Day 13

6:00pm


    Today was the first day of my Swift Water Rescue class. SWR is a subcategory of technical rescue that involves whitewater river conditions. My peers included other whitewater kayakers like myself. For the first part of the day, the instructor went over general river knowledge such as gear, rescue situations, and hydrology. It was mostly all stuff I already knew, but it was a good refresher. After lunch, we got in the water. This section of the Nantahala River is dam driven and since the water is let out of the bottom of the lake, the water temp is a nice 50 degrees. I had no access to a dry suit, so I made sure to layer up well. After some practice of rope throwing we went swimming. We practiced swimming across the river and the different techniques. We then went wading. Wading can be used in rescue situations as it is a safe way to cross a small river and provides a temporary eddy to help someone if they are stuck. Lastly, we practiced how to get over strainers. A strainer is anything in the river that allows water through, but not anything else. These are most commonly trees. SWR training is good for me to take not only for my own personal safety as I progress in river difficulty but for others I may be paddling with. Tomorrow, we will be doing even more swimming. 

Hours:

9:00am to 4:00pm

Day: 7 hours

Total: 86 hours

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