Whitewater Newbie Seeking Help/Advice

Thanks for the info Randy. I am located in Missouri so I will need to
travel in order to do some rafting. I am leaning towards Colorado,
possibly the Buena Vista area.

V2

***************


I really wouldn't worry too much about it. Rafting can be cold and
very wet but most outfitters know how to keep thier customers
comfortable. They will suggest that you rent a wetsuit if they expect
it to be uncomfortable.

There are also many trips that involve warmer water- Indeed, this time
of year, most everything is pretty comfortable. I'll be kayaking at
7,000 feet this Saturday and I'll probably just wear a T-Shirt.

I would select a moderate or easy warm-water river to start out and
call the outfitter and ask questions. If you will tell us where you
are located, we can give you some suggestions.

Randy

carnival RemoveThis @thedoghousemail.com (Victory Two) wrote in message news:<8f2b6991.0307100654.5f0fd241 RemoveThis @posting.google.com>...
 > Hello all?..I have always wanted to go whitewater rafting and have
 > decided to plan a trip for next June. I am thinking that the best way
 > to start would be to go on a guided, 1-day rafting trip rather than a
 > multi-day trip in the event that it isn't as much fun as I thought it
 > would be. Anyway?.I am looking for input on good sources of
 > information about whitewater rafting so that I can make an educated
 > decision on when & where to go. Any help would be greatly
 > appreciated.
 > One specific question that comes to mind is water temperature.
 > Obviously the water for whitewater trips comes from the snow melt so I
 > am thinking that the water is pretty cool. Are there areas where the
 > air temperature and water temperature combination makes it miserable
 > to raft? For example, would the weather in Colorado be warm enough
 > next June to go rafting without freezing our asses off? I have no
 > problem with getting soaked on a rafting trip but it could [resent a
 > problem for my wife.
 > Thanks for your help/advice.
 >
 > Feel free to email me at carnival RemoveThis @thedoghousemail.com<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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carnival DeleteThis @thedoghousemail.com (Victory Two) typed:

 > Thanks for the info Randy. I am located in Missouri so I will need to
 > travel in order to do some rafting. I am leaning towards Colorado,
 > possibly the Buena Vista area.

BV is a good starting point. You can do the very easy Frog Rock/House
Rock daytrip, and then, if that is too tame, the Brown's Canyon
daytrip. If you enjoy that and want to up the ante, you can drive
downstream (it'll be on yer way home) to the Royal Gorge section.
I've canoed Frog Rock/House Rock, Brown's Canyon, the Fractions, and
the Numbers sections of the Arkansas (I don't know if there are
commercial trips on the latter two; there may be access issues) in
late July and early August. In a good-snowpack year the Arky might be
pretty meaty in June.

Another possibility, possibly a little closer, depending upon where in
MO you live, and probably a lot warmer, is the Smokey Mountains area
of the Southern Appalachians. I have a canoing friend in Columbia,
MO, who travels regularly to both the Smokies and the Colorado Rockies
to boat. In the Smokies in June you have the following raft daytrips
(presented in order from easiest to most difficult):

1. (Beginner) Tuckaseigee River, Bryson City, NC
2. (Beginner) Nantahala River, Bryson City, NC
3. (Low Intermed.) Pigeon River, near Newport, TN (Tue, Thu, Sat)
4. (Intermediate) French Broad River, near Asheville, NC
5. (High Intermed.) Nolichucky River, Erwin, TN
6. (High Intermed.) Ocoee River, near Cleveland, TN (Wed thru Mon)

and, nearby, two sections of the Chatooga River (Section III is
Intermediate, Section IV is Advanced) in North Georgia.

But why wait for June? Take a vacation day on any Monday between now
and Labor Day. Drive to the Smokies on Saturday, take a raft trip on
Sunday (usually less crowded than Saturday), and drive home on Monday.
The rafting companies will take first-timers on any of these trips
(the Beginner-Advanced ratings are really for canoes & kayaks), except
possibly Section IV of the Chatooga, so which one you take is really a
question of how young, fit, and bold you are. The Beginner streams
are popular with family groups, but any of the Intermediate runs would
be good for fit young adult first-timers.

-Richard

======================================================================
Richard Hopley, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
rhopley[at]earthlink[dot]net 1-301-775-0471
Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll.
rhople[at]wfubmc[dot]edu 1-336-713-5077
OK, OK; computer programming for scientific research also matters.
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"Victory Two" wrote:

 > Thanks for the info Randy. I am located in Missouri so I will need to
 > travel in order to do some rafting. I am leaning towards Colorado,
 > possibly the Buena Vista area.
 >
 > V2

Hey-

I'm in MO as well- if you're looking for some nice, warm water, another
option is to head east. There are plenty of good rivers out there: the
Nantahala, the Ocoee, the New, the Gauley, etc. On the other hand, Colorado
is good too. That's one nice thing about living in MO, you have lots of
choices. Unfortunately, you also have lots of driving :-/<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Most commercial raft companies offer wet suits for rent if the conditions
are poor. Yes, cold water can be a pain. You failed to mention roughly
where you are located. June in So Calif if different than June elsewhere.
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Randy Hodges wrote:

 > There are also many trips that involve warmer water- Indeed, this time
 > of year, most everything is pretty comfortable. I'll be kayaking at
 > 7,000 feet this Saturday and I'll probably just wear a T-Shirt.

Hey Randy, only wearing a T-shirt can get you in trouble with the law in
some places...

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilko.TakeThisOut@dse.nl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://wilko.webzone.ru/" target="_blank">http://wilko.webzone.ru/</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Wilko <kayaker DeleteThis @zonnet.nl> wrote in message news:<jkFQa.5972$w3.1696265@zonnet-reader-1>...
 > Randy Hodges wrote:
 >
  > > There are also many trips that involve warmer water- Indeed, this time
  > > of year, most everything is pretty comfortable. I'll be kayaking at
  > > 7,000 feet this Saturday and I'll probably just wear a T-Shirt.
 >
 > Hey Randy, only wearing a T-shirt can get you in trouble with the law in
 > some places...

Actually I was also wearing a nice skirt.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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