Dangerous things people do

[BillM]

While people do many dangerous things, one day I saw two people going down the Brazos river from the hiway 16 bridge below the Possum Kingdom Lake dam. While my wife and I have taken several trips there too, this time the river was in flood. Way above flood levels. Bad idea IMO.

This is them:

Not only was that dangerous, they were in an inflatable canoe. One thing that makes it really dangerous is that when the river floods after long periods of normal levels, all kinds of stuff gets pulled into the river. Trees, boats, furniture, trash, containers, you name it, I have seen whole trees and picnic tables floating off. Some of that stuff can be very hazardous if it hits you or you hit it. Plus the current is very fast. The area where I took that picture is from the hiway 16 bridge right below Possum Kingdom dam. It's close to the dam so no trash can come from the dam, but as the flood current moves on down it picks up all kind of stuff. This is it, normally:
.

This is with two flood gates open, when they open three the bridge is under water.

I never heard of any people being lost out there, but even at low levels the current is really bad in places if you aren't expecting it. I hope they were ok.

Getting ready to open more gates:

Here's a view from the dam with three gates open.

The bridge is down around where the water disappears in the picture.

Definitely a bad idea to be out there with the river like that.

 

[BillM]

Fyi, this was late 2005.

 

[Brains]

I don't know, doesn't seem quite as dangerous as, say, getting married.

 

[Axxe55]

I don't know, doesn't seem quite as dangerous as, say, getting married.

I must be living dangerously. I'm on wife #3 now!

Or I might be a slow learner!

 

[BillM]

I don't know, doesn't seem quite as dangerous as, say, getting married.

The wife was in the back of the canoe, and she may have been taking him down river to cap him!

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Instead of the "train station", maybe it's the "boatyard"....

 

[Sasquatch]

I dunno, that doesn't look all that different from big western rivers. A knowledgeable boater, with the *right* boat can be very safe on such waters. Poor equipment and poor skill are recipes for disaster, but that rings true in any endeavor.

My paddle-powered boating is typically limited to slow rivers, lakes or ponds - but give me a power boat with the proper anchor system, a reliable engine (preferably a jet drive for that kind of water) and I'd feel plenty safe. Something with some sides to it, welded aluminum, and either an inboard or outboard jet.

These boats are made for that kind of water.

 

[BillM]

I dunno, that doesn't look all that different from big western rivers. A knowledgeable boater, with the *right* boat can be very safe on such waters. Poor equipment and poor skill are recipes for disaster, but that rings true in any endeavor.

My paddle-powered boating is typically limited to slow rivers, lakes or ponds - but give me a power boat with the proper anchor system, a reliable engine (preferably a jet drive for that kind of water) and I'd feel plenty safe. Something with some sides to it, welded aluminum, and either an inboard or outboard jet.

These boats are made for that kind of water.

Indeed, but NOT in a blow up boat in a just flooded river. I've seen people out there in a boat just like yours and they handled it well, just not when flooded. If you wait a few days for all the debris to move down it's a lot safer.

 

[Sasquatch]

Indeed, but NOT in a blow up boat in a just flooded river. I've seen people out there in a boat just like yours and they handled it well, just not when flooded. If you wait a few days for all the debris to move down it's a lot safer.

Yeah, I wouldn't take an inflatable Walmart boat anywhere but a swimming pool.

I've fished rivers where trees were floating past us. As long as you're keeping watch on what is coming downstream at you when you're stopped or anchored, and so long as you have your eyes on the prize, as it were, when the boat is in motion, its fun running the heavy stuff.

What gets really crazy though - at the mouth of the Columbia river between Oregon and Washington are navigational buoys marking the channel. The states use "Buoy 10" as a marker for where legal fishing zones begin and end for the runs of pacific salmon. We're talking a river where its about 4 miles wide - between the banks - heavy current and you get some hellacious waves due to tidal and wind action. Dudes will be out there, chasing those fish in *anything* that floats. Its stupid. You should be in a big boat like I pictured above, but there are guys out there in 10' glass boats, tin-can dinghies, drift boats (a fat dory style flat bottom row boat that is a bitch to row on flat water - when used right the oars just slow you down, slide you side to side, or turn your bow - you don't really row across flat water or try going upstream!) with little outboards on them. Lot of people die there because like the folks you describe - improper equipment, improper skill set, and dangerous conditions.

 

[Axxe55]

Instead of the "train station", maybe it's the "boatyard"....

Zone of Death (Yellowstone) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[baboon]

On my first safari while hunt outside of Kruger park I was on a stalk were lions had winded us. The lions ran off when we spooked a couple of Cape Buffaloes. The P.H. I was hunting with was really shaken by the events. His comment was something along the lines of how close we came to dying. It was a rush and I felt really good about it.

I would much rather die doing something exciting that I enjoy then say getting carjacked while living in Houston. Life is way to short not to have had some adventures in it.

 

[dsgrey]

Hmm, me and a buddy would take off on the Red River in a 2 man fiberglass canoe many times by the Denison Dam when the flood gates were open. That was about 40 years ago so I'll claim youthful stupidity. The canoe was weighted with a cooler full of beer.

 

[BillM]

More modern day zone of death.

 

[BillM]

Here's some pictures I took at normal river levels.

 

[skfullgun]

Statistically speaking, I'm sure driving on any Houston interstate during rush hour traffic ranks as "dangerous".

I'm continually amazed at the level of hazardous behavior I witness when driving.

On several occasions, I've had to pull over and take a sip of whisky just to calm my nerves.

 

[seeker_two]

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk

 

[1911'S 4 Me]

Can't live other people's lives.
You do as you want; they do as they want.

 

[BillM]

Can't live other people's lives.
You do as you want; they do as they want.

That's a fact, but we can comment.

 

[Axxe55]

That's a fact, but we can comment.

....and comments will be forthcoming!

 

[craigntx]

Wheelies in traffic.
Jail.
Ugh