Wind could hold you up in a packraft at times. First, the range is extremely remote. So, I like PFD's with pockets. Consider it an insulation layer in camp a very bulky vest and pillow. ", "Of all outfitters with whom we have worked (and that is quite a number), you were by far the most organized and responsive. . There is nothing absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Water Rat, The Wind in the Willows. With 130 glaciers, 1,300 alpine lakes, and 30 peaks over 13,000 feet, it's no wonder the Winds have made their place on thousands of backpacker's bucket lists. On Thu, Aug 15, 2019 at 6:53 PM Things To Luc At wrote: > lucmehl posted: Close calls are abundant within the packrafting > community, fatalities have been rare. It's risky. In fact, a $15 "Walmart special" PFD will likely have the exact same amount of flotation rating as a $200 boutique sea kayaking vest. The Valdez search and rescue team responded to an inReach alert regarding a missing packrafter. ", Wrangell St Elias and Glacier Bay National Parks. They have seven options for rafts, plus a range of accessories and spare parts. Grant Gunderson | September 24, 2014. This topic is empty. Ran it in August, 2014 at about 850 cfs in beautiful weather. 7/3-7/5, Horse Ridge to Mount Febbas (Wind River Range) - July 2021, Lamar River, Pelican Valley, & Speciman Ridge loop - Yellowstone, Jun 29 to Jul 3, 2021, Grand Canyon NP Backpack Pt. Or you can rent a canoe or kayak at Louis Lake Lodge and have a fun overnight stay. Anfibio is also making a really light, less that 2 pound, dry suit. I appreciate the swiss-cheese model of incident causation to visualize this incidents occur when a bunch of small holes line up perfectly wrong. Hi Jay, yeah, a $50 PFD and $600 drysuit might have saved three of these lives. The adventure range of packrafts are versatile and varied. Have you used one? Stephen and two partners were on a three-day packrafting excursion. There are over 1, 300 named lakes in the Wind River Range, and the headwaters of the Green River can be found here. To be honest, my first reaction is that it's wacked. . The river, which holds more water than . I can give a personal account of the Lions Head/Rinke incident. Moose river loop up in Jackman Maine, More than 30 miles . Others run Class III and even IV in inflatable PFDs (Too spooky for me), but many "backpackers in a boat" paddle Class I-II without anything more than a foam pad under the jacket.. Richard, thanks for the info! You can now take guided packrafting trips in Wind River Country. In this case it is likely that Peter didnt get to see the hardest rapids from the road, he was in a boat that wasnt designed for whitewater, the water was high, wood was likely in the river, and maybe the biggest hole: he was paddling alone. Trip Highlights The Brooks Range, packrafting, mountain scenery and true wilderness.. Trip Options We can sort up near the headwaters for a longer journey or midway down river for a shorter option. Ken Knight and I had a little exchange going in another thread in which I pulled in my horns a bitbut having spent 10 years guiding wilderness canoe trips and many more as an avid paddler, it's hard for me to not react strongly. 08.20.21 to 13:20 we approached the rapid of the Delikskiy cascade (category 3). This range also plays home to the biggest glacier in all of the American Rocky Mountains. Ever had the shell balloon while swimming if so what happened? Thanks to Konstantin Gridnevskiy and Taras Popov for sharing this information. If you havent fly fished before and are looking for a little bit more of a wild day, you could enjoy a day of guided fly fishing. TRAIL DAYS ONLINE! Intro to Packrafting Embark on a journey to one of Fiordland's hidden gems. It is not clear if they were in the boat or swimming when they came into contact with the debris. Please be mindful of our values and boundaries and review our Community Guidelines prior to posting. I would guess that the upper lake would also fish well. Roman The lightest non-inflatable PFDs use kapok instead of CC foam. Waters with > Class 3 or strainers etc. The Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and includes Gannett Peak, which at 13,802 ft (4,207 m), is the highest peak in Wyoming; and also Fremont Peak at 13,750 ft (4,191 m), the third . One of the best is the Upper Green River. We've been wanting to packraft the Crooked River through the popular climbing area, Smith Rock, for some time. A common itinerary involves riding a bus into the park, disembarking and hiking south from the Denali Park Road, and then floating a river back to the road.Alternatively, your trip might involve floating north from the Denali Park Road, and hiking back via the same or a . In Alaska, I urge people to consider the cost of the drysuit as part of the packraft purchase price. Facts are very limited because the boater was alone with no witnesses. We are lucky enough to be located 10 minutes walk from the diverse Murrumbidgee river. Backpacking Light helps hikers and other backcountry enthusiasts overcome their barriers to living a life outside in Wild Places. They are a truly wild and rugged wilderness, protected by two National Forests and the Wind River Reservation. Theres a boat ramp and full marina to help meet your needs, and the serenity of the still water makes a perfect spot for some quality bird watching. Wind River Country reservoirs and lakes are really fun for stand up paddleboarding. I considered the same old loops. The combination of a free-flowing, undammed waterway, whitewater that is fun and challenging but (with one exception) in the easy Class III range, and a huge trail network adjacent to and along the river should be like catnip for packrafters, but there's a surprising paucity of information. This can be combined with a loop hike and a climb of Gannet and/or Square top. He then intended to float to the Alcan Highway in the Yukon. Every boater, even those with backpacks, need some sort of PFD at some level of risk. All recordings are now online! Another fatality I know of: in summer 2015 a German paddler disappaered in the Sondre Stromfjord near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. I dont know for certain which section Peter was paddling, but I see a 6-km stretch of Class II/III water that could be scouted from the road. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/15/index.html. For most whitewater and river packrafters a paddle between 200-210cm is the ideal, if you are doing more touring you can increase the length by 5-10cm. His partners found him after thirty minutes and performed CPR, but recovery was not possible. The Wind River Range is one of the best backpacking + climbing wildernesses in the lower 48. For sometime going here to the Verde and the Mazatzal in the winter to hike and wander for abit has been big on my list. 1. No wildlife except for one Moose on the bank. Looks like an awesome trip. I have swum rapids with it. JavaScript is disabled. Depending on circumstances, we can sometimes provide a shuttle service if necessary for nearby options. But it could have easily been a packrafter (everything leading to the fatality eg. This is the first packraft fatality on record, and predates the modern era of packrafts designed for downriver travel, circa 2000.