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| Planning an Overnight Whitewater River Rafting Adventure |
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raftingcolorado writes, "Looking for a break from cell phones, bosses, traffic lights, and noise pollution? Enjoy camping with a little adventure? Give an overnight, multi-day river trip a try! Challenge the whitewater rapids during the day, and enjoy gourmet camp cuisine by fire light at night. This is the perfect alternative, active vacation. "
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A chance to escape from it all with a little taste of wilderness adventure! Multi-day river trips are the perfect way to experience great whitewater, stunning scenery, wildlife, and some of the world’s best camping. Not sure where to start? Read on for a few tips on planning your next adventure!
The first step is choosing who, where, and when. Who will be going on the trip? Where do you want to go? When will you and all other participants be going? If you can answer these 3 questions, at least vaguely, then you’ve got a start to your next adventure.
Promote the trip to family, friends, work, or church groups! Word of mouth is always the best form of promotion. You can get the word out via e-mail or blog, hanging trip posters up in high traffic areas, and passing out flyers. A rafting trip is a great way to spend time together! If you’re organizing a church group or scouting trip, a fundraiser such as a car wash or bake sale can help generate funding for the trip.
Deciding where to go and which river to raft can be a fun task for the whole group to participate in. There are a lot of good regional websites out there. Doing a search on Google, or Yahoo for whitewater rafting, followed by your state of choice will yield good results for outfitters who provide river trips. For example, whitewater rafting Colorado will generate the outfitters within Colorado. Surf through the various outfitter websites narrowing it down to the ones who offer trips with in your groups’ ability range and desired level of difficulty. Choose which outfitters appeal to your group the most.
The time of year you choose to go should largely be determined by the weather and seasonal river conditions. Many of the rivers in the west are dependent upon spring snow-melt for water. This limits the rafting season to about 3 or 4 months a year. Peak spring run-off usually occurs in early June. It can be a very wild ride during the peak melt. A class IV rapid can become class V. The water can be swift and cold, yet very exciting. June is usually reserved for those with previous rafting experience, good physical conditioning, and a real thirst for adrenaline!
Chose your trip within your ability level, on more difficult trips the ability to swim well is a must! If the water is high consider doing an easier trip. The water will generally recede by July allowing for warmer air and water temps. Summer water levels are generally more user friendly. Trips vary in range of difficulty from class I, the easiest, to class V the most challenging rapids out there!
Appoint a group leader to contact outfitters to get a better feel for what they provide on the trip. Ask about quality of gear, experience of guides, what is provided for in the cost, what you are required to bring, and what trips they offer. This will help you decide which outfitters will be a good fit with your group, as well learning what you’re getting for your money. Most outfitters will take the time to get to know you and your group on the phone to help them make informed recommendations for your trip.
River outfitters generally provide group planning kits which include: Roster, payment information, “what to bring” list, and directions to the meeting location. Expect a 50% down payment to secure your launch date. This guarantees you will have a seat for everyone on the trip. For an overnight river trip, it is recommended to get your reservation made 3 to 4 months in advance. Occasionally, short notice trips can be accommodated. Dates fill in fast, and outfitters operate on a first come, first serve basis.
So get on the web and discover where your next adventure awaits! Get out there and get wet!
About the Author: Jim Wick has been guiding class IV and V whitewater for over 9 years, and has logged over 12,000 river miles. He currently owns and operates Lost Paddle Rafting based in Canon City, Colorado along with his wife Kelly and their wolf-dog Baxter. You can visit them on the web at Whitewater Rafting Colorado
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Posted on Jan 15, 2008 15:07pm.
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