

7. This assumption should have been validated - an extremely costly and risky supposition to make. Arguably the most critical go/no-go pre-trip gauge indicator.

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Evan, more thanks for sharing the experience. An incredible story and turn of events. Very glad for your family that it had a happy ending.For whatever bad decisions and criticism you may think you deserve, you certainly solved the problems as they were rapidly coming at you. Good fortune, not giving up, mental and physical resilience are certainly to your credit.If I may throw a little salt...I think your 6 learned lessons sums it up rather succinctly. I would add one more:/end of salt tossing.These lines were particularly heart-wrenching.Again, thanks for sharing it for everyone's benefit! It's the kind of story that makes you a little sick to your stomach when you read it, which is good - I guess, because those are the ones you remember.Most of us (that like to add water to our adventures) have had similar experiences. Yes, the stuff that keeps you up at night...even years later. "DOH, how could I have been so reckless!!!" My worst was 23 years ago with a 10 year old son in a whitewater strainer. In the midst of the struggle for survival, even when you've given your very best and are willing to fight to the end, there is a fleeting moment when the thought strikes you "this may not totally be up to me".