Rafting trip on Arkansas

E

elface

250+ Posts
We are going on a 4 day rafting trip on the Arkansas, the rep said the water is 45 degrees and it gets down to 45 at night. Taking a 13 year old and 8 year old. What gear is essential. Guide company is providing food, drinks, rafts and lifejackets. We have tent and sleeping bags.

We will rent the waterproof boots. Do we need a wetsuit? what else do we need?
 
I'm more into boating than rafting, but you wouldn't find me in 45 degree water without a full wetsuit.

70 degrees is perfect for me. Cool and refreshing.
65 degrees is cold for the first 5-10 minutes, then OK.
60 degrees is cold that never gets really comfortable.
55 degrees is seriously cold and very uncomfortable.
50 degrees is shockingly cold. Can't get out of fast enough.
45 degrees. Never experienced and wouldn't want to.

If you are a member of the Polar Bear Club, your tolerances may vary.

Bernard
 
No cotton on the river (other than bandanas - see below).

You don't really "need" a wetsuit. They will rent them to you if you want them at check in. The kids and you might feel more secure with one and you can strip down the top so you are just wearing the bottom half of the wetsuit on the river. I never liked the feel of them on the river. I started rafting, however, in the days of the "you have to bail the boat yourself" so there was plenty of exercise if you got cold. The self bailing boats are wonderful these days.

I have worn an old pair of running shoes (lace up) for the water. Teva type shoes work well, but make sure your feet are used to them (your feet are wet most of the time and you are more susceptible to blisters). And remember, your feet will be in a stirup/tucked into the side of the boat, so there is a lot of rubbing.

Good glasses with a strap.

Fleece works well. Take a windproof extra layer.

Bug spray.

Sunblock (bullfrog).

Swim suit.

bandanas work well with those areas that get burned (because you missed the sunblock) (The top of my right hand got sunburned once on a multiday and a bandana worked well).

Hat for camp and bedtime (you lose a lot of heat from the top of your head).

Dry camp shoes (it will be dusty).

flashlights/mini-lanterns (I prefer battery to flame). Every one should have one flashlight for themselves. The LED double A lights last a long time these days.

campchairs are an absolute luxury and I think a necessity.


The water is cold but you do tend to get used to it quickly (especially after you hit your first big rapid and you understand you are locked into getting down the river by using the river). It is melting snow so it is cold. If you think you may want to rent a wet suit - rent it.

Where are you going on the Arkansas? What time of year? Are you taking the gear with you on the boat or are they ferrying it by van?


You will have a blast. It is an incredible experience - especially the multiday. We had big snows this year so the river is big. The drops are fast.

If you flip (which you probably won't), swim to the bank. Swim hard. The bank is a much better place than going down the river in a life vest. You will get picked up by another raft and meet your raft downstream. I was on a raft that flipped in the Royal Gorge. I flipped in Brown's Canyon as well. It happens so quickly that it is disorienting, but you will pop up. And when you do - get to a bank. If you have kids in the water, they may be panicked but they can hear you. Shout to them to "SWIM." Keep shouting so they follow your voice.

Most of the rapids will have people on the bank with lines they will toss across the river for you to hang onto. Kayakers will be in the water to offer a tow. Other rafts/your raft will pull you back in. They are good at what they do.

Myke just got back so hopefully he will chime in.
 
Tightie whities are a must

Deliverance-01.jpg
 
WPH, thanks for the info. We are going in mid July for four days through browns and big horn sheep canyons.

After checking out video of seidel's suckhole, my 8 yo and 13 yo are nervous but excited. I don't know if the gear is by van or raft.
 
We just went rafting down the Colorado on June 24. My first time rafting and it was a blast. Took the wife, 6 yr old and 5 yr old. The water temp was 43 degrees, the outside temp was in the high 80's. We did not wear anything but our bathing suits and a life jacket. The water was cold but the sun warmed us up pretty fast after we got wet.

We got into a large "eddy" (were water is not flowing) and the guide asked if anyone want to ride the boat? Whats that we asked? You stand up on the front on the boat and then the guide spins the boat with his big *** oars and you see how long you stay on the boat. I lasted one and half turns before I ended up in the water. Warning: 43 degree water is cold, damn cold, unbelievably freaking cold. They pulled me back in the boat and I was warm in 5 minutes. The rapids were suppose to be class I and II but the river was flowing at 6500 CFS. That made the rapids II and III. We could not do the big rapids because of the water flow.

A four day trip sounds great! Have run!
 
The guide will be concerned that you're having to worry about your kids when you're supposed to paddle. Especially if one falls out of the boat.
Brown's is still over 3,000 cfs. Big water for an 8 yr. old.
There was a fatality in Pinball Rapid, in the Canyon, at 2500 cfs.
I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but I'd leave the 8 yr. old at camp. I was honestly fearing for our lives in some of the big holes. Raft Ripper was pretty bad.

I'd go wetsuit AND splash jacket. I got a bit of hypothermia and went into convulsions with both of them on.
 
Saw in the paper that five had died in river accidents in chaffee county.

denver and the west
Dead kayaker pulled from Arkansas River ID'd
By Kieran Nicholson and Joey Bunch
The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 06/24/2008 02:52:00 PM MDT


Volker Beer. (Courtesy of the Beer family)The Arkansas River current in Chaffee County continued its deadly rage Monday with its second rafting fatality in two days and its fourth in a week.

A 43-year-old man from Castle Rock died Monday afternoon after his raft flipped going over class III Graveyard Rapid in Brown's Canyon, the Sheriff's Department said.

The man has not yet been identified.

Sunday 71-year-old kayaker Volker Beer of Tucson, Ariz., was found in the Arkansas River near Buena Vista.

Both men died at Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida.

The death marked the fifth river-related fatality for Chaffee County, after just five last year for the entire stretch of the river from its headwaters near Leadville to the Kansas state line. The river typically runs cold and fast in the spring, dropping 10,000 feet in elevation before it reaches the plains.

On May 22, a 57-year-old woman from Littleton fell off a horse into the river in Chaffee County and drowned. Last week two 61-year-olds, one from Virginia and one from Woodland Park, died after they were pulled from the river.

"This is more than I can ever remember," said Sheriff Tim Walker. "The river is a lot higher and faster than I can ever remember it, and there's still a lot of snowpack still up above it."

With good rainfall in the mountains, as well, Walker said it could be weeks before the river calms down, during a time of year that the fast-flowing waters are a magnet to thrill-seeking tourists.

At least 12 people have drowned ub Colorado's swollen waterways since April, and scores of others have been plucked out by rescuers. According to the Colorado Department of Health and the Environment, an average of 46 people die from drowning in Colorado and 38 others are hospitalized each year, which is slightly below the national average.

Rescuers in Eagle County suspended a search Monday for a 56-year-old Nebraska woman who was thrown off a horse into Beaver Creek near Vail on Friday.

State and local governments have closed off some dangerous waters and urged extreme caution in man other locales, "but a lot of it falls on personal responsibility," Walker said. "It's very obvious that the river is a lot higher and a lot faster, and it's up to people to use good judgment about their own safety."

Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or [email protected]
 
Most of the Class III rapids in Brown's are now Class IV.
Picture if you will, a wall of water waiting to knock you out of the boat.
It's like hitting freezing cold concrete.
We lost a guy in Little Seidel's Suckhole, I was sure the whole damn raft was going over. Took a good 20-30 yards to get him back in the boat.
They need to be strong swimmers if you're going to do this with them.
 
I talked to rafting company, brown's is out for the eight year old; they are checking on whether Big Horn is okay to do.
 
Please be safe. The river is unforgiving at this flow.
Bighorn will give the 8 yr. old a thrill. It's not as scenic, but it's a heck of a ride.
 
We did the four day Arkansas River trip and had a blast. The water dropped a lot and so the eight year old was able to go.

It was just the three of us, plus two guides (one for the equipment) and a golden retriever.

It was a blast. Going thru Seidels, we missed the move to the right and according to the other guide we surfed for a minute and a half before I fell out and then my 13 yo daughter and finally the guide. The 8 yo son was the only one to remain in the raft.

We went about 60 miles in 4 days going thru Wildhorse, Browns and Big Horn Sheep Canyons. We started at rail head bridge and finished at parkdale.

The 8 yo said immediately it was best vacation ever, while the 13 yo deliberated for about 3 hours and came to same conclusion.

I appreciate everyone's advice on this thread.
 
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