so, im going white water rafting... any advice?

Josh Muller

Josh Muller

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Jun 22, 2003
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my freinds father is taking us and his family on a white water rafting trip, somewhere in the sierra nevada's. apperntly it will go from a 1 to a 2 to a 3, depending on if we feel we can take the higher level.

thing is, i know absolutely nothing about white water rafting :(

i normally wear a pair of danner acadia's, carhart duct work pants, a busse SHBA,swamp rat howler, and benchmade 710 (for the time being), along with a sweatshirt and a bag... all in all my clothes weigh 10-12lbs, bag 18lbs... i can only assume that i should leave most if not all of that at home :rolleyes:

but what should i bring/wear? what type of shoes? can i bring a knife???

if i bring stuff, i can only assume that i could just leave it in the car, and then put it all back on when we're done, but JUST IN CASE id love to be able to bring my howler... i just dont know if they'll let me
 
You are going to get very wet so you may want to wear either a wet suit or a bathing suit. Make sure that your gear is securely attached and water proofed, and your glasses securely tied off. You are going to be wearing a helmet so forget the hat. For shoes I usually go with either an old pair of tennis shoes or better yet water booties. It alot of fun, enjoy.

n2s
 
Humble advice from an ex-canoe guide:

1 - wear your helmet and your life jacket, well secured and tight.
2 - you won't be needing a knife, but you might get a blunt point serrated edge carried tip up on the shoulder (strapped to the life jacket), just in case. Take it small and light. You want a cutting tool, not an anchor ;)
3 - the guide knows his river. He'll explain you how it works and tell you what to do. Listen to him and be cool with him, and you'll make his day and YOURS much more safe and enjoyable.
4 - don't ever underestimate the power of these whitewaters. Rushing whitewater can pin you down, crush you or tear you apart if you're fighting against it. The river IS stronger than you. Accept it and go with the flow.
5 - old sports shoes are perfect. Tie them tight, though, that will keep them on your feet and keep the biggest of those little rocks out :D

Oh... and don't forget to have fun :D

Cheers :D

David
 
I'll leave the equipment advice to those in the know, however, if you'll be wearing trunks, a good sunscreen that won't wash off might be a good idea. You can get a wicked burn in the Sierra Nevadas, especially at altitude. The wife and I were visiting her aunt at just under 6000' at a lake north of where we lived and the wife, who had seen some sun and was getting a pretty good tan, layed out for a few hours. Ended up with a bad burn and sun poisoning in her legs. Man, it got ugly, so take care of yourself in that respect.

Do you know which river you'll be rafting?
 
- wear something that will dry fast...
- do NOT wear a knife clipped or otherwise attached to your belt/waist... once you hit the class 3 rapids you could get a nasty jab that'll leave you sore for awhile...
- if possible, get a protective pair of sandals or other protective pair of shoes made for water use...
- the place you'll be told to place your foot to brace yourself and steady yourself, make sure you do not put it TOO far under... if you're ankle is under, then it's too far... heh...
- make sure you pay attention to any talking your guide does... make sure you know what all the commands mean etc...
- as for equipment and nourishment, you can take whatever you want...
- don't be nervous... it'll be a blast... by the end of the trip you'll be asking for class 4 and 5 rapids!
 
thank you everyone :D

i have no idea what river it will be, to be honest, i dont even know what part of the state :confused: . my freind said "hey, my family is going white water rafting saturday, wanna come?" "eh, sure." and that was that :D

not exactly sure why he asked me out of our group of 10 or so freinds...

i'll definitely try to get a good pair of light shoes, and some heavy duty sun screan... wish i had a water proof camera :D

i take it that i should wear a short sleeve shirt? while it seems like a good idea to wear a long one to help protect against scrapes, i dont want something that will catch excessively or weigh me down...

again, thanks for the advice :D
 
kodak and a few other companies make waterproof desposable cameras. they are no more than 13 bucks. wal mart or other similar stores will have them. I have been rafting on the snake river in Jackson hole and it was awesome.
 
SethMurdoc said:
i take it that i should wear a short sleeve shirt? while it seems like a good idea to wear a long one to help protect against scrapes, i dont want something that will catch excessively or weigh me down...
Click to expand...
that'll depend on the weather... if it's breezy i'd reccomend taking a light waterproof and packable wind-breaker or a very light fleece pullover or something... if it's not too breezy you'll probly wanna take a longsleeve cotton shirt @ least, 'cause it can get a little chilly on the river, @ least here in Maine... but you don't really NEED it... you aren't in danger of dying of hypothermia... just catching goosebumps... it's more of a just-in-case-comfort thing...
 
I would carry at least a folder or a SAK and a pocket survival kit somewhere on your person. Just because you never know...
 
Wear your life preserver and helmet.

Rule number 1 - Stay in the raft.

If you fail to follow that advice point you feet downstream and backstroke with your arms. You want to hit the rocks with your feet not your head and you need to see downstream to steer.

Carry a whistle around your neck or attached to your life preserver

Do what you are told to do by your guide with gusto and without hesitation.

Have fun.

Mac
 
rafting is a ton of fun! Attach anything you want to take home to the boat or yourself. I usually keep a knife in a zippered/buckled pocket when I am boating. I also have a nalgene bottle survival kit I take along in remote waters.
 
wear a pair of swim trunks with a zip up pocket put a SAK in it, tie a whistle off on your life jacket, nothing around your neck....could get hung on somthing and choke you, above all LISTEN to the guide and have fun
 
Alot of the bases have been already covered a short list of knives suited to white water are Benchmade H20 Gerber:River shorty river runner river master. Kershaw, Buck and Columbia River Aqua as well as a Spyderco Salt. There are plenty out there to choose from the needs of the sport are well met these day compared to carrying a Marble belt knife in the old days. I would suggest a combo edge leave the swamp rat at home.
Always wear sturdy foot wear even fly fishing low cut boots are good something to protect you feet from sharp rocks and being beatin up if you have to walk sandals are good on beaches or for feet theat have beenconditioned to the task.
If you carry any fleece take the time to pretreat it with KnikWick(sp) water proofing it is worth the while. zip of short/long pant combos are worth the purchase make sure they are from synthetic material quick drying and they do not hold lots of water when you get them wet.
Follow the advice of facing your feet down stream if you fall out of the raft and learn what an Eddie is you don't want to spend the whole day swiming so finding an eddie, which is a back slip of what that curls behind an obstruction in the river. It is a safe way to get out of the current choose one close to shore.Try and practice this technquie before going, hopefully your guide will give all of you the chance.
Never wear anything around you neck that can't be broken free an easy solution is para cord cut to length slip both ends into a piece of windshield wash fluid hose. The hose is made to withstand heat so it wont melt or get loose and it acts like a chinese finge lock when you make the connection behind what you are trying to hold. This is not about being in a fight it is about being choked when hung up on the side of the raft a rock or stick.
Wearing the knife: strap it to your chest shoulder area free of your movement or under your arm pit to the sinch strap on your vest. See Eric at On Scene Tacticals for custums or Mike at River City sheaths I have models from both.

Some people wear a baseball cap under their helmet to shade their eyes if you want a hat, if wearing sunglasses find a way to lash them to your vest not around you neck unless you have them on a break away and remember the water will reflect the ligh back up from the surface on a sunny day so cover up well with the suntan loation.

Hope you have fun and remeber in the end it is just water. And if you have to fall oout grab the girls bikini top next to as you go it makes for fond memories.
 
My advice would be that if they use the big rubber rafts that you hook the one foot under the middle or a line to be sure and lean out and paddle hard.

If you are setting more to the inside of the edge of the raft and gingerly paddling and hit a really rough place the tendency is for it to throw you OUT of the raft.

If you set more to the outside and really paddle hard going into the rapids and hit a really rough place it usually throws you IN.

Seems weird but it works.
 
wear quick drying nylon clothes, bring at least a fleece vest and mini-kit, avoid toothless hillbillies (Remember Deliverence?)
 
I went one time, just wasn't for me. It's diffenently a white knuckle ride! I would suggest light weight fast drying clothes that won't weigh you down when wet. Water shoes and most certainly a knife. One that can stand to get wet. If you choose a folder, pocket clip one hander a must or fixed blade, kydex clip sheath. Keep your feet planted firmly in the raft and enjoy the ride! :D
 
I've been whitewater rafting a numerous times. I just went three weeks ago on the Kern River on class 4 rapids.

Most of the advice given so far is on gear. So I'll give advice on other aspects of whitewater rafting.

1. If you fall out of the boat always have your feet facing downstream and have them semi-raised (pretend your kicking back on a lounge chair). This is so you can push off of rocks in you are about to run into them.
2. Do not put your feet down until you get to shore. There is the risk of getting your foot caught in rocks or roots that you cannot see. If your foot gets caught the water will push you under and that leads to an bad situation.
3. Try not to lose your paddle. You end up being dead weight on the boat. And having the paddle on you, you can use it to extend your reach to get pulled back into the boat.
 
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