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Setting up a run
It's best not to just charge into rapids at first sight. This section outlines all the things to do to lower the risk and increase the chances of everyone having a good time.
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Scouting rapids
Since there are things in rapids that can hurt you, it's a good idea to go look at them first. Many elements of rapids can't be seen from within your boat, so to determine if it's a runnable rapid, you'll need to go look at them from the shore. Nasty hazards, like a waterfall, remain invisible without changing your perspective. At other times, your line of sight might be completely blocked by the river taking a bend, and you should never run a rapid if you don't know what's coming up. The start of a rapid could look straight and easy before it funnels you into a giant keeper without any eddies to escape to. Get out and go look.
Scouting is the act of stopping before a rapid, getting out of the boats, examining the rapid from a better vantage point, talking about it with your crew, and making some decisions. See our River reading section for more information on how to interpret the rapids.
Get used to scouting
Some novices are itching to go at the first sight of a fun-looking rapid, and they don't understand why the group is stopping to get out and look at it. They often learn quickly. Rapids are more complex than they first appear. Even paddlers who are very experienced and know the rapid well should stop and scout with the beginners. Additionally, different water levels impact the rapid and its features—familiarity with one water level does not necessarily translate to other water levels or water temperatures.
Scouting is also part of the fun for group whitewater trips. It's a time when you can get out and chat about the rapid with others. Once you've accepted the importance of scouting, it will be less of an annoyance and more of a part of the adventure.
Scout safely
Wear your personal protective equipment (helmet, PFD, and throw rope), even when scouting on shore. In a moment, you could find yourself in the rapids or in a rescue situation if you or someone else slips and falls into the river. It's ideal for each scout to wear a smaller throw bag attached to their body so that it's always available during scouts.
If the shoreline is rocky and treacherous, bring your paddle along, which serves as a convenient third balancing point while you walk. It can also serve as a giant pointer stick when talking to a group about a rapid.
It may seem trite, but it is really important to walk carefully when scouting. If the group is feeling rushed, scouting can feel like a time-suck, and there is a tendency to want to move quickly. Since most of scouting is along the shoreline, it's often rock-to-rock walking, and often on wet rocks. In addition to falling into the river, there is a real risk of injury—a twisted ankle, a jammed toe, a scraped leg, or worse. Careless scouting can end a trip prematurely or make it much more difficult with a serious injury.
On one of our trips, a paddler was running across some rocks unnecessarily and tripped on a plant root hidden by leaves. He caught himself, but his hands landed on either side of a sharp rock but took it pretty hard on the chin. We got the gusher stopped and used those steri-trips to keep the skin together and carry on. He had a nice blood stain all over his PFD until his next dump.
Scouting is a fun part of whitewater canoe tripping.
How to scout
"WORMMS" is a scouting acronym to help whitewater paddlers remember all the things to look for on a scout. It's not just about finding the line you want to take. (The key terms used below are covered in our Communication section).
WATER: What's the water doing and where is it going? Where is the power? What are all the features of the rapid (e.g., eddies, keepers, Vs, etc.) First get to understand the rapid before anything else.
OBSTACLES: What are all the things that you'd bump into if you had no idea what you're doing? Of all the features that you just examined, which ones would get in the way? Consider obstacles like large rocks, ledges, logs, sweepers, etc. You need to have line of sight on the whole rapid to ensure there are no critical obstacles in the way. It might be necessary to eddy out several times on a rapid or to ferry to a side to get a better vantage point for scouting.
Assess the greater context beyond the rapid. Is there a safe pool between this rapid and the next, or does the next rapid start right away? If you were to dump, would you have time to get to shore before being pushed into the next rapid?
ROUTE: This is the part where you try to find a way through all of it. Visualize yourself going down the rapid. Which hazards will you encounter along the way? Do you have the skill to navigate through a potential line? What is your plan B route if your plan A doesn't work out?
Talk it through with other paddlers. Share ideas. Others will see things that you miss because of experience or sometimes just because they have a slightly different perspective from where they are standing. Don’t pick and run too quickly. Rapids are often more complex than they are at first glance. Talk it through.
Look beyond the line you're excited about. Paddlers can get tunnel vision when excited about a line. Think about what will happen if you don't nail your desired line.
Will the boat take on a great deal of water through wave splashes along the way? Sometimes the line is straight and easy, but the paddlers did not account for the amount of water that splashes into the boat, increasing the difficulty of maneuvering and leading to swamping (when the canoe basically sinks from too much water coming over the gunwales).
MOVES: What paddle strokes and maneuvers will you need to do to make that line, and does everyone in the boat have the necessary skills? In tandem canoes, you'll need to coordinate ahead of time what strokes you'll need to use and when.
MARKERS: Your intended line is often not visible from the lower point of view within the boat. Ledge drops are particularly difficult to see. Paddlers can get lost in a rapid since it will look completely different from inside the boat and they will lose their line. Once your route is chosen, you'll need to visualize what it will look like from the water and plan out how you will know where you are. Use higher features on the shore, like trees or rocks, as marker points. Sometimes these can even be set up manually by intentionally placing a piece of driftwood or a fellow paddler as a marker. On some tricky-to-see lines, we have had a paddler stand at a strategic spot on shore and just point to the line with their paddle.
SAFETY: What's going to happen if it all goes wrong? Remember, the question is "How dangerous is it?" (Rather than "is it dangerous?") What's the risk to the paddlers and the canoe and gear if you dump? What is the risk of your plan B line? What's your swimming exit strategy if you dump?
What risk will there be to others if they have to rescue you? Where should people on shore be positioned to be in the best position to assist in an emergency?
After all of that, you can decide if you'll run it.
Mini scouts
Sometimes, on rapids that you're already very familiar with, you can get by with a simpler scout. You'll still need to check unseen areas in case a tree has fallen into the river, if there are already paddlers there, or sometimes just to remind yourself of the line. A mini scout may be stopping briefly at the shore and getting to some higher ground, perhaps on a rock to have a quick peek at the familiar rapid to confirm it's ok to run.
A mini scout could also mean standing in your canoe to take advantage of a higher perspective. Sometimes we do this before rapids that we just did a full scout on just to find the line again from the perspective of the boat. It's surprising how much more you can see by doing this, but you need to be very good at this and practiced in flatwater. Falling in just before the start of a rapid is both dangerous and embarrassing.
Other scouting tips
Watch more experienced paddlers run the rapid and learn from their run, especially if something goes wrong. Watch for the kinds of strokes that they use to get through (whether they worked or not). Watch carefully how the water impacts the canoe and what the paddlers do in response. Sometimes obstacles—like rocks beneath the surface—are only made evident when a boat going down the river hits them.
Multi-part scouts are needed in some long, complex rapids. Sometimes you can’t see all the way down a rapid when scouting. If you see a clear, safe place to eddy out, you can scout the next section from there. Or you might find that the initial scout reveals that the safest option is to portage or line past an obstacle.
Throwing a stone or stick at a particular rapid can help with clear communication if you're unsure your listener understands which rapid you're talking about. It's sometimes clearer than pointing.
Setting roles
When tackling challenging rapids with larger groups, we assign clear roles to the experienced paddlers. To ensure safety for novices, we create a 'sandwich' formation, with experienced individuals leading at the front and providing support from the rear.
The Lead
The Lead is an experienced paddler who acts as the lead boat and runs rapids first. This role requires a high level of skill as this is the first demonstration of a line through the rapid. There is generally no one at the bottom to help if they run into trouble. After they run, they may need to signal rapid information to the rest of the group and will wait in their boat ready to rescue if anyone dumps. If a direct line of sight down the whole rapid isn't available for the next paddlers, the Lead will signal with a single whistle blast or radio message. This is to avoid a pile-up situation.
On Split Rock trips, our kayaker usually has this role since they can nimbly avoid any surprises that were missed when scouting. They can then radio a report on whether it is safe to run.
The Sweep
The Sweep is the last boat to run a rapid and is paddled by competent rescuers ready to support anyone who runs into trouble partway down and will jump the queue in an emergency. They also provide some crowd control and ensure spacing between canoes on the rapid.
If a boat capsizes, they will also be responsible for managing the upstream group to ensure that no more boats come crashing down the river and into the swimmers.
By running last, the Sweep ensures that no novice paddler is alone at the end without anyone to support if something goes wrong. But this also means that there is no one behind to support them, and in fast-moving water, it can be very difficult for anyone to get back upstream to help them. The sweep role should only be done by very competent paddlers.
Chase boat
On more challenging rapids, the second or third boat down sets up at the end of a rapid, sometimes parked in an eddy, ready to assist if anything goes wrong. This role may coach novice paddlers as they go through a rapid—through hollering instructions, or pointing with their paddle—and can directly effect a rescue if needed. In the event of a capsize, and if the swimmers are safe and can easily get to shore, this boat "chases" down floating pieces of gear.
Shore Rescuers
Paddlers with more whitewater experience can be posted on the shore near parts of a rapid with higher risk, like a ledge, as Shore Rescuers. They can be standing by with a throw bag in hand, ready to toss a line to swimmers. Note that rescuers need to be posted downstream of the hazards, as swimmers will be washed further downstream before they can get into the defensive swimming position and ready to receive a throw bag. You can learn more about this in the Safety and Rescue section of this handbook.
Watching others
If time permits, each paddler can watch the boats that run before them to gain insights (and take video) before they run it themselves. Often, paddlers will reconsider their chosen line after seeing someone dump when attempting the same line. Watching together can be a lot of fun, and it’s great to have an audience, but not all rapids offer this, especially long ones. Sometimes, the only feedback on a run is a message through the two-way radio after the Lead boat has successfully (or unsuccessfully) run it.
The 'audience' also has the important role of cheering on paddlers and celebrating successful runs. Who doesn't love a cheering section? Note, "successful" here can still include runs that end in a swamped boat or paddlers swimming—the success is measured first by the safety of the paddlers, then the boat and gear, and finally, by the fun had!
The paddling group intently watches the first paddler through the rapid.
Battening down the hatches
When the scouting is over, and you get into your canoe to run the rapid, take a moment to ensure that everything in your boat, including yourself, is ready. Occasionally, when people are so focused on thinking about their line, they forget important stuff.
Make sure your PFD and helmet are on (though this should already have been on for the scout)
Your spare paddle needs to be ready in a spot where you can pull it out with little effort.
Your water bottle and 'boat bag' or any other small things like hats, maps, etc., need to be secured to the boat.
Thigh straps are on and properly tightened if you're using them (but let's be real, if you're using thigh straps, you probably don't need to be told this by a website!)
Painter lines on the bow and stern are properly bundled and put under the shock cord (or whatever mechanism you're using).
Importantly, if you're recording, start your camera.
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