cambodia-and-angkor-wat
A blog entry by proxy from Alex B, back from a survey trip in Angkor Wat!
Robin,
We found a multitude of great trails, mostly winding through beautiful countryside, and some leading to more remote Temples. We (re)discovered Beng Melea, which 8 years ago was nearly inaccessible. Today a new paved road leads to the place.
Thanks to the slowly developing rural area, we found great dirt trails to reach it.
We managed a few 60km to 70 km loops, which will be part of our programs.
Cycling through rural Cambodia is always a pleasure and at this period, despite some rain, the experience is just awesome. I still think that Angkor Wat and its area is best visited by bicycle!
The Wild Lodge and NorthernTrails team are planning biking tours in Angkor Wat, starting this November, from the Wild Lodge.
Coming soon is our scheduled trips in combination with cycling at Kao Ito, near the Lodge, and in Chiang-Mai.
During our sojourn, we stayed at the comfortable Pavillion Indochine,
(http://www.pavillon-indochine.com) a hotel I can strongly recommend.
On the road again, Alex
Whitewater Creeking - a rescue perspective
An excerpt from a rescue article posted online via the Playak blog…….
“Setting out on a section of river, all the fun points that we rack up by going off of boofs, shooting down slides, and generally whooping it up with our friends can only be redeemed by safely reaching take-out all together. Paddling is a bizarrely individual-team activity in that while we rarely set out alone, it is primarily one’s own self relied upon for rescue when one’s line deviates from plan A. That said, when plan A gives way to self-rescue, and self-rescue doesn’t cut the mustard, we must be ready to act.
When climbers set out with ropes, they are securely tied to each other with figure-eight follow-throughs, ready to catch a fall when one falters. Paddlers ropes are thrown in the moment when molotov cocktails are going off all around. This adds an element of chaos to whitewater safety and all the more reason to evaluate and refine your approach to safety as you progress.
Looking back over the season at a number of rescues in which I was either a rescuer or a rescuee, I have a number of insights (reminders really) to offer…
Carry a ROPE. If switching between creek boat and playboat, don’t forget that string! Unless you have go-go gadget arms or spidey-web shooter things, if you don’t have your rope, drive shuttle.
Probably a good idea to carry a break-down paddle, first aid kit, and unplanned overnight stuff to make you better at carrying that lug-nut kayak and ballast your boat with hole-punching power. Plus, having that stuff can make you look/be super-cool once in a while.
Listen to your spidey-sense. On one particular trip of the summer, I went first through a rapid on beta from the scout, caught an eddy below as instructed, and gave the “good” signal. I then saw that the next rapid was not so good and wasted no time in jumping out with a rope just in case the eddy was missed. Because of this foresight, I was able to keep a friend from swimming into the next rapid (which swallowed his paddle). Getting out is a good stretch for the legs and a good habit.
No, Really! Carry a ROPE! If you don’t have your rope with you when you’re out of your boat, you might as well be fill_in_the_blank. If you find a good spot to set safety, open the throw bag and play out some length so it’s ready to throw. If you anticipate throwing a short distance, consider throwing coils of the rope instead of the entire bag so there is less length to potentially entangle a swimmer or snag on rocks.
Use multiple forms of rescue. If there are enough people, someone on the bank with a rope should be backed up by someone waiting in their boat in the water. Ropes are good for snagging people, boats are good for the secondary concern of chasing down equipment.
When the clock stops, use the time-out. When someone is pinned, getting beat-down, or swiming, look alive and get ‘em out! Once it is a matter of picking up the pieces and putting humpty-dumpty back together, catch your breath and think things through.
Use smart pendulums. If a swimmer climbs out of the drink and ends up on the wrong side of the river to be re-united with their boat, a good plan is to use a tow-tether to ferry the empty, right-side-up kayak over to them. If this is not advisable in the scenario and the swimmer needs to be rope-pendulumed across the river, take the time to do the following:
once the rope has been thrown to the stranded paddler on the other side, decide the best point to hold the rope from. By moving the hold-point further away from the river, the pendulum vector will bring the swimmer across the river more quickly. This strategy must be balanced with conserving down-stream movement, which can be done by moving the hold-point up-stream and closer to the river. In actual practice this will be informed also by available footing and/or anchor points.
use anchor points when possible. A tree’s root mass will probably hold better than popeye the sailor man jacked-up on vitamin B12. A few wraps around the trunk will do the trick. Occasionally a rock chocked between other rocks will work as an anchor, but test this first by tugging on it. If no anchor is available, the more the merrier for people holding on to the rope.
modify the hold-point as the swimmer jumps in to take their pendulum ride. If there is room to move further away from the river while holding the rope, doing so can help the swimmer get across. The same can be accomplished by grabbing the mid-point of an anchored rope and moving away from the river with it.
Use those cool rings on the back of your PFD. If a swimmer is clawing on a slick wall trying to get out of the drink and someone goes to give them a hand, ‘biner a rope to their ring. If the footing sucks enough that the swimmer needs help, the helper may well end up needing help.
note: They are called “strong-swimmer rings” because they are used in “live-bait” rescues in which one jumps into the drink to help a brother/sister out. These are rare and are more about improvisation and bravery than strict protocol, so I won’t go into further detail.
Like sitting in an emergency exit row, “if you are unwilling or incapable of performing these tasks, please move to a different…” Make sure that the people you paddle with also accept these terms and conditions.
If you think that running a given rapid may well result in any of the above being needed, consider not running it! Self-rescue is your best option and self-preservation is the instinct that resulted in your lineage surviving from a protozoa to the being that you are today! Wheras climber’s ropes are securely fastened before they slip and fall, paddler’s are not. If you think you may need a clutch save, consider the consequences of a missed-throw or a bungled catch. If the outcome is unacceptable, take a stroll down the side-walk.”
If you paddle regularly and the above seems al double dutch then get on a training course for your own and your paddling buddies sake !!!