Hall's IGA is now a Family Dollar/Dollar Tree
The West Branch Gear List provides a framework for paddlers as they prepare their gear. It is not intended to be comprehensive. Even though items appearing in all capital letters are indicated as essential, the individual makes the final decision. Based on experience however, the paddler's comfort and safety will be improved by including of the items that appear in all Capital Letters
The following sections offer rational for the inclusion of gear and points to consider as each paddler selects their gear.
Canoe Basics
Personal Flotation devices can save your life. Please wear them at all times on the river. The "horse collar" style can work but are uncomfortable while the best kind are vests are more comfortable and will also act as a layer of insulation. If you need to borrow a vest, please notify Chris or Gary.
Kneeling pads: When traveling through rapids, the safest position is for both paddlers to be on their knees. Kneeling insures that the center of gravity of the boat is below the gunwales and less likely to flip. Conversely, the use of stadium seats that have been strapped onto canoe seats places most of the individual's body weight above the gunwales and significantly increases the likelihood of the canoe flipping. These seats are not recommended. Kneeling pads will provide more comfort during the times that paddlers are on their knees. If you need to borrow one, please notify Chris or Gary.
Ropes; Painters on the canoes will help when bringing the canoe onto land and enable the boat to be secured so it doesn't drift away. When not in use, they should be coiled and stowed away so they don't drag in the water or get tangled up with the canoeist. The group has two emergency throw bags. One is in the lead canoe and the other is in the sweep boat. Most everyone uses a length of rope to secure their gear into their canoes. Paracord diameter rope is sufficient for this but "clothes line" also works. The rope that is used to secure gear can conceivably also be used to hang wet clothes out to dry in camp. Rope is also useful to hang tarps in camp. Usually, a few paddlers bring longer lengths of rope for this purpose.
Coolers: Usually, each canoe has one Cooler. This number varies depending on who is responsible for bringing the food. All meals have items that need to be cold. It is helpful if everyone retains some space in their coolers for parts of the meals. Consider wrapping a bungee cord or strap around the cooler to prevent it from opening and spilling its contents into the river
Core Gear
Dry bags have become less expensive over the years and are effective in keeping gear dry. They reduce the likelihood of having a waterlogged sleeping bag and assure that there are dry clothes to change into at the end of the day. Alternatives to dry bags are 5 gallon buckets with "Gamma Seal" screw on lids. They are effective but their rigidity might make them a little harder to stow. Ziploc bags provide a fairly good measure of waterproofness and generic brands are available at Dollar Tree in 1 quart, 1 gallon and 2.5 gallon sizes. Water proof bags can be made by placing gear into a nylon stuff sack, then placing that into a garbage bag or contractor's bag, and, after tying that off, placing that into a duffle bag, backpack or another nylon stuff sacks. Keep in mind that a few smaller dry bags offer greater flexibility when loading the canoe.
Double redundancy; A primary concept is that one should not bring anything on the river that they are not prepared to lose. Sometimes, "losing" something might not be having it fall into the river but a result of an item getting wet. So, if you bring items like a cell phone, a camera, or a GPS, consider placing the item in a Ziploc bag and then in a hard container (like an ammo box, dry box, or 5 gallon bucket) and then tied into the canoe.
Personal care items can be grouped into a Ziploc bag and stowed inside a clothing bag but if there are specific items that you need to access easy quickly (like sunscreen or medications), keep them in a small bag that is not likely to go overboard. Any first aid items specific to your own use should be included with your personal care items.
MEALS AND WATER Portions of Friday and Saturday's dinners and Sunday's Breakfast are frozen in "Boilin' Bags." This results in convenience and ease of clean-up but it necessitates additional space in coolers. When everyone saves some cooler space for meals in their cooler, it benefits everyone. In fact, all of our meals have items that need to remain cold (eggs, cold-cuts, cheese, breakfast sandwiches, salad) so sharing the load results in every canoe bearing a similar load and no one being overloaded. Water from the West Branch and its tributaries is not considered potable. While a few canoeists carry water to be used for coffee and other cooking purposes, each person should bring water for their own consumption. Consider bringing a few pints or quart of water for group use.
Toilet paper is brought for the group and is contained in a 5 gallon bucket.
River Wallet: There is no real need to bring a wallet on the river however one can consider bringing a little cash and perhaps a form of Identification. Our cars are securely parked at Karthaus and wallets can be secured in car trunks. In some cases, car keys and "wallets" might be brought on the river but make doubly certain that they will not be lost overboard. It is really inconvenient if you lose your only set of car keys in the river. Consider using an ammo box or small drybag to keep your important items in; and then put them into another container that is well secured in the canoe
Camping Basics (Shelter, sleeping)
Keep an eye on the weather and check historic temperature averages and record highs and lows. This will guide you in selecting appropriate shelter and sleeping gear and clothing. For example, if the forecast is for blustery, rainy weather, you might not want to sleep under a tarp. If it is going to be cold, you might want to bring a sleeping bag liner or a blanket and some warm clothing and wool socks dedicated for sleepwear.
You will be more comfortable with insulation between you and the ground. At a minimum, a blue foam sleeping pad (sold at Walmart) is useful. Consider bringing a self-inflating backpacking air mattress like a Thermorest insulated air mattress if you own one. Cots have become more common. If you decide to bring one, it should set up low and close to the ground. It should also pack up small; ideally, smaller than the folding chair that you are bringing.
Clothing
As with packing your shelter and sleeping system, it is a good idea to look at the weather forecast and the historic temperature averages and record highs and lows in Shawville or Karthaus when selecting your clothing. Regardless, of the weather there are some points to keep in mind when packing your clothing
Chances are great that you will get wet to some degree. Ideally, the only time any of us will get wet is when we get a little paddle splash on our pants. Practically though, the chance of rain is always present and it is not uncommon to have a rapid splash water over your bow.
If it rains; Bring either a poncho or rain suit. There are pros and cons to both. If you opt for a rain suit, consider whether you will be wearing your Rain jacket over or under your PFD. If it goes over your PFD, it might be a good idea to get a jacket that is a size larger. Similarly, if you have rain pants that are a size larger, they can fit over the pants that you would normally wear. Rain pants will keep your legs dry in the rain. They will also keep your legs dry if you get any river splashing over the gunwales.
Layering; It is generally recognized that the most effective way to select clothing is to use three layers. Information can be found online by searching "Andrew Skurka clothing layers", "REI Layering basics", or "NRS Layering system". They all have slightly different takes on the system but agree that the base layer should wick perspiration away from your skin, the insulation layer keeps you warm, and the outer layer protects you from wind and rain. Cotton retains moisture and dries slowly so when the cotton jeans and t-shirts you wear get wet, they stay wet and your body heat is wicked away. Consider synthetic fabrics for the river and leave cotton for camp.
Consider leaving a set of dry clothing in the car at takeout to change into instead of carrying it down the river with you.