If one of your hobbies is planning how to survive a zombie apocalypse, then you need to know what to do without your bug out bag when you are off having fun rafting and don’t have it on you.
After all, if the Centers for Disease Control has a zombie apocalypse plan, then it is definitely worth knowing what to do to protect yourself during an outbreak in order to give you enough time to get back to your car and grab your 36 hour go bag.
Sure, The Walking Dead and World War Z has taught you a thing or two on fighting off zombies out to chomp on your flesh, but they all have guns and combat training. What if they were paddling downriver in the wilderness? Here’s what you can do if you find out that dead cannibals are after your lively flesh.
Armor
First things first, you’re going to want protection from those rotting teeth. You already have a lifejacket on, protecting your core and back. If there’s an extra life jacket, cut it in half and tie each side to your arms to fend off and trick zombies trying to bite them.
All rafters must wear a helmet and this protects your brain from being eaten and doubles for ramming through a wall of them. Just be sure to keep your neck straight and arms up to protect neck grabs with your arm armor.
Weapons
Next, unless you are in Silent Hill and can only run around and hide, a weapon is necessary for survival. Luckily for you, you carry a pocket knife as part of your everyday gear and have a paddle for skull bashing. If you have the time, cut off the end of the paddle to a point to stab zombies with or tie the pocket knife to the end.
Taking a cue from the Maori, any wooden paddles would be easier for this purpose and will inflict more damage on the Zeds. The Maori used wooden paddles that came to a point called a hoe and also used them during war.
Rest
Get some rest from fending off zombies all day. If you are able to find a calm area of water or get the raft onto a lake, navigate it to the middle and drop and anchor to stabilize. Use a paracord rope to tie a large rock present style so it doesn’t slip off easily. Zombies can’t swim or climb ropes but if they could, climbing over the side of a raft is hard enough when you’re not a zombie.
Escape
If you’re traveling by foot and find yourself cornered, having a paracord or rope from the raft is handy for climbing up or descending down to get away from those biters. Tie it around a tree trunk or throw it over a strong branch with a weight on it to make it easier like a carabineer. Pull the other end of the rope through and you have a brace.
Health
Lucky for you, when people go rafting, there is almost always a first aid kit on board and at least a water bottle. Avoid dehydration and patch up any easy wounds until you can get yourself to safety. Hopefully, by this point you’ve found other people or made it to a car to get away. Turn on the radio and get away from major cities.
At Wilderness Aware Rafting we love white water rafting, survival knowledge, escaping from zombies, and the outdoors. If you’re interested in a Colorado White Water Rafting Trip or Salt River rafting, browse whitewater rafting trips and other fun outdoor adventures we have available.
