- Some people were wondering why rafts. The big reason was no outfitter would sell you a raft for the entire trip. The second reason which relates to the above was the expense... 2-300 dollars for a partial trip. Another reason would be the hassle of coordinating with different outfitters and people. Finally, to our knowledge it had never been done. Some people have tried but their rafts fell apart.
- The rafts were built using the thickest plywood we could find, dump truck inner tubes (5 in the beginning), and large zip ties. We had help gathering supplies by two trail angels: Santas Helper and Miss Janet. We built the rafts in the parking lot outside our hotel room with our bare hands and a drill borrowed from the maintenance guy.
- Miss Janet transported us to the Port Republic put in. Before we even launched the rafts Tinkerbell had to rescue a kid from drowning... the kids parents couldn't swim. Why they brought their son to a swimming hole is beyond my understanding. Eventually we launched the rafts and did a few miles. We were able to stand up, walk around, jump, dive, lay completely flat, and store all of our gear on the rafts. They worked better than expected.
- Here are some of the things we had on the rafts: tire pump, duct tape, patch kits, spare tires, hiking bags inside trash compactor bags, 15 foot golf ball retriever (for poling), a tarp, umbrella, oars, bungee cords, life jackets (butt pads), and beer.
- Eventually both rafts had their first pop. The problem was quickly solved with some patch kits and a spare tire. The zip ties made swapping and repairing easy (yes you can unzip a zip tie).
- Many people helped us out on this expedition. Without my parents there would of been no float at all (thanks). Miss Janet helped with transportation. Santas Helper got us tubes, gave us soda, transportation, and various assistance. A guy named Lee helped us portage around a dam. A hispanic guy helped us portage around another dam. Various people gave us hitches into town.
- I want to give a shout out to Stacey, Megan, and Tye. The invited us to their home, cooked us dinner and breakfast, gave us beer, let us sleep on their porch, and were all-around awesome company. Can't forget Tye for wearing us down with BB guns, football, and soccer. The kid is gonna be a sports star some day.
- We saw a lot of creatures. Tons if weird bugs I've never seen before. I think they were aliens... . Saw a lot of cranes, bald eagles, dragon flies, and huge spiders that could run across water and liked to hide on the underside of our rafts.
- We conquered many sketchy class I rapids. Some we had to walk because of shallow water. We nailed every class II perfectly. Survived a few huge downpours. Didn't lose any gear. Could of definitely conquered some class III rapids.
- Worst part of the trip: Low back pain.
- Best part of the trip: Not walking and letting my feet heal.
- What i learned: Reading and navigating rapids. There is something vindicating about looking behind you after going through a class II and realizing that you went down the only channel possible.
- Total distance travelled was about 150 miles. Shortest day was 2 miles. Longest day was around 16 miles. Took us exactly 3 weeks.
Now for some pictures.
