River Crossing Tips/Tricks?

[tfitter]

Hey guys,
I was wondering about river crossing best practices?

Not only out west, but even crossing public land rivers in the whitetail woods?

In addition to best practices, maybe some ideas on crossing river too deep to walk through.

This came to mind because of all the rain here this summer - I now have to try and figure a way to cross a river 1/2 mile from nearest road to get to my stand location. Typically the river/stream is only 3ft deep, but this year it is chest to over my head deep.

Pack in waders? Drag a kayak? Any other ideas?

Thanks for any info, I appreciate it!

 

[bigdesert10]

That's too deep for me to wade if there's any current at all. You might look into a pack raft. They're basically an inflatable kayak. Or maybe a Sea Eagle from Wal Mart depending on your budget

FYI, I'm not hating on anyone that can't afford a pack raft. I'd fall under the Sea Eagle category, myself.

Edit: I guess it's an Intex Explorer at Walmart. Sea Eagle is apparently a legit pack raft brand now, although I could swear I had a cheap raft with "Sea Eagle" on it as a kid.

 

[Maverick940]

Pack raft works great. Easy to carry in a large daypack and easy to operate. A hunter and I used one to salvage a huge brown bear that died on the other side of a glacial river that we couldn't wade. Piece of cake.

 

[Btaylor]

Might consider a pair of lightweight waders and a float tube.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I use a fiberglass pirogue for this very thing. It's a 2 man model and weighs about 55 lbs.

 

[mod700]

Got to think outside of the box, rope swing, Tarzan style,... loin cloth optional..
Mike