A River Tracer Wearing the Three "Treasures"
Taiwanese people use the term “three treasures” quite often. In a Cantonese or Hong Kong restaurant, three treasures refer to chicken, duck and pork. When it comes to traffic, they mean idiots riding a vehicle (the writer’s version, unlike the original one, is men, women and people, given the fact traffic liability insurance costs more for men than women). On a river trace, the three treasures suggest a helmet, river tracing boots and a life jacket.
The three treasures of river tracing are indispensable parts of a river trace. A helmet provides protection against falling rocks, and prevents its wearer from hitting his/her head on rocks in a current, or on tree sticks or rocks when walking through trails or holes. A certified rock climbing, canyoning or river tracing helmet is designed to absorb shock when the climber falls or gets hit by rocks.
A Canyoner is Descending
River tracing boots, arguably the most important of the three, help a river tracer walk in a river. River rocks are very slippery in Taiwan, and the felt soles of river tracing boots are designed to grip to a wide range of different slippery terrains such as mossed rock or dry rock, though they work badly on dirt. They can be bought in any fishing supply stores, in many of the mountaineering stores, or in Decathlon. Both beginners and advanced trekkers wear them. River tracing boots without cleats are highly recommended because a river tracer is likely to cut his teammates’ bodies with the cleated shoes when getting boosted over an obstacle, or other circumstances.
River Tracing Boots with Felt Sole
The last piece of the puzzle is a life jacket, which keeps one afloat in the water. River water has less density than sea water, making it harder for a person to float than in the latter. River water is also much colder, and in such a condition, a person is more likely to get a cramp, which increases the chances of drowning. Another advantage is that it helps keep you warm. In addition, it reduces impacts on the body if someone accidentally falls on ground or rocks. However, there are a few disadvantages of wearing a life jacket. Wearing a life jacket hampers climbing; thus quite a few experienced tracers literally do not wear them at all, or take them off when climbing a tough obstacle and put them back later. Other theory is that in a waterfall or weir hydraulic, where water rotates, goes backward on the surface and pushes out underneath, the only way out is diving all the way down and escaping along the outflow of water at the bottom; However, this is ONLY practicable for experienced swimmers who know a lot about waterfall hydraulics. Perhaps the best strategy for it, instead of not wearing a life jacket, is to avoid getting caught in such a situation, and a throwing bag is also useful for saving victims in a waterfall hydraulic. In my opinion, the pros of wearing a life jacket significantly outweigh the cons. I myself feel a lot more confident when swimming across pools with a life jacket.
A Deep Pool in Wulakusan. The Life Jacket is inside the Jacket.
Even though the “three treasures” of river tracing are not a panacea against all possible hazards, they definitely equip river tracers better for a volatile river environment. Both newbie customers in commercial tour groups and professional water rescuers in Taiwan wear all of them, and that must be for a reason.
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