# Winter MF Salmon TR (With Photos)



## Badazws6 (Mar 4, 2007)

Hard core... Not sure WHY anyone would want to do this. Crazy dangerous, a ton of hard work but it seems you pulled it off. Congrats.


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## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

sorry,dude, but this is pure stupidity. 







squeaks2 said:


> I almost thought of bailing, but then I focused on the fact that told a cute girl back home that I would be running the MF in winter, so, I couldn’t bail before even starting.


and you have much to learn, kiddo, if this kind of thinking is ruling your decision making.


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## squeaks2 (Jan 5, 2013)

That's a joke, buddy.


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

I give full props for pulling off a unique adventure. Thanks for sharing the pics.


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## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

squeaks2 said:


> That's a joke, buddy.


pretty funny when buried in that sea of dipshit choices, future statistic.

but yes thanks for posting it up. incredibly dumb but interesting, i guess.


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## wildh2onriver (Jul 21, 2009)

Good job on the trip report--too cold of an adventure for me, but hey, you pulled it off and will have a great story to tell your grand kids someday.


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## BarryDingle (Mar 13, 2008)

Squeaky seems to like unique adventures/sufferfests. Its a hardy enough place in summertime,let alone winter. But he seems to have done his homework and is familiar with the area.....

http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/...nd-selway-may-18th-partners-needed-42026.html

Same person,yes? 

Beats talkin shit on the Internet....


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## billfish (Nov 22, 2009)

*wow*

You have much bigger balls and confidence in your skills than I've ever had. For me this would be dumb.. and dangerous.. and unenjoyable. Good for you. I enjoyed sharing your adventure from the safety and warmth of my cabin.

Personally, I'm trying to get out of the cold.... not trying to find more things to do in it. I hope you remain safe in your future adventures and continue to share.

HNY!


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## youngpaddler06 (Nov 17, 2007)

Thanks for sharing your story. Seems to cold and fishless for me, and maybe a little dangerous alone with ice issues. I agree with BarryDingle. At least you were not spending all your time posting negative comments and actually getting out and boating, even if it was not conventional. Congrats on a successful trip.


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## studytime (Oct 4, 2010)

Amazing. What a great adventure. 

And thank you very much for a great trip report.


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## billfish (Nov 22, 2009)

It is hard to believe that no one would loan you their personal packraft for this.


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## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

Thanks for sharing this adventure. Great photos as well.

It seems to me to be a real adventure trip. Doing that trip at that time of the year and solo is something I just don't think I would ever do. The chances for making a little bitty error and end up dead is more of a chance than I am willing to take. On the other hand, you had what it takes to pull it off and have come back to talk about it. Impressive! I have been down that river during permit season some 6 times in rafts and kayak. You doing it in winter in a pack raft solo makes me feel like a wimp considering the comforts of home and the delightful weather we had in June and July.


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

Dam, you did not bail, I love it. Nice trip report, I enjoyed it. Thank you. A solo is tough.


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## swiftwater15 (Feb 23, 2009)

*Bad ass or dumb ass*

I think the line between badass and dumbass is thin and blurry, and sometimes can only be judged after the fact. You did it, solo, and wrote a great trip report. flippin' awesome. Had you had trouble, and SAR folk had to leave their families and risk their lives to bail you out or recover your body, we would probably have said you were a dumbass.


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## jmack (Jun 3, 2004)

There is a line between badass and dumbest, and this trip report falls squarely into the badass category.


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

Wow, I don't hear people hating all over mountaineers saying what they do is stupid. Needing supplemental oxygen and the like.

Hate hate hate, let's just sing kumbaya for now? Good for you for getting out doing what makes you happy.


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

Speaking as someone who is primarily a climber that does some boating, we get on each others ass all the time for doing stupid solo shit in the climbing community. I would recon, there are many more solo climbers than solo boaters that do crazy solo shit. That being said, as was said before, the line between dumbass and badass for solo trips is generally outcome dependant. The level of personal risk on your trip was more than I would have taken solo, but I would do that trip with a partner 100%.

Bad Ass, great report!


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## Toshkya (Nov 26, 2012)

That's awesome! Hold ur head high ur definitely the bad ass of the week!


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## squeaks2 (Jan 5, 2013)

For those with positive comments:

I am glad you enjoyed the TR. This is my first attempt at write up and in fact, this trip is the first time I have carried a camera with me in years. As far as writing the report, it was hard to know what to put in and what to leave out. I have more respect now for those who are regularly pumping out TR's.

Also, I specifically do not carry a camera with me on any of my solo trips which I expect to be challenging or dangerous. This is to help ensure that I never confuse my comfort level with any sort of external influence. 

Here, my main reason for posting up was to highlight the packraft rental service. Those little buggers are super expensive. Yet, by being able to rent one, I was able to have the right tool for the job.

-Eric


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## BrianP (Nov 13, 2011)

Props for an awesome trip, adventure and write up! Also, that is a damn respectable response, especially after catching a buzz flaming.


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## DanOrion (Jun 8, 2004)

Damn! Strong work.


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## peterholcombe (Mar 8, 2006)

Burly trip! 
I love your spirit for adventure. Thanks for sharing. 

I'm sure John Wesley Powell got similar feedback on his trip down the Green and Colorado. Take this feedback in stride, but always live to tell...


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## dgosn (Sep 8, 2006)

Nice work! I'm in the 'that's badass' camp.


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## BryanS. (Jun 22, 2012)

Bad ass. Well done!


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## AirborneBuff (Jan 11, 2012)

Thanks for the TR, since I paddled the MFS in Summer and spent last weekend climbing in the ice and snow, I thought I knew what adventure looked like. But I was wrong. Your adventure was bad ass by any standards.


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## colorado_steve (May 1, 2011)

bad ass


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## Outlaw (Mar 8, 2010)

Way to go! Don't listen to the haters! You should be very proud to have pulled it off successfully!


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## D-Sieve (Mar 15, 2012)

Definitely Brown.
I enjoyed the report and the photos.
Good one!


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## farp (Nov 4, 2003)

Hard core, bad ass. There are very few people who would do that trip. Thanks for the report.


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## swiftwater15 (Feb 23, 2009)

*Bad-ass*

Re-reading my earlier post, it may have seemed I was hating. Didn't mean it that way. Awesome thing to go into the middle of a large wilderness, alone in the winter.


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## nicho (Mar 18, 2009)

Squeaks2, Nice trip and trip report and thanks for posting the pics. I have been getting into winter hiking and camping and really enjoyed your post. I sent you a pm with a few questions.


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## atg200 (Apr 24, 2007)

Totally badass. Loved reading this.


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## Phil U. (Feb 7, 2009)

Cool adventure, nice write up. Did you have any way of knowing that you weren't going to show up to a completely frozen rio? Seems like its a short window of fluidity once a northern rio gets that much ice started.


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## barry (May 6, 2004)

Damn Squeeks! I love my GF. We have been paddling together 19 years. I mean her no disrespect....but, with her her being home, safe, & dry there is nothing happening between us that would motivate me to carry, drag, and post-hole hike my (multi-day equipped) boat through that canyon. That is an impressive amount of commitment and given the way you describe eddying out above ice-dams; I think you may have invented a new sport. 

I am curious?

How much info did you have about river ice before you went in? 

I am guessing that you went from around 7,000 ft to 3,000 ft; how much snow & ice in the top 2,000 ft compared to the bottom?

I have done a winter over-nighter..with ice/snow portages ..not near the epic you pulled off but, my dry-suit was just tattered ribbons at the end..all fucked up and useless from the knees down...I was wishing that I had brought gaiters. How many dry-suit holes/tears did you deal with?

Other than the dry-suit, which makes sense, and renting your boat; do you have any other recommendations for the cold weather ice paddler? 

Again, nice work. 

BA


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## squeaks2 (Jan 5, 2013)

About the ice:

I called around a bit to see if anyone knew much about the ice conditions. However, I did not really care what the answer was. I simply wanted to be able to give a reasonable estimate of my exit date. If the river was fully iced up, so what? I would simply pack up and walk the shore. It may take a few more days but it wouldn't be much of a deal.

About Boating with the ice:

I did not run a single foot of river for which I did not have an out. So, there was zero stress on the water. When I could not see an out before the river went out of view, I would pull over and scout. 

About the Wilderness:

I was never more than 2.5 days walk from people. So, even if I lost my boat and all my gear, the walk to help would be fairly stress free with what I carry in my survival kit inside my drysuit. It is the same approach I take on my Selway runs. Compared to up north, the MF is not all that remote.

About the drysuit:

First off, the OS systems non breathable suits are bomber. I only ended up with one tear and a scuff. All from scrambling through shore rocks in the lower canyon. The tear was from lifting a foot and catching a roll of material on a crystal. If the dry suit was not 2 sizes to big the tear would not have happened. The ice itself only took a toll on my hands.

However, I am really, really careful with my movement when I am solo. I don't take a single step without thinking whether there is a chance I might slip or fall with that foot placement. Especially with a heavy pack on, stumbling around is fairly unacceptable. 

About the snow:

Surprisingly, the snow depth did not change at all. If anything, there was more snow in the lower canyon than at the start.


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## Billy Goat (Feb 3, 2011)

Damn that's a lot of work, thanks for the report. Humbling moments I'm sure. Cheers.


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## ragdoll (Jun 13, 2012)

How did you fit the groover, firepan, and gray water strainer in that pack raft? I sure hope you did the trip on the up and up. You didn't forget to pay your $6 per day to the FS did you?  

In all seriousness, for the naysayers, that country is packed all winter long with people. I worked as a hunting guide in the MFS 15 years ago and you'd be surprised at how often these things are done safely year after year. Its really one of the few place in the lower 48 that you can have that kind of experience. Thats why it is so important to protect the river of no return wilderness.


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## slickhorn (Dec 15, 2005)

awesome trip. inspiring. looks to me like a well executed plan with appropriate gear and planning and backup options. which is the hallmark of someone doing a trip within their abilities. kudos, and thanks for sharing! any good skiing in there?


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

Very cool.

I'm not envious of you in any way--that doesn't look like a trip I'd like to duplicate. :lol: You are a tough mofo and I hope you got the experience you were looking for. Good on you for getting out and doing something completely unusual. 

Great work on the report and the photos. Your report was good, but the photos added a lot. It was interesting to see how what I visualized when I read your first thread matched up with your 2nd thread with pics.


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

Yup. Pretty awesome. Someone said there are lot of people in there in the off season.... on an October trip I saw exactly one person at the B and that was it. My buddy did the permit stuff at Indian and he said there were three rangers up there. They said "by signing this you agree you brought all required gear" and declined to walk down to the ramp. 

It's also $4 per day. And a breakdown firepan, Wag bag and a corner of a tshirt would cover that gear.


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## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

it's pretty sad how little discussion his poor decision making has generated here. there is absolute 101 stupid shit in squeaky's report. truly the buzz is dead, cooked and stuffed these days with a bunch of bib wearers sitting around the table with spoons in their hands. 

so a winter solo trip on partially frozen,heavily ice bridged class IV river, followed by the choice to travel extensively by foot on unstable fucking ice bridges over said class IV river ,again alone,unaided, unbelayed. followed by the point that his mom and dad had SAR on "speed dial" if he missed his exit date. a rescue/ body recovery putting other folks in danger to pick up the pieces for his poor choices. followed by the lesser point that the guy can't even afford a packraft so who get's to pay for the rescue/body recovery....? us. and nothing but 'attaboys'? brilliant. i think you all have been watching too many gaper extraordinaire bear grylls reruns and it's rotted out your brains.

just remember,squeaky, once you plunge under to the wet side of an ice bridge and ,uh,"throwing a crimp" as you put it fails... odds are you're dead. 

maybe keep this old climbing adage in mind next time...."there old climbers and there are bold climbers but there are no old,bold climbers."

that is all. out.









mb.... t.s.t.t.t.


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## slickhorn (Dec 15, 2005)

I've never tried anything like this, so I can't speak to how stable the snow bridges are. Talking to the folks at Mackay who describe ramming the snow bridges above Chittum in a jet boat from upstream to clear them out ... frankly, they didn't sound exactly unstable. And that's a LOT lower than the MF canyon. 

at some point, you can't argue the fact that he completed the trip safely under his own power, right? So, is your argument that he's lucky to be alive and that you can assess the hazards better from your computer than he could while there dealing with it? 

seems pretty arrogant to me. I guess if I die in a rented boat on the GC, I could really afford it? OR didn't have the skills because ... I rented a boat? 

no old bold climbers doesn't mean only timid old climbers exist. It's possible to push oneself and face a challenge while still maintaining a margin of safety. It doesn't mean relegate thyself to roadside fair weather conditions....


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## bjett (Jun 30, 2005)

Awesome trip, and nice report. I love solo trips, but this one is slightly more than I would bite off...pretty damn hardcore. 
Ignore the insecure armchair toolbags, although I'm sure I don't have to tell you that. Keep on chasing whatever it is you're chasing...


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## GoodTimes (Mar 9, 2006)

Did squeaky take a shit in your cheerios or something? To each his own...and I don't think having to rent a packraft is an indication of his skill level or his financial situation. 

The consequences may make the MFS class IV this time of year....but the rapids certainly aren't.

Here's another bib wearer giving you an "atta boy"....in the spirit of adventure, I would have gladly paid my portion to SAR if the situation had turned grim.

Keep on exploring.......

BTW, your moniker (Up shit creek) would leave me to believe you've made poor choices in exploration????


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## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

slickhorn said:


> so I can't speak to how stable the snow bridges are. .


his words were the consistency of "cornflakes" in places. 

my only response to GC/ rental comment is put down the bong for a minute while typing.

i realize very few of you actually read the words in the report (probably skipped the bigger ones too of the few you did) and just looked at the pretty pictures and all. so there is that...


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## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

GoodTimes said:


> ...and I don't think having to rent a packraft is an indication of his skill level or his financial situation.
> 
> ?


holy shit,folks. fucking learn how to read.


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

upshitscreek said:


> holy shit,folks. fucking learn how to read.


Why read what you write? Anger-babble and insincere talk (..out, but oh no you are back for more!)


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## ragdoll (Jun 13, 2012)

carvedog said:


> Someone said there are lot of people in there in the off season....
> 
> It's also $4 per day. And a breakdown firepan, Wag bag and a corner of a tshirt would cover that gear.


 
Please don't twist, misrepresent, or take my words out of context. 


The required equipment/$ thing was a joke. Hance the smiley face. Its the last thing I believed anyone was concered about. I am sorry if my joke didn't make you smile.  My bad!


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## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

lhowemt said:


> Why read what you write?


IF you are going to respond to what i'm actually saying or what squeaky wrote, it's not a bad idea, short bus.


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## squeaks2 (Jan 5, 2013)

This is getting kind of entertaining. Mr. Upshitscreek, a few points:

Poor Ice:
In areas where the river receives sunlight, the sunlight seemed to cause the ice near the shore to melt away. Similar to moats near rocks on snow climbs. This caused the crap ice. I only dealt with such ice when I needed to get to shore to portage or scout. More importantly, such ice was never over flowing water. It was just a hassle to break/wallow through it to get to shore.

I never once walked on unstable ice (except for one sort of exception). Most the time I was walking on broken ice that was visibly a few feet thick. The exception was when I would need to get to the edge of the thin ice to re launch. In these cases I would walk to where the thick ice ended. Then I would lay on the boat and push it out to where the ice started cracking. I would get situated inside and push off.

About the Class IV rapids:

There were none. Moreover, almost all ice bridges occurred on flat stretches, where the river took a sharp bend, and where the river was moving in a east/west direction. Also, as I said, I did not run a single foot of river I did not have eyes on before committing to it. This method works great on Class V and similarly worked great on class II. The end result is in fact a very safe river experience. 

I was on vacation:

This trip was the mellowest trip I have been on in years. I spent the past 6 months specifically training for this trip (as I thought it would be the 20 day Stanley to LoLo pass ski traverse). Before you call me out for putting others unduly at risk you might first inquire about my experience level. I am fairly sure what I consider a fun outing would be your worst nightmare.

Although, going forward I am definitely not going to post a TR after I snowshoe into Meadow Creek and boat out in March. Your head might explode.


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

No way squeakers! Please post a tr. it's sad, people bitch about lack of content on the buzz, then just pass judgement and hate towards people that you do. 99% of us don't expect a peer-reviewed dissertation, but it sure is great to have some winter stoke. I'd love to be out doing winter camping trips, but I've gotten too soft in my middle age. Keep it coming, and just let the hater stuff bounce right off you.


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

Hey upshit. I did read and when you called a very low MF class 4 you lost all credibility. 

Not that you had any to begin with. Your bile and vitriol has been swirling around your postings, unabated, for quite some time. 

So why don't you try to engage in rational discourse - if you are actually concerned about safe boating - to raise some of your concerns. Or STFU. Since you don't have any friends in real life to gauge how to be reasonable amongst people here is a clue. 

Don't start by calling people names. 
Realize that you don't have all the details and knowing such might change your point of view. 
Others abilities may be different than yours. 
Don't be so fucking judgmental. 

Have a swell evening.


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## bucketboater (Jul 9, 2012)

upshitscreek said:


> it's pretty sad how little discussion his poor decision making has generated here. there is absolute 101 stupid shit in squeaky's report. truly the buzz is dead, cooked and stuffed these days with a bunch of bib wearers sitting around the table with spoons in their hands.
> 
> so a winter solo trip on partially frozen,heavily ice bridged class IV river, followed by the choice to travel extensively by foot on unstable fucking ice bridges over said class IV river ,again alone,unaided, unbelayed. followed by the point that his mom and dad had SAR on "speed dial" if he missed his exit date. a rescue/ body recovery putting other folks in danger to pick up the pieces for his poor choices. followed by the lesser point that the guy can't even afford a packraft so who get's to pay for the rescue/body recovery....? us. and nothing but 'attaboys'? brilliant. i think you all have been watching too many gaper extraordinaire bear grylls reruns and it's rotted out your brains.
> 
> ...


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## stonefly (Feb 23, 2007)

*"I was on vacation:*

*This trip was the mellowest trip I have been on in years. I spent the past 6 months specifically training for this trip (as I thought it would be the 20 day Stanley to LoLo pass ski traverse). Before you call me out for putting others unduly at risk you might first inquire about my experience level. I am fairly sure what I consider a fun outing would be your worst nightmare.*

*Although, going forward I am definitely not going to post a TR after I snowshoe into Meadow Creek and boat out in March. Your head might explode."*

I was with you and your adventure til right there... While I don't agree with Upshitscreek thoughts or language, by any means, you are starting to sound a little "braggy" now. Withholding your next trip report because a very few people gave you a pretty soft negative response among many accolades? 

There are plenty of boaters and people from all over who train hard and could easily keep up with you on your odd mission... The reason many don't is because most people just have limited time to do really awesome trips at optimal times in reasonable weather. They don't lack your toughness or heart. 

You slogged the Middle Fork in winter. Cool. It sounds very difficult and unnecessarily trying. Bad ass. I am truly glad you enjoyed it and hope you enjoy your next one. You sound level-headed and prepared for many more serious backcountry missions, but remember that being the best at going solo where no one wants to go should not really be a big deal to anyone but you. My first thought on this, and I suspect many thought the same, was not whether or not this feat could be accomplished, but why? You know why, of course, and I suspect in some small way that you derived pleasure not only from the mission, but also from the oddity of your endeavour. As someone said above - To each his own - I would guess you will own this and the "March Mooseness" trip for some time...

All of this was interesting, but the "my fun is your worst nightmare" is over the top. Unless we are writing a packrafting '80's action flick. Stick with the humility that the solo missions have undoubtedly taught you. It suits you and your path better. 

*Special Request ------------------------------------------------*

So, in the end, I called you out on something small here. Outside of the one action flick joke, I think it was respectful. I don't mind being told to stuff it, but if we discuss this further, let's agree to keep it civil. I grow weary of the "hater" schtick where any comment that does not fall in line with the original thought or most popular boater is dismissed with this lazy-assed term. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing on things, utilizing discourse to further the conversation and then agreeing to disagree if we don't see eye to eye.

Best, 
Dave 

FTR - I do not believe you put anyone unnecessarily at risk, I enjoyed your photos/TR and the feat, of course, lands you on the badass side of things. Also, I trademarked "March Mooseness" so don't even try it unless you are a trustie... Then please try it.


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## squeaks2 (Jan 5, 2013)

Don't take anything I say serriously. It can be hard to convey the right tone across the internet at times, and that last bit was ment to be obnoxious. 

Over and out.

-Eric


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## bucketboater (Jul 9, 2012)

squeaks2 said:


> This is getting kind of entertaining. Mr. Upshitscreek, a few points:
> 
> Poor Ice:
> In areas where the river receives sunlight, the sunlight seemed to cause the ice near the shore to melt away. Similar to moats near rocks on snow climbs. This caused the crap ice. I only dealt with such ice when I needed to get to shore to portage or scout. More importantly, such ice was never over flowing water. It was just a hassle to break/wallow through it to get to shore.
> ...


You had me till you got cocky, I still do a few b.c trips solo and think it's stupid each time but cant help it. I think of my friends who would say wtf he knew better, my family who trusted me and the media who would flame me. Sometimes it dampers the experience.
It's a personal choice that most others just don't get. Please don't try and be all hard with the my fun outing is your worst nightmare chit. You wouldn't say that if you punched through the ice 5' from shore . You had fun and it turned out well, leave it at that.


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## stonefly (Feb 23, 2007)

*My bad...*

Though not my cup of tea, I admire everything about the trip itself. That sort of thing takes a lot and says a lot about a persons drive, among many other things. This is a great example, too, of how durable the packraft actually is. My perception of the craft was altered significantly by your TR. Now off to see if I can craft a significantly altered perception.
Best,
Dave
Over and out


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## Nborelli (Nov 5, 2007)

squeaks2 said:


> This is getting kind of entertaining. Mr. Upshitscreek, a few points:
> 
> Poor Ice:
> In areas where the river receives sunlight, the sunlight seemed to cause the ice near the shore to melt away. Similar to moats near rocks on snow climbs. This caused the crap ice. I only dealt with such ice when I needed to get to shore to portage or scout. More importantly, such ice was never over flowing water. It was just a hassle to break/wallow through it to get to shore.
> ...


Please post for the rest of us !


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Sounds like an awesome adventure. 

Some responses here demonstrate a common (but wrong) philosophy that anyone taking more risk than me is an idiot, and anyone taking less risk than me is a wimp. 

I loved a quote I heard from a Norwiegian... there is no such thing as bad weather... only bad gear. Winter travel isn't crazy, it just requires more gear, and more methodical planning and execution.

One comment... an planned exit date beyond which a family calls S&R is of little utility in my mind. If the shit hits the fan early in the trip, you have days to wait for S&R, and then they have 100 miles of canyon to search in the winter. You could be frozed stiff before anyone even knows to come looking for you. 

I'm a big propenent of the SPOT tracker for trips like this. Small, lightweight, can be carried on yourself. If the shit hits the fan, push a button, S&R knows exactly where you are with GPS coordinates instantly. On a solo trip like this, I can think of multiple ways that a somewhat minor injury or accident (broken hand, ripped drysuit and swim, broken foot, twisted ankle) could make an epic, and have potentially fatal consequences. A couple hundred bucks to insure against the rare, but very real possibility, is worthwhile in my opinion.


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

deepsouthpaddler said:


> I'm a big propenent of the SPOT tracker for trips like this. Small, lightweight, can be carried on yourself. If the shit hits the fan, push a button, S&R knows exactly where you are with GPS coordinates instantly. On a solo trip like this, I can think of multiple ways that a somewhat minor injury or accident (broken hand, ripped drysuit and swim, broken foot, twisted ankle) could make an epic, and have potentially fatal consequences. A couple hundred bucks to insure against the rare, but very real possibility, is worthwhile in my opinion.


Not only that, but the other button you can push daily with a preprogrammed message to send your family, "Doing well, trip going as planned, love you all!" to allay their fears and keep them from phoning SAR.


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## natepelton (Feb 24, 2011)

*DeLorme InReach*

We used a DeLorme InReach on a recent GC trip and it worked great. It does everything SPOT does as far as tracking and the SOS button, but can also be paired up with a DeLorme GPS and you can send emails, not just predefined messages. They give you a map page that is very nice and easy to use and friends/family can watch your progress on the map (topo or aerial). Tracking points are sent every 10 minutes. The map page keeps all of your points forever, but you can adjust the date range it shows. You can even specify different date ranges for different viewers. I went to EMS to buy a SPOT and came out with an InReach and the matching GPS. Check it out.


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## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

carvedog said:


> when you called a very low MF class 4 you lost all credibility.


oh the buuuuuurrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn,oh great hairsplitter of the buzz! you sure got me. i'm a fraud....and you caught me!!! boy howdy, how will i ever live down the shame? 

oh dear, i'll try again.... a III+(better,carvedog? i want to get it just right for you!) boulder garden at low flows choked with numerous ice bridges,ect. ( and ,of course, the ice bridges/iced shoreline/iced over eddies certainly do not add anything to difficulty or consequences of being on the river.) 

and did i spell everything right, carvedog? i'd hate to be a bad speller in your eyes too.


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## dirtbagkayaker (Oct 29, 2008)

Squeaks2 you gota have brass nuts man. Mine would have frozen off and I would have died down there. 

Super cool!


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

upshitscreek said:


> oh the buuuuuurrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn......blah, blah, blah.


haters gotta hate. I guess you do what you're good at.


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## mgpaddler (May 3, 2009)

Wow, this thread sure got spirited. Elliot Dubois would have been burned at the stake with this crowd. I can't believe J.W. Powell escaped the firing squad. Early trappers were surely heretics, just look at Earl Parrot. His Spot locator was a side arm, he wasn't going to limp away from any mishap.


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## billfish (Nov 22, 2009)

No big deal. When things warm up and everyone gets a taste of that decriminalized WA and CO weed, they'll all say WTF, lets go boating.


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

billfish said:


> No big deal. When things warm up and everyone gets a taste of that decriminalized WA and CO weed, they'll all say WTF, lets go boating.


And upshit will be talking about how irresponsible and endangering to boaters that would be to have someone under the influence of the devil weed or some shit. 
He will find a way. Of that I am sure. 

To the OP. Once again well done. If you want to hear some funny winter boating stories talk to John at Blackadar. But this was in the 70s and 80s. Pretty sure they were in jeans and converse. And ripped the floor out of the boat. Someone fell through and went under the ice dam ......

Enough to melt your brain it is.


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

natepelton said:


> We used a DeLorme InReach on a recent GC trip and it worked great. It does everything SPOT does as far as tracking and the SOS button, but can also be paired up with a DeLorme GPS and you can send emails, not just predefined messages. They give you a map page that is very nice and easy to use and friends/family can watch your progress on the map (topo or aerial). Tracking points are sent every 10 minutes. The map page keeps all of your points forever, but you can adjust the date range it shows. You can even specify different date ranges for different viewers. I went to EMS to buy a SPOT and came out with an InReach and the matching GPS. Check it out.


My spot has a "custom" button also, which I think is well used to be a "call for help but no emergency" notification to family. With a friend recently getting stuck on the Green, and apparently the DeLorme had only an OK or SOS, I still prefer the spot. However, maybe he just didn't get some functionality that could be available, as far as we all knew he had only those two options. Supposedly the DeLorme can do 2 way communication with text, and that would have gone a LONG way for him and his folks to be able to communicate that rescue was or was not desired at any given time. Especially on a solo trip, that communication would be very useful.


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