Has anyone gone rafting? Need some advice

[Kiwi]

Yeah, I'm thinking of doing White Salmon. A coworker tells me good things about it.

[larrythellama]

if you are doing the white salmon, then go with wet planet. Grated raft guides are more pathetic then climbing guides, they seem the lesser of the evils.

[troubleski]

not sure I would call Maytag and Top Drop class IV at this water... and not sure you could get a raft with 6 people over Husum right now either. I don't mean to dis on the White Salmon, it is one of my favorite rivers in the state. I am just not sure that it is worth the ~5 hour drive from Seattle at 800cfs. If it was right down the street I would run it every week.

 

A

[JayB]

How would you rate it for kayaking at 800cfs?

[dukiebird]

You should go through an outfit called River Recreation next summer, ask Deanna or Jen to guide you, I'm told there pretty fun gals. Whadda you think, Distel?

[Kiwi]

if you are doing the white salmon, then go with wet planet. Grated raft guides are more pathetic then climbing guides, they seem the lesser of the evils.

Wet Planet, eh? Looks interesting. Not much information on their site though.

 

Did you try the whitewater and wine combo?

[Kiwi]

Called up Blue Sky and sounds like Wenatchee is all dried up. Skagit and White Salmon are still doable. Lunch and wet suit provided.

 

Is Blue Sky good?

[larrythellama]

no

[Kiwi]

no

No to the wine thing? Or no to Blue Sky being good?

[Dru]

Hey Kiwi

 

look here

 

or here

[Kiwi]

Hey Kiwi

 

look here

 

or here

Yeah, I checked out Reo's website. Sounds great. They have excellent packages and trips, but I'm not sure how far the person I'm going with wants to take it. (ie. 4.5 hr drive and ~$175US) We'll see. We're still discussing it.

 

Edit: Kumsheen looks equally amazing! @_@

Edited August 4, 2004 by Kiwi

[Dru]

Now is a real good time of year to run the Thompson. The water level drops a bit and the rapids get whiter-water. in the spring there is so much water the holes fill in.

 

$175 US sounds a bit much? I went on one of those Reo trips on a friend's stag party and the cost was about $120 CDN each.

[Kiwi]

Now is a real good time of year to run the Thompson. The water level drops a bit and the rapids get whiter-water. in the spring there is so much water the holes fill in.

 

$175 US sounds a bit much? I went on one of those Reo trips on a friend's stag party and the cost was about $120 CDN each.

Sweet.

 

I was looking at the 2-day prices.

 

In reality, the prices are very comparable to the WA/OR ones. But since the dollar goes further, one has the tendency to splurge.

[larrythellama]

no on blue sky

i only drink beer while climbing/skiing/boating

 

the thompson is a fun river to run and drul is right, the time is now...i think we ran it around the 2nd or 3rd week of august and again in sept. at the put in you can go over and look at the crucible ice climb in its summer form. cool little area.

[Kiwi]

no on blue sky

:-\

 

I'll see if she's up to going to Canada.

[gravity_illustrated]

The best water you will find is in Idaho (Selway, Lochsa, Snake and Salmon Rivers). (Un)fortunately, to float self-guided, you need to submit an application (by Jan. 31) and hit their lottery. We finally got a Salmon permit this year after 5 yrs. of trying and it was well worth the wait. We've done the Snake a couple of times and it's wild at high water (15k cfs+), especially when your heavy with gear for a 4 day trip, and you negotiate 2 class IV-V's in the first 3 hrs.

 

If this is more of a 1st-time, "shake-down" float with your girlie, I'd recommend the Deschutes (class II-III), which has good flows year-round, or wait until next spring and float the Grande Ronde. Or pay the $$$ for a guide who knows what they're doing. Even a seemingly tame river can surprise you in a big hurry, novice or experienced alike. Enjoy!

 

Check H2O flows on most any river at the USGS site.