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First off, weigh up whether it's worth crossing said river. I know this question is about if you "have" to cross it, but bear in mind that falling in is a real danger and if you do, hypothermia can onset very quickly and be deadly. It depends on the situation - if we're talking about a shallow, wade-able body of water that's not much more than a stream I'd ...

It depends on how many crossings. If very few, I do them barefoot and change. If there are a lot of crossings in a short distance I have shoes that I just wear for the entire hike. I'll cover both. General Rules Don't use rocks if you can avoid it. Stand on the bottom of the river. Just don't try rock hopping - you're asking for serious injury. ...

I've never taken an unpowered, hand-built raft out onto a commercial river, but I do have experience under sail and under power on the Columbia River in the United States. What I know about maritime law, tradition and etiquette might not be exactly what they expect in Europe, but I imagine the principles are much the same. In most cases, a craft without a ...

The traditional tip is to cross at the widest point, where the river has the least power and is spread over a wider area. Often this is the most shallow point also. You will cross while facing upstream, but you can move slightly downstream to use some of the force of the current rather than working against it. If you are a group, lock arms and move in a line ...

There is one more important technique you can use that I was taught in New Zealand, where you have to cross rivers all the time. If you have a group of people (at least 3), you can greatly enhance safety by forming a chain in the following way: Position the strongest person upstream, the second-strongest person downstream and the weakest person in the ...

OK, this isn't a hypothetical question. You will have to ford numerous rivers fed directly from glaciers if you hike in the Swedish mountains. These are extremely cold, very rapid streams with rocks everywhere. Some basic advice is: Use a rod or stick as support. You should always lean on two points - two legs or one leg and the rod. Never have your hip ...

They sell fiberglass repair kits at most boating stores which are made for this exact sort of repair. It includes a fiber glass cloth which you put over the damaged area, as well as a resin / hardening agent to hold the patch in place. Any kit you buy should have instructions for applying the patch in it.

USGS: http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/index.php?r=us&id=ww_current National Weather Service Map: http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=ffc This is an easy to read table for GA, but I can't figure out how to navigate to other states on their site: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/html/rva.php More NOAA for the Colorado Basin: http://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/ ...

I'm always using sandals. There are good trekking sandals with profiled soles that gives you adhesion not much worse than trekking shoes. Of course, they are not as much stabile, but you have no problem with drying them. When the water is not higher then the knees, the current is not strong enough to be dangerous for you, of course you must always be very ...

Everybody's method is going to be somewhat different, because they're using different footwear and other equipment (such as poles vs no poles). Plan ahead and get information on what water levels are likely to be like given the time of year and the amount of snow this year. If a certain hike is likely to be impossible to complete safely, you want to know ...

IANAL, but... The riverbed is owned by the landowner (although the water isn't), so removing rocks (or any other item) from the riverbed is the same as removing them from anywhere else on the land. In other words, it's probably theft, so NOT legal. If you're concerned about it, ask the landowner's permission. Also note that the CROW act is pretty ...

I could find no authoritative source, but I would imagine taking a "few rocks" wouldn't cause a problem - unless you're taking it from a protected area or area of scientific interest of course. My reasoning is that I would imagine the situation is similar for UK beaches - technically taking stones, sand etc. is illegal but if your 5 year old son decides ...