River Crossing

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siwhitetail
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River Crossing

Unread postby siwhitetail » Wed Jun 28, 2017 5:01 am

Looking for ideas or advice. I'm trying to access some swamp ground by crossing a river. The river is about 30 yards wide and the issue is that the banks are like 5 feet of almost straight up and down mud on each side. It can't be waded. And with the steep banks, a kayak or canoe won't work. My only decent thought has been a zipline, but that would probably break some laws and could be dangerous, not to mention generally difficult to pull off. Any ideas?


Grasshopper
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby Grasshopper » Wed Jun 28, 2017 6:59 am

I've used a climbing stick to get up high creek banks. Or you could stash an old ladder somewhere nearby
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby Grasshopper » Wed Jun 28, 2017 7:01 am

Just reread your post and realized I didn't help much with the hard part. I think I've read on here of people putting rocks and logs in the muck to make a crossable path.
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Stanley
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby Stanley » Wed Jun 28, 2017 7:05 am

I've been known to carry a short rung ladder for places like that.
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Dhurtubise
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby Dhurtubise » Wed Jun 28, 2017 7:42 am

I would ferry a canoe across that. You should be able to find a small section of bank that can be scaled. Even the straightest runs have wadeable perimeters, unless there's a man made dyke.
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Lockdown
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby Lockdown » Wed Jun 28, 2017 8:31 am

Just thinking out loud here...

If you could drive a stake/anchor into the eroded bank, you could tie off your canoe. Then a rope ladder (or something similar) would get you up the bank. If it's only a 5' bank, when you climb back down, tuck the ladder back up on the bank to keep it hidden. :shhh:

Instead of an anchor in the bank a tree root would be more discrete. And legal.
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Lockdown
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby Lockdown » Wed Jun 28, 2017 8:33 am

If you possess ninja like balance you could also set up a 6' A-frame ladder in your canoe and step on to the bank :lol:
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strutnrut716
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby strutnrut716 » Wed Jun 28, 2017 9:02 am

Lockdown wrote:Just thinking out loud here...

If you could drive a stake/anchor into the eroded bank, you could tie off your canoe. Then a rope ladder (or something similar) would get you up the bank. If it's only a 5' bank, when you climb back down, tuck the ladder back up on the bank to keep it hidden. :shhh:

Instead of an anchor in the bank a tree root would be more discrete. And legal.


I think LD has a great idea. I would add if you even used a large diameter rope instead of a ladder. I once climbed down a steep bank in a national forest in the NW US (on a trail). It worked great ! Just use the rope to pull yourself up and lower yourself down. Get one and tie it to something at the top.
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strutnrut716
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby strutnrut716 » Wed Jun 28, 2017 9:18 am

Found a photo of that rope assisted trail. It was on the trail above Shi Shi beach in Olympic National Park. This shows what I meant. The trail would never be traversed without it. It was wayyyy to steep. And we did this with full camping packs.

Image
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PK_
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby PK_ » Wed Jun 28, 2017 10:21 am

Rope. Waders. Inner tube. PFD.
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby blizzardhunter » Wed Jun 28, 2017 3:43 pm

I would use a sledge and drive some stobs like pegs to climb the bank. Rip a 2x4 in half, cut into 30 inch pieces, cut a point at one in and drive them. They will last a while and be stout as can be
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby siwhitetail » Fri Jun 30, 2017 1:30 am

That's the idea I like the most so far, Blizzard. Think those would get compromised easily in a flood?
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justdirtyfun
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Fri Jun 30, 2017 3:29 am

I bought a kayak for a similar situation, then realized it wasn't going to work.
Next thought is a boat tube 2 or 3 person with a flat level top. Tying a rope on each bank should make it work. But bow, stand and gear will get tricky quick.
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby blizzardhunter » Fri Jun 30, 2017 5:42 am

siwhitetail wrote:That's the idea I like the most so far, Blizzard. Think those would get compromised easily in a flood?

If you drive the stobs 18-24 inches you shouldn't have a problem. I work construction and will tell you those things hold up. I wouldn't be surprised it you got 2-3 years out of them.
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Lockdown
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Re: River Crossing

Unread postby Lockdown » Fri Jun 30, 2017 8:27 am

blizzardhunter wrote:
siwhitetail wrote:That's the idea I like the most so far, Blizzard. Think those would get compromised easily in a flood?

If you drive the stobs 18-24 inches you shouldn't have a problem. I work construction and will tell you those things hold up. I wouldn't be surprised it you got 2-3 years out of them.


Sounds like the way to go to me.


I bet Blizzard recommends driving them at an angle to allow for some give?


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