River crossings

WanderLost Radical

WanderLost Radical

New member
I'm not sure if this belongs in this category, but since it's water-related, might be!

So I've been unsuccessfully confronted to this issue before, as I've posted here, having to cross a river with a backpack you obviously wanna keep dry.

I don't care about the clothes I'm wearing, but what are your techniques for keeping your bag out of the water when crossing a water point?

Would using your pants as a floatation device work? Like if you put your bag on top?
 
It really depends how big the crossing is. I will often cross once, leaving my pack behind, and tie a long rope tightly across from one side to the other. Clip the pack on with a carabiner and guide it along. If that doesn't work, I would suggest making a raft out of driftwood and other various things laying around. Not sure about the pants though.
 
When i was in the 82nd, we would wrap our ruck sack with our ponchos. Then pull or push it across with us. It was buoyant enough to use as a flotation device. The trick is to fold it so the seam ends up on the top of the gear. Pack would only get wet if it took to long to cross, or got flipped over. Ponchos were only 4x8 so any tarp that size or larger would work as well, provided it did not have holes in it. If you put your pack into a garbage bag first, then wrapped it in a tarp, you'd be good to go. It is also handy to have a rope to tie onto the bundle 1, to help keep it wrapped tight and 2, it makes handling it easier.
 
wizehop said:
I usually carry at least one large plastic bag with me. If I was in that situation I'd put my pack in it, tie it shut and float it across with me.
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Yeah, thats what I'm the most worried about. Holes in the bag or whatever. Last time I had a bag that was supposed to be waterproof, but wasnt, and ended up ruining my electronics.

The rope trick could be useful, though, if the bag isnt too heavy. Because otherwise youd have to tie your rope super high to counter the "weight slope".

I obviously thought about the driftwood, but that seemed like a time consuming solution. But it's efficient!!
 
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