Kayak Emergency Kit

The more I am kayaking, the more I am realizing just how vulnerable we are out in these places. If you look at the photos from both the  Leigh Lake and Jackson Lake trips, the weather changes quite dramatically in the few hours we were on the water. Miles away from civilization, or even a trail, if weather were to come in hard and heavy, we would be in serious trouble.

With that in mind, earlier in the week I cannibalized  one of Kerri’s 72-hour emergency packs (she had three in the bed of her truck) and put together two little emergency bags to carry in our kayaks. Each includes a small first aide kit, a Mylar blanket, poncho, some glow sticks, tissues, fire-starting equip, a whistle for her (since she can’t whistle to save her life) and extra glasses in mine (or I would be blind as a bat).

Also included in each bag is a single day each of emergency rations. On our Leigh Lake outing we decided to try one and amazingly it was pretty darn good (though not necessarily good for you). It tasted just like coconut.

Plans to add a Mylar tent, a few small LED flash lights, and a change of thermal underwear just in case either of us end up in the water are already in the works. All the gear fits into a single 1 gallon Ziploc bag (to be replaced by 5 liter dry-bags soon enough) and should be enough to keep us both warm, dry, fed, and safe for an overnight emergency on some island in a lake if need be.

PS – My Altoids tin contains a variety of things to help keep me alive in an overnight situation; first aide including sutures, fire starters, knifes, scissors, fishing, writing tools and signal methods, and more.

You can find more of my opinions on van essentials here.