6. Wear the proper safety gear
You should have the proper safety gear. A helmet and life jacket will be provided by your guides. Happy Juanderer’s safety gear were really new. It was also unique with a bright yellow color which helped us sort through the crowd when we’re looking for our other team mates.
I’m pretty stubborn when it came to life jackets. I’m a good swimmer but they insisted that I wore mine and took my ego off, haha! The point of this being, you will cliff jump. The life jackets will raise you up from the water. Also, the river was made of fresh water which has really low bouyancy. In layman’s terms, it’s difficult to swim and keep afloat. You will get extremely tired. Also, there were parts where we were asked to lie on our backs on the water so that the guides could easily pull us through. There were parts that weren’t walkable, we might hit the rocks with our shins and knees so it was safer to travel that way.
Great point! Glad the team educated a stubborn adventurer like me.
5. Secure your GoPro with a floatation device
You can’t bring anything with you. Not your phones, money, or any other “essentials” you think you need. Leave them somewhere where they will be safe. If you have a GoPro, great! I highly recommend you bring one to document your adventure. It would also be a good thing to have an LCD attached to it. One of our GoPros didn’t have one so our photos looked foggy and misty cause of the water. Our second GoPro took amazing photos!
Also, if you have a GoPro but do not have a floatation device, forget it! You need your GoPro to float. The Kanlaob river is flowing water. Some parts, the current was extremely strong. Also, the water wasn’t clear. You can’t see the bottom. Since it is flowing water and it mixes the sediments from the ground.
There have been a lot of cases where GoPros were lost forever! So please, invest on a floater. If you are willing to risk it, (I don’t highly recommend this but if you do not have a choice) tie a water bottle on your GoPro for floatation. Still, a store-bought brightly colored floater is BEST and RECOMMENDED.
Continue to the next page for more fun!