyway, especially if it's unbuckled.

General rules:
Light pack, keep it buckled for best balance
Trekking poles
Keep your shoes on
Trust your gut and don't do it if it doesn't feel safe

 

[scatman]

Stay away from this.

 

[Miya]

It appears I need to do what Nike says, and Just Do It.

But maybe... I'll buy that book, set up my camp this side of the river and read.

I feel like I follow this rule and am still living, but I wouldn't call myself the smartest person. Just blindly determined.
I think what Brendan S said could be combined.
"Just do it, unless your gut is saying 'turn around, this is stupid!'" Haha

 

[Miya]

Stay away from this.

View attachment 61371

View attachment 61372

Did you guys cross that?! Or did that man just get in for the photo....
Amazing thing to witness! But I would have turned around lol

 

[scatman]

Did you guys cross that?! Or did that man just get in for the photo....
Amazing thing to witness! But I would have turned around lol

We crossed it last July in the Sierras (Bubbs Creek). That's my son in the image, he was a bit sore that I made him stand there while I got my camera out to take his picture.

 

[Miya]

We crossed it last July in the Sierras (Bubbs Creek). That's my son in the image, he was a bit sore that I made him stand there while I got my camera out to take his picture.

Wow! Very impressive!
Haha well now he has a forever photo that makes him look like a bad***. I am sure he will thank you for it someday, if he hasn't already.

 

[Dave]

In river parlance, that’s nightmare strainer conditions. Kind of like this (the do-not-attempt example from my swiftwater rescue course last spring):

 

[Perry]

@Dave what is it about this that makes it a do not?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dave]

what is it about this that makes it a do not?

Huge risk of entrapment.

Going through a swift water rescue course was eye-opening. It really doesn't take much water to take you off of your feet. In a flood situation like that, where water is in an environment full of obstacles liked downed logs, your risk for getting a foot stuck goes way up. Even worse, the risk you'll be knocked down, carried and pinned against an obstacle (i.e. strained).

 

[Pringles]

I will definitely not be crossing anything that looks like that. While I haven't had swiftwater rescue classes, I've had enough kayaking classes to know I don't want to play around strainers. I think you folks would just dance across that spot where I just put up my tent. I did enjoy that day, though. I got to sit by a beautiful lake, listening to a rushing stream. It reminds me of a spot n the Appalachian Trail, where there was a beautiful stream and a meadow area with a tent. There was a bridge across the stream, and I stopped at the other side to chat with the owner of the tent. He had passed me late the day before annd I figured he'd be long gone. He said he had gotten to the streamside spot a couple of hours before, early in his day, but decided he needed to put up his tent right there, and enjoy it. I think about that periodically.

Brendan, I always keep my boots on and use my poles. I don't have much problems with the pack shifting, so I do unhook it, but I see your point. Thanks for the input!

Just do it. I guess I gotta find a stream. I think I'll wait until later, though.