On a Strap(s) and a Prayer

It all started with a lazy family trip down Idaho’s Main Salmon with my wife and daughter and a group of friends. We had the usual trip and take-out: we loaded our inflated boat and a friend’s cat on the trailer for the drive out from Vinegar Creek. As I was driving towards Riggins, Idaho on that Sunday morning, I suddenly heard the distinct noise of metal digging into the dirt road. I stopped to look and to my surprise saw that the trailer tongue had completely broken off where the 45-degree supports meet the tongue from the trailer frame. Needless to say, it was a show stopper – no proceeding without another trailer or some extreme rescue. Town was a far enough distance away and it was Sunday.

I shifted to determination mode and figured the first step was to find a suitable splint to bring things together and work up from there. I set out with some friends to scrounge around for the perfect repair piece. After a lot of foxtail grass heads collecting in my socks, we found a 4-5 foot piece of heavy steel to get it going. Next was joining the spline and broken limb together. So, I dug out my handy bag of NRS rafting straps.

The woven web of working straps; and yes, the black one is also from NRS. © Michael Moses

And that’s why it took 40 straps! © Michael Moses

I don’t know how many of you are like me, but I always reevaluate what I really need to bring on a trip. I like to travel light but prepared. I always look at that big bag of straps and figure out what I really need, plus a few spares. Well, this trip I did bring them all, for whatever reason and boy, I'm glad I did. I began to meticulously wrap one strap at a time very tight around my wounded tongue. First around the tongue and spline many times over, then ones length-wise to prevent the repair from slipping apart as I pulled. I probably used around 40 straps, every one that I had. I started my return trip home and stopped occasionally to check with a tape measure to see if the fix was holding and not pulling apart. I felt so confident in the repair I drove 200 miles home without a problem.

As the old adage says, you can never have too many NRS straps!!

Michael Moses
Walla Walla, Washington