Whitewater Rafting tips/stories/suggestions

[turnipmonster]

I have done nolichucky, nantahala in TN and american river in SF. american river was my favorite, agree with nicholas about nantahala.

[Badger]

You said Forks is the most intense/difficult. How difficult would a trip like this be for someone who is young and active, but has zero WWR experience?

How much does a guided trip typically cost?

EDIT: Also got the list of 10 things to do before you die? Some quick googling didn't work for me.

[Kevin J]

I went rafting when I was younger and it was one of the best times I ever had. I'd like to take my kids (12 and 10) on a short rafting trip, but my ex freaked out at the idea.

Can you recommend a tame, but still exciting, rafting trip appropriate for kids (and a father), with very little experience rafting? When I used to go, it was either drug filled weekend on a two-man raft (which we were thrown out of many times -lol), or a large raft that took on some pretty violent rapids. I'd want something calmer if I took my kids. I'd appreciate any info. Thanks.

[shemp]

One of the forks of the American is a "Tom Sawyer Float."

[Josh W]

[ QUOTE ]
You said Forks is the most intense/difficult. How difficult would a trip like this be for someone who is young and active, but has zero WWR experience?

[/ QUOTE ]

as far as i know, you are not allowed to go on the Forks unless you have class IV experience. Before you can go, you need experience, and to pass a test that involves swimming (with life jacket on) a rapid, under your boat, then pulling yourself in. It's far from easy.

[ QUOTE ]

How much does a guided trip typically cost?


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In SoCal, the general rule of thumb is that the closer to LA and the more difficult the trip, the more expensive it is. This past weekend was $375/person for a two day trip that included 4 meals, camping, and the river itself. Forks is like $500 for a 2 day trip (some companies offer a 3 day trip which isn't quite as intense, and thats like $750). You can generally get group discounts to some extent.

[ QUOTE ]

EDIT: Also got the list of 10 things to do before you die? Some quick googling didn't work for me.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is something our guide told us. I haven't verified it for myself, but I may do a check and update this later on.

[Josh W]

[ QUOTE ]
I went rafting when I was younger and it was one of the best times I ever had. I'd like to take my kids (12 and 10) on a short rafting trip, but my ex freaked out at the idea.

Can you recommend a tame, but still exciting, rafting trip appropriate for kids (and a father), with very little experience rafting? When I used to go, it was either drug filled weekend on a two-man raft (which we were thrown out of many times -lol), or a large raft that took on some pretty violent rapids. I'd want something calmer if I took my kids. I'd appreciate any info. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

I happen to know that the company I was just on said you had to be 10+ to go on a class IV rapid, but 7+ to go on a class III. There were a few kids who had signed up (with parents) to go on the class III stretch of the lower Kern, but due to a variety of reasons, the company changed the route and put them on the class IV portion. Their boat capsized once which scared the kids, but otherwise they were fine.

I'm not sure where you are at, but near LA/Vegas, the Upper Kern I believe is a class III run. Also, I think that part of the AMerican River in NorCal is a class III run, as well. The first time I went rafting, it was class IV. You don't have to be in exceptional shape, just a good listener, and able to follow instructions. One option would be to try to find a 2-day run, where the first day is all class II-III, then the second day goes up to class IV.

Good luck,

Josh

[idrinkcoors]

[ QUOTE ]
Empiremaker,

http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail...lid=BGR041-050
http://www.westernspirit.com/trips/m...e_to_moab.html

Telluride to Moab -- ~200 miles, spanned over 7 days, and while there are certainly moments where it will be difficult I've heard that it's really not a super challenging ride, overall. Look into it at least.



[/ QUOTE ]

It may not be challenging in terms of steep hills, and all, but the elevation of this ride will vary from Moab (4,000 feet) to Telluride, (9,000 feet iirc). Even a 4,000 foot elevation can be a difference to someone used to breathing all that oxygen you guys get to breathe at sea level.

[EmpireMaker2]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Empiremaker,

http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail...lid=BGR041-050
http://www.westernspirit.com/trips/m...e_to_moab.html

Telluride to Moab -- ~200 miles, spanned over 7 days, and while there are certainly moments where it will be difficult I've heard that it's really not a super challenging ride, overall. Look into it at least.



[/ QUOTE ]

It may not be challenging in terms of steep hills, and all, but the elevation of this ride will vary from Moab (4,000 feet) to Telluride, (9,000 feet iirc). Even a 4,000 foot elevation can be a difference to someone used to breathing all that oxygen you guys get to breathe at sea level.

[/ QUOTE ]

Jesus anything else a little easier and with less elevation I get sick really easy from the elevation. Are the only trips 6-7 days? I was looking more for a 3-4 day trip, but every site ive looked at is min 6 days.

[Entity]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Empiremaker,

http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail...lid=BGR041-050
http://www.westernspirit.com/trips/m...e_to_moab.html

Telluride to Moab -- ~200 miles, spanned over 7 days, and while there are certainly moments where it will be difficult I've heard that it's really not a super challenging ride, overall. Look into it at least.



[/ QUOTE ]

It may not be challenging in terms of steep hills, and all, but the elevation of this ride will vary from Moab (4,000 feet) to Telluride, (9,000 feet iirc). Even a 4,000 foot elevation can be a difference to someone used to breathing all that oxygen you guys get to breathe at sea level.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never had problems at sub-10k elevations, but I do a fair amount of hiking and other activites that might compensate for that, really, so I can't comment too much on what the average sort of person would feel.

Rob

[CORed]

One of my most memorable outdoor adventures was a solo raft trip down the Escalante River in Utah, with a mountain bike shuttle and a backback takeout (Highway 12 bridge to Moody Canyon). The Escalante is only runnable at peak runoff. I lost my knife (had to sharpen the top of a can to cut patching material), got everything wet many times, but the weather was hot dry and windy, so stuff dried out incredibly fast. I broke 2 oars out of 3 (my fault for buying cheap crap), and had to construct a jury-rigged kayak paddle from my one good oar, the blade of a busted one, duct tape and a cottonwood stick (it worked great), had an encounter with a baby rattlesnake (no bites), and folded my raft around a big stick. I made a lot of mistakes and encountered a lot of problems, but managed to solve them all, the scenery was incredible, and had a great time overall. I don't think I would do it again, at least not without much better equipment, but I don't regret doing it at all.