Multi-Day raft trip info/experience?

[Edgnar]

So I searched, didn't find anything using Raft, and using "Raft Trip" turns up a bunch of useless shit or really old stuff. So, I'm thinking about taking a 2+ day raft trip somewhere in Utah for mud season this year. Something not too expensive to escape the bizzaro weather we get in the Colorado high country from April- June for a few days. While I know that this bizzaro weather carries over to western CO and Utah, I'm hoping to do something involving warm weather, white water and booze (getting my girl into a bikini is a bonus)

Anybody have any experience? I would love to do the grand canyon, but I'm sure that is super expensive, and probably has to be booked way in advance.

Anyway, I've done trips on the Green and the Yampa. I wouldn't mind checking out the Lodore canyon, maybe some stuff further south like the San Juan. Wanted to get some perspective and experience, any great outfitters or outfitters to avoid?

Thanks!

[Tye 1on]

partied with a few of the Wild Rivers guides in Bluff a few years back, fun bunch that know the San Juan pretty damn good...

[AltaAndy]

I've run the royal gorge, the numbers and a few other runs in CO that were all very fun. No real info for you on the san juans, though. free bump

[QuikR12]

I'd check out the Rogue Wild & Scenic in Southern Oregon; I'm partial because I'm from there, but its absolutely fuggin beautiful with ideal weather through the summer. If you can hit it in the late summer/fall, flows are lower, temps are still up, and its in the middle of an EPIC Chinook run.

[montanaskier]

I did a 10 day Grand Canyon trip and yeah, it was pretty spendy but one of the best trips I've ever been on. Wicked good time, you might check and see if anyone has any last second openings for a discount...worth a look. Running the CO thru the Canyon was freaking awesome.

[hutash]

Check out Oaars website. Then run some great rips with a lot of choices.

If you want something fun, but really mellow do the Green river somewhere between Green River UT, and the confluence with the Colorado. No white water, but lots of fantastic camping and side hikes, not too mention your girl in a bikini (or less) alone in the wilderness. You can rent a boat and arrange shuttles through Red River Guides in Moab. I've run both the upper and lower sections and each is unique but wonderful.

[Tech Tonics]

lots of options in the SW and depends on what you're looking for.

if you're a paying customer on a private trip you will hardly have to lift a finger...but you'll be just that...a paying customer sharing your trip with all other sorts of paying customers. not saying it's a bad thing but...
we do a few multi day private trips a summer, and we tend to do really mellow rivers as we are travelling with a gaggle of kids, typically. they require not only rafting skills, but also a ton of gear and knowledge of how it all works (rigging boat, shitting in a can, running shuttles, yadda yadda yadda). If you hook up with friends that run rivers you may be able to just rent/buy/borrow a ducky and have a raft carry all your gear. My opinion as an ex-guide-turned-private-boater: private trips are a zillion times more fun. booze and drugs on the river? yes please.

Yeah, sure the grand would be sweet, but to do it in "a few days" you'll be using a motor and be going with a bunch of goombas. that being said, i've never done a river trip in the Grand so WTF do i know?

The green has tons of great boatn'. Ladore would be great, but maybe over your head unless you go the paying custy route. There are sections on the green (Labyrinth, Stllwater) you could do in a canoe with virtually no river running experience. Look into it, because that could work for you and your skills.

The San Juan is my favorite in the area...requires permits that can be hard to get, but if you're one or two people and you're not a doosh you may be able to hook up with a trip through mountainbuzz.com. if you go this way and join someones trip that you don't know bring more beer than you'll drink and wash a ton of dishes. The 'juan will take some skills...mostly flat water but does have some sections of Class III. If I were a paying customer I may stay away from the Juan (maybe boring on a boat with a bunch of folks you don't know and access to buzz-catching limited)

There is a whole world of rivers out there, and I could sit here are write out a novel.

good luck and have fun. multi-day river tripping is my favorite thing these days. so fun\


..sorry for the long post!

Lots of othe

the San Juan

[Edgnar]

Thanks for the info TechTonics and others. I'm thinking SW for the warmth (hopefully) at this time of year, late April, early May. I've run Desolation Canyon & Greys twice (once on a NOLS trip and once acting as a camp counselor type but mostly just managing kids, not guiding). Also did Yampa to the Green on the NOLS course. I'm not planning on buying a raft or kayak or canoe, I've got enough expensive habits. I'd probably try to go on something guided, just so its easy.

I'd love to do a private trip, but its probably not in the cards for me.

Anyway, re the Colorado, that would be sick and probably the trip of a life time, but not likely to happen this year.

[Tech Tonics]

if you're going to pay for a private trip than, in my opinion you should look for something with some big water:
Middle Fork of the Salmon- Not at all SW desert. but fun as shit class IV that I'll guess is going to go off this year with all the snow up there. If i were going on a river trip with no kids this would be my first choice.
Cataract Canyon: on the Colorado upstream of GC. if you're going in May you might (not sure) hit high water. could be a good one
Westwater: in UT (barely). fun as hell but shortish...Colorado river .. could do in 2 nights if you took your time. i did it in a day-trip but was high and fast. link it to Ruby/Horsethief (flat water) and make it longer.
Selway: in ID. would be the shit
the list goes on and on.
if i were you, id borrow/rent a ducky and find someone to join a San Juan private trip with
if I wern't you and in your position I'd pay for a MFSalmon trip. hot springs and big water.

[Helldawg]

Here are my tips:

Make sure your raft has no holes in it.

Your girls bikini is not that hard to get into, trust me.

[Edgnar]

Tech, thanks again, just to be clear, I'm looking for something cheap(ish) guided, fun water and 2 or so nights. Warm weather is one of the biggest factors.

[Crampedon]

++ on the rouge Wilderness area. The "Float and Bloat" -unreal lodges, scenery ect. Great experience. Too much food! First night at Morrison's Rogue river lodge then the next nights at very old wilderness lodges a day float apart.

White water warehouse I think books it.

-I did it in August and carried a 5 wght along, could not touch a fish the whole way. Guides said it goes off in september with a run of steelies. Saw an Osprey eating a huge one in a tree one day. They are in there! Also saw a bear tracks on a sand bar. Very cool.

Go!

[hutash]

I don't know if California is an option, but a two day trip on the Toulumne river would be warm and not too expensive. It is lower elevation sierra so it should be nice spring weather, and big run off. I did the north fork of the American under similar conditions, and whole fuck was it big.

Again unless you want a guided trip, or white water the lower Green is super easy to do by yourself with virtually no boating experience. All the gear you need is rentable in Moab, and it is a super trip. With spring flows you don't even have to paddle if you aren't in a hurry. It has been run from one day to one week depending on section, flow and how much time you want to waste.

[zion zig zag]

Again unless you want a guided trip, or white water the lower Green is super easy to do by yourself with virtually no boating experience. All the gear you need is rentable in Moab, and it is a super trip. With spring flows you don't even have to paddle if you aren't in a hurry. It has been run from one day to one week depending on section, flow and how much time you want to waste.

Tell me more, I'd like to take my kids for a few days. Any recommendations on outfitters?

[Tech Tonics]

Tell me more, I'd like to take my kids for a few days. Any recommendations on outfitters?

contact Moki Mac
http://www.mokimac.com/

they will run your shuttle and supply all the boats or gear if you need...

i'm not sure what is going on now, but the road that access the river between Labyrinth (upper) and Stillwater (Lower) was out last fall. so, you'd have to run them both, which is a problem because after Stillwater, the Green joins the Colorado and enters Cataract, which you need a permit for.

We looked into having moki mac (or Tex's) shuttle us back upstream (they do this) but it was too pricey for us when compared to doing the San Juan.

I had friends do Stillwater a year and a half ago in canoes, and Moki Mac hooked them up with the boats and the shuttle for a good price. seem like good peeps over there too.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but the San Juan is effn sick with kids. Deep canyon, warm water, great camps, good swimming hole/side canyons, cheap permit. Only "real" rapid the kids can walk around but the river moves fast so it's not boring for dad on the oars.

[crackboy]

yea i was goig to suggest the T. This should be a pretty epic spring season in cali

[zion zig zag]

contact Moki Mac
http://www.mokimac.com/
I don't want to beat a dead horse, but the San Juan is effn sick with kids. Deep canyon, warm water, great camps, good swimming hole/side canyons, cheap permit. Only "real" rapid the kids can walk around but the river moves fast so it's not boring for dad on the oars.

Does Mokimac do the San Juan as well?

[Tech Tonics]

i do not believe so.

the only commercial outfitter i've seen on the 'juan is Wild River Expeditions. i'm sure there are others

[Badger]

Loved Lodore, the scenery and the remoteness. The whitewater is nothing to write home about, except for Hell's Half-Mile.

Did a self-support on the San Juan. The cliff dwellings/markings were cool. No whitewater to speak of.

I wouldn't write off doing a self-support on Ruby Horsethief - it's not permitted, and it's great for two or three days and a lot more accessible than those other two.

I kinda agree with the suggestion that you should do big water, if you're paying for a guided trip.

[hutash]

I will post something longer when I am at a real keyboard...fucken iPhone.

I have used Red River on my two trips. Good canoes, not those god awful tin ones. My second trip was without he kids, so totally doable.

[hutash]

The Green river is one of the, if not the, best flat water paddles in the world. There are three options which can be done separately or combined. The first section from Green River UT to Ruby ranch i have not done, but here it is not really worth the time. The second section is from Ruby Ranch through Labyrinth canyon with a take out at Mineral Bottom. The Last section is from Mineral to Spanish Bottom through Stillwater Canyon. The last part is in Canyonland NP so needs a permit (cheap and easy to get), and requires a pick up and jet boat ride up the Colorado back to Moab. The ride is kind of cool as you get to see the Colorado River as well, but does add expense.

The road to Mineral bottom is supposed to be repaired, but a run from Ruby to Spanish Bottom is doable in spring beecuae of the high water and faster flows. I did my two trips in October at very low levels, and we did very lazy trips with a lot o side hikes. The hikes are fantastic, so depending on time frame, a shorter river trip with more hiking and camping is more fun then spending all day in the boat hurrying past everything.

We used Red River Canoes, which appears to now be Red River Adventure which does a lot of other trips as well multi-sport trips. They provide good expedition canoes and paddles, while some of the other outfitters rent aluminum thrashers. Most local outfitters can arrange shuttles and pick ups.

The simplest rip to shuttle and paddle is Ruby to Mineral, but the Mineral to Spanish is a prettier paddle and a little deeper into the canyon (but Labyrinth Canyon is still spectacular) but the jet boat shuttle adds to the logistics and expense.

Our first rip was just the wife and I on the lower section, which has one tiny riffle, at least at low water, but is totally insignificant. Our second trip was with our two daughters who were about 12 and 16 if I remember right at the time. We used two boats and took two ice chests, lots of good food and camping gear, chairs etc. which is the advantage of a big expedition boat.

There are several really nice campsites on both sections, all of which we had to ourselves in Oct, but it was low water so there were sand bar campsites as well. At high water the number of sites is limited, so you could end up sharing.

Hope that helps. If you have any specific questions or want more info. PM a phone number.

The lower Green really is a spectacular trip for self guiding especially with kids. While the canyons are not as deep as the Grand, and there is no white water the scenery and side canyon hiking is just as spectacular.

edit to add: don't go any where near the Green/Colorado during MMday weekend. There is a giant redneck boat rally put on by the Moab CC and the place is motorboat hell (from what I hear.)

[boarddad]

Agree with Hutash. Warm weather, 2-day trip describes several rivers in CA. Have you and your GF been rafting before? That's axbig deciding factor. I highly recommend the Middle Fork American River. You can do a combo trip with that and the North Fork if you're really lucky with the flows. Problem being North is snowmelt fed so you're at the mercy of the weather. Plenty of snow this year but if it gets too warm in May the flow will be too high on either that or the Middle Fork (lake fed but still a factor). Be forwarned; the raft guides have no control over this but will promise you the trip is a go. Their fallback is the South Fork which is fun (especially if you've never been) but a bit of a zoo, plus a real letdown if you were expecting Middle/North.

Lots of other great CA rivers too. The Merced comes out of Yosemite, Kings, Toualumne, etc. Flights to Sacramento are relatively cheap. Too many good websites to list. Google will get you there. Just keep in mind; lake-fed, warm water (girlfriend in bikini), seasonal cold water (girlfriend in wetsuit).

[Rico in Flag]

Basically, if your going on a commercial trip as a paying customer, it is not cheap (or even cheapish) no matter what, no matter where. Simply put, it's not cheap to run a commercial raft, with food, transportation, and a thousand other associated costs. So, my advice to is pony up. Open the wallet a little wider.

You won't find many 2 day trips, at least that I know of.

But of what has been mentioned, the San Juan most likely fits you bill. Though maybe not enough whitewater, if you looking for thrills. The San Juan is really just a slow floating happy hour. I'm not sure, maybe the collective here might now, but I'm thinking Mild2Wild also runs commercial trips on the San Juan.

I'll throw this out there, it hasn't been mentioned yet: the Salt River east of Phoenix. Has a good gradient for the whitewater thrills, and can be booked as a two night trip. I know Mild2Wild runs it, as well as a couple other commercial operations. Beautiful desert scenery, and can be quite warm for late April/early May. And probably won't have the weather wild card that some of the more northerly latitude rivers might have. The Salt has a really short season, especially considering the sub-par snow season in AZ.

I'd throw my money in for the Colorado in the Grand Canyon. Can be booked as a 3 night trip if you hike out from Phantom Ranch. Yeah you'll be on a motor rig, yeah with 25 of your closest stranger friends, and you won't get to see the small stops. But you'll get to see the best stops on the upper section, Nankoweep, Redwall Cavern, and a bunch of great whitewater (the BuRec is letting more water down river this spring than normal). Really, if it's your first trip through the Grand you can't go wrong.

And again, maybe the collective can help here, what about the Dolores? Or Westwater Canyon?

Lots of good rivers. I'm jealous.

[hutash]

I just found this...http://moab-rafting.com/index.html

this is the company I have booked through on my two trips, not Red River Adventures, although Red River Adventures looks like them run some fun trips.

Moab rafting combined with Red River Canoe, and they rent all the gear, do the shuttles etc. Again, paddling a Wenonah boats are much nicer to paddle then metal boats.

[powdork]

Tell me more, I'd like to take my kids for a few days. Any recommendations on outfitters?

depending on their age, go for as much dry suit/splash jacket stuff as you can get your hands on. if they get cold, there is no way for them to warm up during a long float in cold water. just my 2 cents based on a bad day for my ex-wife.