Whitewater Rafting

One of my memorable experiences was a whitewater rafting trip to Buena Vista, Co.  What fun!  And the scenery, hiking, jeep rides were all fun, too!


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White water rafting could be fun if all goes well I suppose. For me, my one and only trip did not!

This was back in 1992, and was down the Kennebec here in Maine. It was spring run off, so very fast water, and 18 years old and full-of-himself, I chose to sit up front.

We did okay until we got to the worst part of the rapids. The raft hit a rock and folded inward, called tacoing, so I fell inside. BUT as the raft went up over the rock, it pitched backwards over the other side. This was just when I went to sit back on the gunwhale. The momentum carried me right over the other side, and I flipped into the water.

But now I had caught my foot on the rope that encircles the rafts gunwhale. I was trapped UNDER the boat, bouncing off from rocks with a raft on top of me, and plenty of water around me, all the while my foot was caught. I thought I was going to drown.

The guide in our boat (Registered Maine Guide), took her knife and cut the rope so I could get free, but now I am floating down the worst part of the rapids in nothing but a life vest. I kept grabbing at rocks and roots along the shoreline, but it was zipping by at 60 miles an hour. I would see a root, try to grab it, and was already by it by fifty feet. Always a strong swimmer, I just started swimming hard for the boat, which IS NOT the right thing to do because of all the rocks you can bounce your head off from. I did not care, I wanted out of that river. When the guide finally grabbed me and pulled me in the boat, I was never shaking so hard in my life.

I do not see web feet and toes on me, so I am NEVER doing that again.

Not a strong swimmer but went rafting west of Denver, Colorado with a few friends.  I was pretty nervous!  We had a very fun trip, though.  One guy fell out but we got him back in quickly.  The river was pretty low.  My little Ford Probe was the "bring back" car.  We all held onto the raft on the top of the roof as my little 4 cylinder chugged up the hill carrying 5 grown adults.  Lol

Definitely not as eventful (terrifying) as your trip Travis!  

Only somewhat connected, many years ago I made my first Grand Canyon hike using the Bright Angel Trail ….a common choice for a newby to the canyon.  10 miles down and 10 miles up.   I did it in one day.  I got to the bottom on schedule, more amazing is that I met an old friend on the trail.   How this relates is that at the river one of those raft trips was dropping off a hiker to hike out if the canyon.  She had zero hiking experience and had read too many tourist brochures. She weighed more than she should have, and she looked as if she was carrying all her earthly possessions in her backpack. Being conservative …at least 40 pounds…to carry on a very up hill 10 mile march.   We assisted her for awhile; we were traveling ultra light (I had a light extra pair of shoes,  small flash light, space blanket, water, and candy bars …at most 8 pounds). When we reached a point where she could legally dump part of her load (I think at Indian Garden) she refused, and we left her behind.  Even with us carrying her load she was significantly slowing us down due to being out of shape…and we ended up having to use flashlights the last mile. We advised her to to stay the night at Indian Gardens ..but she refused that too. I wonder what time she finally made it out.

I have not gone rafting before but I want to. It seems like a heck of a thrill but I'm more interested in the teamwork aspect of overcoming obstacles.

Did anyone do any 'training' before their trips?

If folks use a guide service where they furnish the raft, paddles and life jackets I believe they will give you detailed instructions.

An the guide will be with you for safety reasons.

I say go for it.

I don't know anything about going it on your own as that seems to be more for folks with some experience.

Howdy,
If I had one life to do over it would be a "Riiver Rat"  two leg floating kind.
I started in the 1980's with a friend up in the Bitterroots, Montana. He took me on a river trip to Nahani River, Yukon Territory, something like 300 miles(+/-), 30 days, 80 miles of rapids, Virginia Falls(twice as high as Niagara). We drove like 200 miles out of Watson Lake, , to some lake,rowed across the lake, to the outlet, the start of the river. That was my first whitewater raft trip. To much of an adventure to list it here.

I then got my own raft. I live in Southern Oregon and have access to a # of major rivers within less than a few hrs.drive. 1 day trips to multi day campouts, Rogue, Klamath,Smith, and the Illinois. I have been down the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue 16 or more times, and also various sections above the wild and scenic. I have been on the Klamath just as many times but not camped out all day trips.

I got in/ made friends with some local rafters who were more than willing to take me along, the middle fork and the main section of the Salmon(River of NO Return)Idaho, both are 100+ miles wilderness floats.
I've been on the John Day river in central Oregon and the Green River in Utah, also wilderness sections, no services, carry all food and drinking water.

The last trip I did was the Colo. River thru the Grand Canyon, Lees Ferry to Diamond creek,225 miles! Like 31 days!
What a way to SEE the Canyon. Over a 100 miles of whitewater rapids! Colo. River has its own rating system, goes up to 10. Unless you are near a trail there is no hiking out of the canyon. Half of our food was Frozen, double foam wrapped ice chest with dry ice. There were 5 of US, in 3 rafts, me solo in my 14 ft. SOTAR. If I could do one trip every year it would be the COLO./Grand Canyon.

Safety first, when on the river, especially before the rapid, PUT ON YOUR LIFE PROTECTION/PRESERVER.

We call River Trips, "Float and Bloat" always To Much Food!

And I don't like to swim. I like to fish!

randal cranor wrote:
The last trip I did was the Colo. River thru the Grand Canyon, Lees Ferry to Diamond creek,225 miles! Like 31 days!
What a way to SEE the Canyon. Over a 100 miles of whitewater rapids! Colo. River has its own rating system, goes up to 10. Unless you are near a trail there is no hiking out of the canyon. Half of our food was Frozen, double foam wrapped ice chest with dry ice. There were 5 of US, in 3 rafts, me solo in my 14 ft. SOTAR. If I could do one trip every year it would be the COLO./Grand Canyon.

Sounds like a great trip Randal. My brother was a guide for Grand Canyon Dories for several years. I guided in Oregon mostly, and a bit in Washington. My first trip may have been the best: a week on the Owyhee river in eastern Oregon. Two rafts, four people. I had to learn quickly. But the solitude ...

Howdy,
Jerry,
In case you didn't know, the Owyhee is considered the Grand Canyon of Oregon.  I always wanted to do this river. It seems a little hard to get to, roads and all. And if you don't shuttle out where river meets reservoir, there is a 20+ mile oar/row across a lake to a take out point, usually against the wind.

The river was named after three Native Hawaiian men who were part of Donald McKenzie's 1819 fur-trapping expedition and never returned, disappearing or being killed in the area.

As we used to say on the river,  "Keep Paddling, I Hear BANJOS"

I have been ww rafting for 50 years. Great stuff.
John S PDX OR

If you are interested in support exploring some of the most beautiful places on Earth, check out:

https://www.redwoodrides.com/

A good friend owns the company, and I guide with them as much as I can on the beautiful Smith River in NW California. This is the largest undammed watershed in the lower 48, and has some of the best boating in North America. Ask for me if you want a permaculture oriented guide.

I do more kayak guiding than rafting, but can do both on class 3 and below (main stem and sections of Middle Fork). We have other guides who are better on the big class 4-5 stuff (North Fork, South Fork, and Middle Fork Gorge). I have learned a lot from those guides though, as several are world class boaters who love to share their skills and knowledge. They have helped me get through much more challenging sections than I would have otherwise attempted, and these are some of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I can say with confidence no river has more awesome swimming holes than the Smith.

I also lead bike trips through the adjacent old growth redwoods and coastal forests. I am a solid boater, but I do prefer to stick to class 3 and below on my own. I specialize more in nature interpretation, with experience as a ranger and educator. I also have a master’s in adventure ed focused on wilderness service learning.

I am working on putting together a permaculture oriented river trip and workshop this October in partnership with Redwood Rides, the Wild Rivers Permaculture Guild, and the nature based performance art, activism and empowerment non profit Dirt and Glitter. It will be on the class 1-2 Redwood Run, with a side hike amongst some of the tallest trees on Earth in one of the largest extant areas of old growth and the world’s highest biomass ecosystem.

The Smith river is as beautiful as any I have ever seen. It is an excellent place to observe the dynamics of water, land and life coevolving, with endless lessons for permaculture design. The old growth redwood forest can also teach us a great deal about how to live in a place longterm, as some of the trunks are 2,000yrs old with root systems over 6,000 (as old as the climate has been conducive to their survival). Amidst the redwoods and along the river lies the remnants of the oldest continually inhabited settlement in North America, a Tolowa village 10-12,000 yrs old. The Tolowa, and the Yurok to the south along the Klamath River, stewarded these forests, waters and the fish they support for millennia. They stewarded expanses of unmatched forests and immense fish runs alongside a higher human population density than we have now.

I can only hope to convey a small portion of what I have learned from this place and its stewards, and I learn or notice something new on every trip. I also learn a great deal from guests’ and students’ insights.

If you are interested, let me know!  

Nope! I'm a "small row-boat girl" LOL
I leave "adrenaline junkies"  to their own fate. Maybe...just maybe because I can't really swim. I can lay on water but crazy rapids are for crazy people in my mind.
I mean no offence!

my first rafting was on the Youghiogheny river in Pennsylvania, USA, a famous area to go white water rafting..  It was mid spring and the river was very high, so we went over most of the rapids.  I was in high school on a trip with our physics club.  There was me and another gal on the raft along with a guide, since the river was high.  The guide fell out, and we got him back in.

quite an experience.  and still very fun.  

Randal, we rowed the reservoir-- but the wind came up behind us, and we rigged a tarp for a sail. At least half of it we had a free ride!

I like the water, I grew up around the Great Lakes, and the New York Finger Lakes, and we'd get in the Station Wagon for a few weeks in the summer: we went to Cape Hatteras, San Diego, Oregon (too cold!) I could go on, but basically all that added up to being at home in the water, and having experience at dealing with waves I couldn't handle. We did one short raft trip on the Green River with guides- mellow and pretty in the canyon, with one chute-type rapids. The third High School I attended was in N. Wisconsin and we had the Tomahawk and the Wisconsin Rivers at hand. Prairie Rapids could be pretty rocky. One stretch had a rock we called the "Volkswagon" I had a cheap-ass boat-shaped vinyl inflatable "raft", and I tore the bottom on a snag which deflated the floor, so I lost  half my flotation and accordingly had pitiful steerage-way, and the current took me over the VW boulder, and I was dumped into the lee minus the raft. I had negative buoyancy!?. Rather beautiful under there, and very interesting being held under, looking up at the sky from 4 ft down, yet not floating upward, even with full lungs. I pushed with my hands, but it wasn't enough, so I turned around, put my hands and feet against the boulder, took an imaginary breath (I wished!) and I thought- GO! and pushed as hard and fast as I could. I popped up and was swimming downstream after the raft. Prairie Rapids is in a horseshoe bend, so you can walk to the top of the rapids from the bottom quickly. We did one more run that day.
When I lived in Portland I had a partner who had a friend who guided river floats in eastern Oregon and we treated my family when they came out one summer to a float down the John Day. Not white water, but my parents were pretty old then. The highlight for me was getting up early, walking to the river to wash my face (camping ritual for me) and still kneeling, watching an Osprey fly down the river, and when even with me on the bank, suddenly put her wings up and talons down, and dropped straight into the river and with wings up high, flutter up with a gorgeous steelhead in rainbow colors and keeping a wary eye on me, fly back upstream, no doubt to a nest full of chicks.

Howdy,

Yeah dude, way to go....Weeeeeeeee....

Jerry McIntire wrote:Randal, we rowed the reservoir-- but the wind came up behind us, and we rigged a tarp for a sail. At least half of it we had a free ride!

Howdy,

Rick,
There is also a VW boulder at the bottom of the class III/IV Blossom Bar Rapid on the Rogue here in Oregon. The boulder garden was "blasted with dynamite" by Glen Wooldridge Sr. a local big river enthusiast from Grants Pass, Oregon, back in the 30's and 40's. Before this, it required a portage, carry boats and gear around/over Big Rock boulder filled canyon.

The John Day River is a desert sage enviorment, going thru central Oregon down into the Columbia River. I think it has a class II/2 designation, people with canoes do this river. It does have wilderness sections, multi-day roadless section. It goes thru old Oregon Homesteads. Some interesting sights and history, close to the fossil beds and Painted Desert. I saw the BIGGEST Raptor nest I have ever seen up on some cliffs on the John Day, so big I doubt it would fit in a pickup truck bed!  Also saw some big Carp fish that some Osprey were trying to "fish" outta the river, so big they couldn't hang on to em and kept dropping them. Was pretty funny.

The sights I've seen on river trips have always been better/different than any other type camping trip I have ever been on. The people you meet and the stories we tell!

If it involves serious nature &/or adrenaline count me in!!!

Back in the early 80's I spent a week rafting the Grand Canyon with my dad. It remains one of my favorite experiences ever and I have done many excellent adventures before & since. It truly was a grand experience. Some of the staff for our group of 3 boats included a historian & a geologist so they shared their knowledge along the way. The rafts were loaded with all the food, ice, & beer for the week. The staff did all the cooking & other chores although some of us usually helped.

The rapids are incredible of course. Pictures can't begin to describe the sheer size & power of them. All those waves one sees in pictures & video are formed by rocks under the water. Big rocks. Those rapids can easily eat a person & their raft.

John Wesley Powell's first trip down must have had a huge pucker factor. There was still one boat of his stuck on a tree limb high above the water. I'm sure he had a story to tell about that. Three people left his first expedition in the middle of his first trip. Never to be seen or heard from again. Nothing but miles & miles of uncharted desert in all directions. What were they thinking?

The rafts we used were large with multiple powerful motors. The motors weren't used except to position ourselves in the right spot before entering the larger falls. I remember one particular gnarly falls where we pulled over before reaching it. Two of the staff walked out onto the rocks to observe the falls. I went out with them. They were very keen on getting that one perfect because any mistakes could be disastrous. We sat there for about an hour then some kayakers approached from upstream. Turns out they were Olympic kayakers & ultimately did go down. One or two did flip but recovered nicely.

I mentioned beer earlier because it was a factor the first night. The group included 3 Canadian high schoolers who had just graduated. City boys, first time camping but they had the beer drinking part down pat. Most nights we camped on sand bars but that first one we were all camped on solid rock. In the middle of the night it started raining. All the water from the rocky desert & the rim ultimately flowed down toward the river. Right through the low lying V shaped part of the rock those drunk kids had set their tents up on. All of a sudden we heard a big commotion. They were trying to save all their gear from being swept away. My dad & I were closest so we helped them capture their gear & get set back up again. Welcome to adulting eh?

Other memorable moments included a lunch break in a huge natural amphitheater when it rained again. Hard. All of a sudden a couple of house sized boulders were swept over the rim & crashed right in front of us. Good thing nobody was standing there. Another time after dinner I took a short hike & was sitting on a rock just watching the river. Turned around & there was a bighorn sheep staring at me from a ledge behind. That was cool. A side trip one afternoon was a hike from the river to Havasu Falls. One of the most peaceful places I've ever been.

Lee's Ferry to Lake Mead. Took a week. Incredible food. Incredible white water. Amazing views of, well, rock wall. Didn't see the horizon all week. We saw almost the entire history of the earth's geology instead. Great camping. By the end of the week the group of strangers all felt like family.

The videos are from Youtube & the pictures are from my trip. One shows a spontaneous waterfall that occurs after rains. One shows a super ancient salt mine. Several thousand years old if memory serves.  

the pix

Statistics indicate whitewater boating is similarly dangerous to driving. Similarly, alcohol and other coordination and risk assessment impairing drugs, low light conditions, and bad weather increase the risk for both similarly. Learning how to drive or paddle safely, and identifying when it is not safe to do either, is also an effective way to reduce risk. I would not want to force anyone onto whitewater who doesn’t want to try it, but the drive to the put-in is as dangerous as most boating trips get.

Like many outdoor sports, such as hang gliding, backpacking, cross country skiing,  windsurfing, and sailing, ww rafting used to be much more popular.  There used to be manufacturers like Stansport that made neoprene rafts that regular families could afford.  They were about $100, so a regular middle class person could buy one and not have to have a mortgage on it.  People went on many rivers in the class II-III range. Many even made wooden frames for them inexpensively. Sometimes they would leak a bit and you'd have to repump them back up, but they worked.  

Then people decided they needed to buy really fancy rafts that cost $5000-$10,000.  They were much better rafts. They were better for multi-day trips or class IV rivers or even harder!  They didn't leak, but they were huge and you needed a big space to put it in.  Many people decided they weren't going to buy in at that level and like the other sports, it kind of died out and not as many people go now.  Some people will just buy a trip for a day or two on a river on a commercial trip, rather than buy their own raft.  

There is also a niche group of people who bought these expensive rafts and that is their main recreation.  There are several multi-day trips that these rafts are good for.  Some of them go very slowly down some rivers in multi-day trips.

John S
PDX OR

Ben Zumeta wrote:Statistics indicate whitewater boating is similarly dangerous to driving. Similarly, alcohol and other coordination and risk assessment impairing drugs, low light conditions, and bad weather increase the risk for both similarly. Learning how to drive or paddle safely, and identifying when it is not safe to do either, is also an effective way to reduce risk. I would not want to force anyone onto whitewater who doesn’t want to try it, but the drive to the put-in is as dangerous as most boating trips get.

I beg to differ. I have breaks and steering wheel to my disposal in my car. No such things on a "paddle boat" Sorry, I just had to say it

Ela La Salle wrote:

Ben Zumeta wrote:Statistics indicate whitewater boating is similarly dangerous to driving. Similarly, alcohol and other coordination and risk assessment impairing drugs, low light conditions, and bad weather increase the risk for both similarly. Learning how to drive or paddle safely, and identifying when it is not safe to do either, is also an effective way to reduce risk. I would not want to force anyone onto whitewater who doesn’t want to try it, but the drive to the put-in is as dangerous as most boating trips get.

I beg to differ. I have breaks and steering wheel to my disposal in my car. No such things on a "paddle boat" Sorry, I just had to say it

I encourage no one to take risks they do not see as worthwhile, but statistics show similar risks, which I learned in my Swiftwater Rescue course from someone very serious about safety. Skills similarly important to safe boating can be learned in a similar amount of time as those for driving. Of course physical fitness is more important, but I have seen paunchy dudes and small women dance in whitewater with remarkably little exertion. In a car, you have a lot more metal, speed, mass, and other drivers to worry about than in river sports. Water is very powerful and must be respected, and Both have inherent risks that are statistically similar. Of course you are unlikely to need to get someone to the hospital or school via whitewater raft or kayak. However, the places you can see with these boats are often much more beautiful and serene than anything reachable by car. Sorry, I just had to say it.