Vehicle Shuttles

In most situations you'll need to arrange for a company to shuttle your vehicle from the point where you launch to the point where you take out. Each of the major western white water rivers has several of these companies to choose from. Ask around on Internet forums for references.

In most cases, it will be your vehicle insurance that will be covering the shuttle driver. You must put your rig in their hands and you pay the freight, in all sense of the word. It's the price you pay for the sport. Dissatisfied customers voice grievances on the Internet so poor shuttle companies don't stay in business very long. Go with ones that are well regarded.

Keeping Ice

The topic of how to keep ice for long rafting trips is an interesting one, filled with many opinions and some scientific fact. But the reality is that it's pretty easy to keep ice in the coolers for the entire duration of a week-long river trip, even with temperatures above 100F. Just use some common sense. Keep these things in mind: organize your cool, cold, and frozen food so that you minimize the number of times you must open the cooler lid. Then make sure the lid is only open for the shortest time possible and is closed tightly again every time. One mess-up in this regard can ruin sensitive items like lettuce.

Keep coolers covered by wet white towels during the day to allow evaporation to aid in keeping them cool. We also cover them with umbrellas as soon as we reach camp. Consider dedicating one cooler in the party to holding all frozen foods, another to cold foods, and a third to cool foods. Keep pop and beer in a separate cooler since beverages are accessed frequently (and by light headed individuals?) and the inevitable foul-up isn't that big of a deal. You can re-cool pop and beer in a side stream overnight. Pre-cool beverages in a stream before adding them to the cooler. On the Grand Canyon, the water is so cold that you can cool beverages in mesh 'drag bags' and avoid taking up any space in the coolers.

Of course, if you're planning for a Grand Canyon rafting trip, then your ice will need to last as long as 21 days. So preparation and packing are much more involved to ensure that your ice goes the distance. I defer to other Internet sources for that specialized information.

GPS

In my opinion, bringing a GPS makes for better and safer trips. Most people equate GPS with finding their location and finding campsites and features in the river corridor. But another great benefit is to always know your speed. That way you can more accurately estimate when you will reach camp or other river features you are interested in. While on the river we are vagabonds, but modern and calculating vagabonds. We want to drift and wander, and linger at the historical and geologic features we find, but we still want to make it to camp at a reasonable hour. Our GPS makes this happen.

Comments on Equipment for River Rafting Trips

For many of us, acquiring and messing around with our whitewater rafting gear is a passion. There's much more to our rafting and camp equipment than simply a one-time shopping event. The gear dimension is a favorite aspect of the sport. And there is much time to think about it between river trips.

Perfection is always a few little tweaks away. So, with no further ado, here are some random thoughts that shape my gear selection.

It's easy to rave about the need for quality when so much is riding on the performance of your river rafting gear. But that doesn't necessarily mean cost. For me, it's more about design and engineering, than cost. And certain items are simply right, regardless of the cost. I'm still using some little $5 chairs I found at WalMart more than 5 years ago. The materials are good, the design is simple, they're light, compact, and reasonably comfortable, and they have lasted well. They've stood up to my two 6 ft sons. I've been back there a few times looking for more, but no luck. The shelves are now filled with junk. Keep your eye out for little marvels of equipment that you happen to stumble onto.

I've seen a weak old boat punctured in the first 5 miles of a week-long trip. It was patched, in part, by sewing up the gash with dental floss. I've got to give credit to the group who made the repairs, but I sure wouldn't want the stress of that old thing popping again hanging over my head for a whole week. What a way to put a damper on a river trip. Your time on the river is precious. Don't compromise quality when it comes to your vacation.

There is lots of rafting gear that few or no merchants sell. For example, simple hand washing stations, economical yet big sand anchors, really comfortable and efficient camp chairs, and fixtures to attach ammo boxes and rocket boxes to frames and floors are hard if not impossible to find. Be on the lookout for the rare items, and the bits that you can cobble together to make the stuff you need. Looking for this stuff is half the fun. Our hand washing station is made from a collapsible leg from a camera tripod, attached with a C-clamp to a drywall bucket. A foot-powered bulb pump from an outboard motor gas line sends the water up to your hands, and the soapy water falls into a collapsible bucket. The whole rig disappears into the boat, with all parts tucked into the bucket with the collapsible bucket nested over the top as a lid. Of course I try to improve this rig every year!

Everything in its place

Each year we seem to take less gear. We don't do without, we just take less. Or maybe it just seems that way because each year our equipment sort of sifts its way into the boat, settling down into a tighter and more compact load. Gear selection becomes a matter of figuring out what things go best where. Loading the boat each morning becomes a simpler and simpler task each trip we take.

I've heard "he who dies with the most straps wins". I'm in good shape in this contest. But straps are an entrapment hazard too so I watch where I use them. And they stay in a bag when not in use.

Less Is More

I've created a nice little tool box that I'm gradually eliminating tools from! Why take a Dutch Oven lid lifter when you can use a pair of channel locks? Dual purpose your gear as much as you can. Avoid redundancy and wasted weight. Decide who is bringing what. Rely on reliable and like-minded friends so that together you have 'just enough, nothing less, nothing more'.

And remember that the safety of those trusting souls you are taking with you is your responsibility. They may not know the difference and may not realize the compromises that you have made. So, when you're responsible for others you owe it to them to do the best you can to prepare and to ensure their safety to the degree possible with quality equipment, well maintained.

Buckets

Bring many buckets. Think about it. One for hand wash supply, one to catch the soapy water, several for the kitchen and to do your 'shopping' at the boat where your dry box pantry is. You'll need buckets for bathing, too, and some folks don't appreciate using the dish washing buckets. And remember to paint or otherwise mark buckets so that you know their role and where each has been! They can also be used as back anchors filled with rock, on "tidal" or "surging" camps" in the Grand Canyon.

Buckets are also helpful when breaking down camp for carrying loose items to boats. Throwing a bit of river water over kitchen or other gathering areas is a good way to find valuables or micro-trash left by your group or a previous party. (Always try to leave the campsite cleaner than how you found it!)

Rope and Cordage

As with buckets, you really can't have too much rope and cord! You'll want a bunch of parachute type cord to rig sun/rain shelters, wind screen, clothes lines, etc. I keep a bunch of odd bits in a little nylon mesh bag that prevents mildew. Each boat should have at least 75' of bow-line available. Each boat should have at least one throw-bag containing 75' of floating rope. At least two boats should carry Z-drag kits (pulleys, locking carabineers, webbing to create anchors, 2-300' of line, preferably floating). We keep ours along with the first aid kit and a signal mirror in a large NRS Bill's Bag, lashed into the bow of the boat. We fill the rest of the bag with storm jackets, fleece, hats, gloves, rain pants, a spare PFD and a wet suit for each gal on board. The weight of it keeps the bow down in big water, and by loosening one strap, the entire kit is available to grab and run with in an emergency.