Non-Witness Narrative by ccw on 2009-05-22 (okay to publish): TEXT ATTACHMENTS David Enoch staff writer Published: May 16, 2009 As strong as he was, Walker Taylor couldn’t beat the Tallapoosa. The 22-year-old Auburn forestry student died May 8 after his kayak overturned on the river below Thurlow Dam near Tallassee. Walker’s death was the fourth in the last four years on the river, according to Tallassee Volunteer Fire Department Lt. John Rogers. For local kayakers and emergency responders, the death is an unfortunate reminder of the dangers along the popular stretch of local water. “The big thing down there was and always and continues to be PFDs, life jackets,” Rogers said. “He didn’t have a life jacket.” The stretch of river along Alabama Highway 229 attracts swimmers, boaters and anglers. Tangles of monofilament hang in the brush near the boat ramps. Foot trails snake along the bank across rocks carpeted in Kudzu and poison Ivy. The signs warning of dangerous water below the dam are impossible to miss. “They either don’t know how dangerous it is or under estimate it,” Tallasee Volunteer Fire Department Chief Matt Missildine said. The department added two warning signs recently and more are planned for both public boat ramps along the river in the next two weeks. The department plans to add sirens by the first of July, Missildine said. River conditions below the Alabama Power dam depend on the flow, Rogers said. When the turbines are generating power, the flow increases, he said. But that’s part of the appeal for white-water kayakers like John Owen, 31, of Prattville, and Andrew Hobson, a 21-year-old Auburn University Montgomery junior. The two paddle the river a few times a week and agree it’s no place for novices. “We don’t hesitate to harass each other (about safety), Owen said. “At all levels, these (rapids) are dangerous,” Hobson said. “You’ve got to know what you are doing.” Greg Lang, manager of Southern Trails in Auburn and a 20-year white-water kayaker, said there’s been a lot of speculation at the store about the accident. As an instructor, Lang said he tries to emphasize self-reliance in a sport full of freedom. “If something goes wrong, it’s up to you to take care of yourself,” he said. Tom Sherburne, a fellow instructor who tried out for the 1992 and 1996 U.S. Olympic teams, said experience is needed to safely travel the Tallapoosa below the dam. The run, a challenging Class III-IV, is short — taking about 12 minutes to cover two miles. It’s a complex environment almost a football field wide. Making speedy exits is difficult. “At a certain point, you’re going to go over the falls,” said Sherburne, owner of Shred Ready Inc., a kayaking equipment business based in Auburn. “It looks like a lot of fun, but its not an amusement park.” For Taylor and his friends, “a lot of little mistakes added up,” Lang said. For starters, Lang said the group lacked white-water kayaks, life jackets and helmets. “The boats are specific for what they do,” he said. “They were in rec boats paddling white water.” There are recreational kayaks, sea kayaks and white-water boats, Lang said. Each is designed for different bodies of water. White-water kayaks are more agile and meant for navigating turbulent water. White-water kayakers also need Type III life jackets, helmets, paddles and spray skirts, Lang said. All the gear costs about $1,500. Like the boats, kayak life jackets are purpose-built. “Buying one that fits, goes a long way,” Lang said. More importantly, boaters have to wear their life jackets, he said. “I literally put it on and take it off at the car,” he said. Inevitably, kayakers will come out of their boats. “If you get dumped out, put your feet down stream and keep your head up and let the current take you where it will,” Rogers said. “Don’t fight the river.” It’s called eddying out. Boaters should find an eddy, a spot behind an obstacle like a rock or log on the river where the water is calmer, and make their exit there, Rogers said. “You’re not going to beat the river,” Rogers said. Foot entrapments, where one or both of a boater’s feet get caught in the river bed, are a common fatal situation on the water, Lang said. “More than likely, he got his foot hung.” Lang said of Taylor. “You need to keep your feet up. It’s the basic rules of white water.” Another tenet of the sport is scouting the conditions before a run. Things change. Sherburne said it’s important for kayakers to identify the path they want to take. ” You’ve got to know where you’re going,” Sherburne said. “You are going to have to learn respect for the river,” Lang said. “It’s just a question of where you learn it.”