Nancy – A spot is a particular restricted location. A pourover is a play spot. A zone is a specific area that is distinguished from its surroundings by particular characteristics or uses. One or more good spots for landing a boat can be found in a surf zone. A zone could also be a rock garden in which there are a number of play spots or other features.

Understanding: I always add the “Grok” component: feeling it, sensing it, in addition to methodically problem-solving. To grok means to understand something, in this case the ocean and how it’s behaving in the spot or zone, and to understand it so deeply that it becomes an integrated part of your consciousness.

Assess and adapt: Put yourself in the picture and imagine where you want to be and where you don’t – and understand why. Imagine how you will adapt if things change – because things will change.

Worst case scenario: Consider worst case scenario(s) and options to respond and recover – as the swimmer and as the rescuer(s).

Plan for positioning: Plan to position the team to facilitate a rescue and identify the best positioning to photo or film the activity. You can set up a controlled situation and station people on water or land to chronicle the action. You can also station people around a feature to observe and send in a probe to see what happens while a safety stands by if needed. There are many options.

Send in a “Probe”: This is the final stage of scouting – send one of the most experienced paddlers in the team into the feature to get hands-on feedback. At that point you can set up the photographers and everyone else can watch, learn, and decide if they want to do the move themselves.

I define scouting as empirical observation; as the practice of gathering knowledge through direct experience and sensory perception, a method in scientific inquiry; as intentional observation before commitment; as gathering information to reduce uncertainty and increase your chances of success (or survival) when you do commit.

The key elements of scouting are:

1. It’s deliberate, not passive. You’re not just looking – you’re actively reading the situation, asking questions, mapping variables.
2. It bridges imagination and action. Good scouting puts you mentally in the scenario before you’re physically in it.
3. It’s risk management, not risk avoidance. Scouting isn’t about backing out; it’s about going in smarter. It lets you choose your moment, know your exits, and separate legitimate challenges from death traps.
4. It scales. Whether it’s a quick “over the shoulder glance” or full-on stealth reconnaissance, the principle is the same: understand before you engage.

Scouting has a psychological dimension too. It’s not just collecting data; it’s building confidence, managing fear, and sometimes talking yourself into (or out of) something. That “psyching up” process is part of scouting. In kayaking specifically, I imagine it’s the difference between someone who just shows up and drops in versus someone who reads the water, identifies the line, spots the safe places or eddies, and knows where things can go wrong before the first paddle stroke.

RECON: Reconnoitering an area before entering is standard routine for many activities. In kayaking it could be the simplest form of observation, like looking ahead and observing what’s in the distance. Scouting has always been essential with advancing distance, such as with advancing armies or when a migration caused people to need information about their route. Wagon trains crossing the west used scouts to find the trail for the advancing party. In the TV series Rawhide, the Wild West show on cow herding across the range, I wanted to be like Rowdy Yates, who scouted out ahead of the roundup, riding along the ridge looking for what lay ahead.

LOOKING: Approaching something new in small increments by yourself or with others over time. A “drive by” or checking out a spot along an often traveled coast and taking an “over the shoulder look” is casual scouting. We do this whenever we move through situations or peruse the path that lies just ahead. Early recon includes observation and preliminary intel from maps, Google and other people. Basically, it’s sizing up the situation and asking, is it doable? Next up is “Eagle scouting”, which is a clear, methodical approach to recognizing a set of conditions and following a check list.

ADVANCED SCOUTING: Looking with the intent of going on a “mission”. This is checking a situation out from a distance and putting yourself in the picture, which is different than fantasizing. I remember one evening above Ross’s cove at Pillar Point. After kayaking at “Micro wave” we stood on the bluff watching the wave trains roll into Mavericks and talked about what it would be like to surf a true monster. We were juking and jiving in our minds but not really thinking of going for it.

Standing just down the ridge from us I could see a young surfer like a statue staring motionless at what could be the ride of his life. He was “psyching up”. His posture was like a jet fighter pilot looking at his craft that was about to break the sound barrier. As the sun glinted off his dark Maui Jim sunglasses, I could imagine him picturing himself screaming down the towering wall of moving water with the lip pitching over just above him. At that moment he was on the cover of surfer magazine and world famous, “on top of the heap”. Ego scouting does help build confidence and fantasy is a good thing, just ask any Tsunami Ranger.

STAMPEDE: The mob approach, A pack of adrenaline seeking bozos that advance in a drove going into the action without scouting, often pushing the front person into the mosh pit and then dog piling on top. Fun to watch but I’ll stay on the fringe, take pictures and laugh.

JUST SAYING ”HI”: Looking with hidden intent. You are planning on going but just glance over your shoulder and say “hi”. Approaching from the other direction and again, you just say “hi”. By the third look you are ready to jump in, jump out and make a clean get away, a quick “hop and pop” mission.

PRIVATE EYE: My favorite technique of gathering intel includes parts of the above but is done in a low profile and sneaky way and is called “stealth scouting”. Hiding in camouflage, you are an army forward observer for an invading unit checking out the opposing forces. Planning the trajectory while evaluating the obstacles, dangers, hiding places and escape route. Evaluating all of the variables while also developing a “plan B” if things don’t work out. Or imagine you are a master thief in Ocean’s 13, casing the casino, memorizing the floor plan and cruising the joint without being noticed while planning the ultimate heist. Scouting is fun and the follow-through is the prize.

Lt. Nancy Soares

Reading the words of my team mates, I’m grateful for the depth of their experience. Because of my exposure to the Rangers, I do many things mentioned here almost without thinking. Not because we ever specifically talked so much about scouting but because we all did this stuff regularly as a team on our outings. It was part of the prep both for our retreats and short excursions. What are we doing, where are we going, what are the conditions, what are the variables? It became second nature.

What strikes me now is the emphasis on imagination. I don’t think it’s generally understood how important this is. Grokking a spot or zone is something developed over time and repeated experience. As understanding progresses, it becomes easier to imagine scenarios, and thus put yourself in the picture and make truly useful plans.

The psychological aspect of scouting Jim mentions is also not typically talked about. Getting it in your head that a paddle is scary will affect your enthusiasm, your performance, and your interaction with your buddies. Thinking it’s going to be a breeze can lead you to underestimate conditions and potential dangers. Both will affect your ability to have a successful mission. It’s important to have a realistic concept. Also, the “armchair scouting” Eric mentions encourages a sense of familiarity: you haven’t actually been on the mission yet, but as you think about it you’re developing a sense of what it would be like. To some extent you can already put yourself in the picture.

Looking at a feature, you can imagine what it would be like to play there, like the surfer in the Maui Jim shades scouting Maverick’s. You can expand the scenario to include various outcomes and how you might handle them. Like Jim says, you can scare yourself away or psych yourself up.

Speaking of psyching up, when I was with with the Pacific Jujitsu Alliance, we had an environmental training called Knives in the Woods. It was an intense two day event where you might fight with pepper spray in your eyes or in a mud pit, and the highlight was called the gauntlet, where you used training knives to spar with an opponent, “kill” or “be killed”, then run through the woods to the next fight.

Two years after I first heard about it I went to this event. During those years I did a lot of visualizing, i.e. scouting, to prepare. While hiking a trail I imagined running through the woods, fighting opponents. My body twitched and my hands and arms made little moves. My pace usually increased. Eric would say, “Who are you fighting now?”

I also paid a visit to my primary instructor in the Bay Area to ask him for advice on how to handle the course. He gave me a useful 20-minute lecture. One thing stayed with me to this day. “Be aggressive!” he said. This applies as much to all whitewater kayaking as it does to martial arts. Once you say “Go” you’ve got to commit.

The point of this story is that two year of visualizing plus Sifu’s pep talk paid off. When I finally went to KITW I crushed it, because in a way, I’d already been there. There were no surprises and I was focused and determined, won many fights, and had a really good time. Eventually I became one of the instructors.

Scouting also played a big part when I kayaked solo down the Sacramento River. Before the mission, I scouted by looking at maps, searching the internet, and having some productive talks with people I knew who’d paddled that section. On the river I consulted the maps I’d gathered and asked for information when I met people. I also pulled over a couple of times, got out of the boat, and walked along the bank a ways to scout ahead.

A word about just saying hi. Saying hi is a great way to check out a feature to see if you really want to play there. You paddle past it, circle around for a closer look, slip in and slip out before you get too near, all the while watching how the water moves and getting a feel for it. Kind of like sparring.

Last Thoughts

Good scouting gets good results. Scouting allows you to familiarize yourself with the place you’re going. You can create back up plans that may keep you alive. You pave the way for a successful endeavor and develop confidence whether you’re paddling the Inside Passage or navigating Nick’s Nightmare in Noyo Harbor. Scouting builds anticipation and nurtures the fun factor. When you’re planning a trip with others scouting together builds collaboration, ideally nurturing a team spirit so everything runs smoothly. Good scouting is truly a multi-dimensional activity, and imperative for a successful experience on the water.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this article! Don’t forget to check out Eric’s original article on scouting, and check out the comments. There’s a great one from Rainer Lang about the consequences of not scouting properly. Also, take a look at what it’s like to scout the water from a dory here. Thanks for reading and happy paddling!