Thanks for the Kudos guys, normally wouldn't have said a word, just doin my job.

Here's the story: Monday night around 7:30PM, just walked in the door when I got the call for a rescue on the upper Sauk.
At the time all I knew was some lady was somewhere on the upper river clinging to a log. Launched, (yes, my 22 ft Boulton) at the HWY 530 Launch and headed up-river.

Knew the lady had to be at one of 5 spots, just so happened to be the second, so I found her pretty quickly. For those that have floated the river since the floods; looking & going up-river it was near the bottom of that left braid (right braid comin' down river) just above where the river used to go by that dome home thats been falling in the river the past 5 or so years.

That channel braids all over the place and one wrong turn will screw ya'. Near the bottom ya have to go to the left or head straight at a sweeper. Thats where they flipped their raft.

Apparantly she and her husband decided to float the Upper Sauk that day on a little scenic trip, hit the sweeper there (dunno' how they made it that far,..they had to have some experience) raft went under along with her husband and she went on top of the log jamb. He made it to shore and walked out to call for help. Got her back to the ramp safely,..end of story.

Guys & Gals if ya get anything outta this PLEASE take the following advice;

1. If ya cant afford and or dont wish to hire a guide to show you the route down any given river please remember this golden rule;

WHEN IN DOUBT,..WALK IT OUT!!!!

In other words, if ya cant see whats comin' up around a bend in the river, stop the boat and walk down to check it out. Know the route ya wanna take and know the danger ahead. If ya cant row it safely,.. drag your boat around it, WALK IT OUT.

2. There's been a ton of new water craft showing on the rivers every year, leading to numerous rescues and even more chances of an accident about to happen; especially on the bigger rivers where sleds share the water with smaller vessels...and especially in low visibility situations (fog and rain)

- if you own a smaller water craft such as a pontoon boat or raft, even a drift boat in really limited visibility,...
MAKE YOURSELF LOOK AS BIG AS POSSIBLE
(DO wear bright reflective clothing,..anything to make yourself visible) For those that know me you've probably heard me joke about the pontoon boats, "Speed Bumps",..sometimes we just cant see ya till' were just about on top of you. DONT become a "speed bump" make sure we can see you!!

- Sled Owners; in low vis situations,
IF YA DONT KNOW IT,..DONT RUN IT!!!
Especially in low vis situations,..and if ya do know the river and decide to run in low vis please use your running lights,...and go just fast enough to kep your boat on step,..and DO listen for other boats. Rob Endlsey and I always get a kick about some of the guys we see runnin' their sleds in the fog and where most end up (stuck on shallow bars) and at the same time it does worry us, because most dont use running lights and you cant see them till their right on top of you. Robbo, always jokes about my running lights (I've got 2 krypton buld head lights on the front of my sled), he says I look like a 747 coming in for a landing on the river.

Dont become a rescue for me !!!

Ok,..I've rambled on enough. Off to Alaska next week.

BE SAFE THIS SUMMER GUYS!!!