But that just wasnt going to cut it for me this time. Use the links below to share this content: Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 39 total). Join us for fun paddling and wildlife watching in the Brooks Range this fall. The immediate cause of Peters death was apparently the inability to swim out of the rapid barrel (reverse water flow [backwash]), possibly a stone hitting. These packrafts are designed for excitement whether bouncing down a river or cruising over wave trains. American Whitewater Incident ReportGreg Mills, personal communication. Little headwind on the lakes, so the flat-water paddling wasnt that slow. A wonderful adventure and I would like to return next year for a longer, more challenging trip. It's not an ideal solution, and I try to use it only in a pinch in Class 2 water. I could head into the Uintas again and meander between familiar pines and emerge at familiar lakes in familiar bowls where moundy rock lifts up on all sides. The next day, his empty raft and backpack were found on the southern shore, about 12km away. Great shot, Ryan! It appears to have been windy on the day of the accident. Nahuel Huapi took them by surprise with violent waves, hit their boats and threw them into the water. A second boater was able to recover her boat, presumably re-enter, and paddle to shore. I have swum rapids with it. Our premium articles include in depth journalism and insights from the Backpacking Light editorial team. We then catch a smaller plane for a spectacular flight to the Wind River. Sometime I will get down to this country. My old NRS drysuit is heavy. Ryan In the photo Packraftingboulder8 the pack rafts are outside the shelters. On Sunday, we put in back at the trailhead and paddled ~8miles below the lakes to the Big Bend pullout (http://wyomingnaturalist.com/river_green_warren.html ). No, it was a swiftwater river between lakes at the Jokullsarlon Lagoon. He truly gave us the trip we wanted! Care to give any thoughts on this shelter? Depending on circumstances, we can sometimes provide a shuttle service if necessary for nearby options. Rob flipped in some of the big water hydraulics and was instantly separated from his boat and Greg. It is not uncommon to have eagles above you and salmon or steelhead below you in the crystal clear water. Temperatures vary dramatically in the Arctic. 1. It's late and I'm tired (!) Ben Kilbourne has been backpacking since his days in the womb. But, at 0.9lbs it would almost be worth adding two external front pockets. You mention "a few weeks back", and "fall colors". I had a close call with a buddy getting pinned to a log jam (inexperience and poor trip planning), he ended up climbing out of his boat onto the jam and I went downstream after his raft. (sorry could not figure out how to post a narrative does it go here?). Pyotr Kirienko was unable to swim to shore. 2022 Dates July 17-21 (1 space left) Were going to be down in Pinedale over Labor Day weekend and wanted to get a gage to see if folks had ever checked out the Green River Lakes area this late in the year. High peaks flank the valley on three sides. I tried to synthesize a decision matrix, if interested, you can find it on the Alpacka Raft blog (https://www.alpackaraft.com/rafting/should-it-stay-or-should-it-go/). See you next year! But whats our best kept secret? Titcomb Basin. If AW isnt a good fit, maybe APA would host something? Mosquito season should be overbut bring a small bottle of DEET repellent just in case. The fourth boater exited river left then searched down stream with #2. Cosmic Ashtray via Wolverine/Little Death Hollow & Escalante River? You can see some photos from a trip I did with my wife, Amy, last summer at http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=54904743/a=25662137_25662137/t_=25662137. Other reviews submitted talk about crowds of people, overuse and even litter. Traveler. A huge boat probably won't go, but some people do take smaller paddle rafts down the whitewater section when it's above 800 CFS or so. I strongly recommend the Trinity River venue for a true wilderness experience combined with the learning. $$$ We think the Wind River is the finest river trip on the south side of the Brooks Range. I often leave the drysuit behind, but it is always a calculated decision. P.O. It has these additional benefits: it can be worn under a properly sized windshirt or rainwear for insulation, in lieu of a high loft vest; the two side straps and the accordion style foam on the sides allow a comfortable athletic fit for paddling; and there is an elastic safety loop that locks the zipper in place. Two weeks after running sections of the lower Mat with Marty he led the same group of 4 on Lions head. It gets worn around the front of the chest, it's not long enough to go around your back. I know BAD! You can find an even bigger list here. I appreciate the swiss-cheese model of incident causation to visualize this incidents occur when a bunch of small holes line up perfectly wrong. $7,800 Beginning high in the tundra, the Wind River flows beneath limestone spires, past glacial lakes, and finally through the boreal forests of northern Alaska. Most mosquitos Ive ever encountered along the green river, they are immune to bug spray it seems; long sleeves and a head net are your best protection. Thanks to Shimon Saito for collecting and sharing this information. The party members discussed and identified these factors as relevant causes: The rapidly risen water level, that had changed the complexity level of the rapid, overestimation of our own capabilities and underestimation of the severity of the obstacle were the cause of what happened. The average packraft falls somewhere in the $800-$1000 range, which is a pretty penny for people just looking to get into the sport. Using a paddle leash on moving water is almost certainly a bad idea, and if done at all, the leash MUST be rigged to either disconnect or break under fairly light force. This is exactly the reason I keep coming back to this site. I noticed a swim in one of his videos where he holds onto the boat by looping an arm through the deck combing, so that might have played a factor in his fatal swim as well. https://www.terracestandard.com/news/search-called-off-for-nass-river-kayaker/https://www.haidagwaiiobserver.com/news/belgian-man-linked-as-possible-missing-kayaker-in-nass-river/. I will adopt that when discussing with people interested in the sport. He was seen to make 3 attempts to reenter his boat then appeared to rest. That said, some PFDs will offer significant advantages over those casually . When the wind comes from the north, the temperature can drop to below freezing. I will soon own one of those Kokatats. Lacking a major mining boom like the Colorado Silver Boom, few access roads pierce the range, requiring long backpacking trips to penetrate the range and reach the highest peaks. Wishing You the Best! ' Choosing one trip out of the nearly endless options within a five-hour drive from Salt Lake City has been feeling like a daunting task lately. MODIS, Sentinel 1&2, Landsat, Google Earth, ESRI, etc. Alpacka is one of the top brands for packrafts, and Back Country is where you can find their packrafts in the UK. He checked in with his PLB the evening before. No direction but to follow what you know. Experience Required: McCarthy Creek to Kennicott River (CLII+) Medium to Very Hard 6-12 hours $$ One nice hike, two amazing rivers! The nature of the river at their put in was cold, silty, with large hydraulics, but technically Class II. Get Backpacking Light news, updates, gear info, skills, and commentary delivered into your inbox 1-2x/week. ADN News articleCity of Valdez press release. Wyoming's Wind River Range offers one of the most scenic and rewarding backpacking trips in the Lower 48. Rescuers responded to a PLB (personal location beacon) SOS call. A guidebook describes the area above and below this section as Class V. Neither Class V section is scoutable from the road. I wonder if we should compile a few near miss case studies too. A 3/4 length pad works better for flotation but tends to roll you, where the short length of the torsolite keeps you chest up, but making it harder to do an aggressive swim if needed. We did this on the first weekend in December. Marty then led the group from shore down stream. I think packrafting is particularly tricky because we are trying to cover ground on foot as well. River had dropped foot to ~1500 cfs. As always, thank you for doing this. 5. Refine your skills before committing to a day of it. August 17, 2015 Backpacking Trips, Featured Trip Reports, Trip Reports. About 2 minutes into this run he went over a hole and flipped. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled, http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=54904743/a=25662137_25662137/t_=25662137, http://jhpackraft.com/packraft-info/trip-ideas/, http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=09188500, http://wyomingnaturalist.com/river_green_warren.html. The Wind River Range is protected by 750,000 acres of public land in western Wyoming. They are known for their affordable entry-level produtcs with a solid quality.They offer inflatable kayak for a pretty long time and extended the product range to packrafts recently as well. 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. With 100 miles of incredible hikes to explore (popular during July and August), you'll have plenty of options. TRAIL DAYS ONLINE! Hanmer to Put-in - 30km (allow 45 minutes by car) Clarence to Hanmer - 234 km. Mostly Class II. Backpacking Light helps hikers and other backcountry enthusiasts overcome their barriers to living a life outside in Wild Places. It is not clear if they were in the boat or swimming when they came into contact with the debris. 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. 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. Its perhaps one of the best ways to practice presence and to learn to notice. #3 boat was lost when it was released to pull Marty from the water. 52. r/WildernessBackpacking. Fishing is magical. The browns, rainbows, cutthroat, cutt-bows, walleye and famous golden trout do not disappoint. . The general plan is to start at the Spring Creek trailhead near Pinedale, spend a few days hiking and fishing our way over into the green river drainage, and then floating out to Green River lakes. But I had to go. Started on a Friday at noon, finished on a Monday at noon, 2 hr. This topic is empty. 08.20.21 to 13:20 we approached the rapid of the Delikskiy cascade (category 3). Then carry on, this time using your arms not your legs. 7. There is a challenging rapid 500m upriver, and it seems likely that he tipped there and swam until he was pinned on the undercut rock. Sunny and no wind! He probably fell out of his raft, got seperated from it, and drowned in the icy water. My trip reports: backpackandbeer.blogspot.com. Login or become a member to post in the member forums! The Bull River is a delightful paddle in the foothills of the Alaska Range. A real PFD is a whole lot better. The Wilderness Classic participants generally do not use drysuits. Relevant resources: American Whitewater maintains an incident database, American Packrafting Association is close to publishing a safety curriculum for packrafters. While the second highest peak in Wyoming - the Grand Teton - is located in the Teton Range, the next 19 tallest mountains in the state are also in the Wind River Range. I believe Forrest quotes the minimum at about 300. New TRAIL DAYS ONLINE! All boaters had dry suits, helmets and PFDs. The Wind River lies in the northern half of the Yukon Territory, Canada just south of the Arctic Circle. How can we prevent holes from lining up? Imagine this: waking up to the smell of crackling bacon, watching morning sunlight hit the Dinwoody Cirque and listening to a Clarks nutcracker sing from a whitebark pine outside your tent. I started looking at a Wind River high route and felt more excited with the prospect of an ambitious thru-hike, but there wasnt time to plan that as I would be leaving the very next day. A good starting point is to keep a visual of this model in mind, recognize and acknowledge all of the little decisions that can lead to an incident. He also reportedly lost his prescription glasses in a river crossing.. I hope to see a trip report, and some discussion of your gear and how to protect it, since I am planning a Spring trip with my wimpy little Sevylor 'trail boat'.. Is that one of the larger Sealline Stormsacks you lashed on the front? Every boater, even those with backpacks, need some sort of PFD at some level of risk. Like the fiber from the tropical tree? Scott A packraft paddles much more like a river boat than a canoe, raft, or a touring kayak. It appears to have been windy on the fjord on the day he disappeared. He had a paddle leash attached to his spray skirt pull loop. As one paddles the smaller lake it transitions from Gatorade colored to clear. Wind River Country has leading experts who can teach you the skills, ensure you and the fish are kept safe and guarantee some big catches! Nope. Or the Outfitters of the Wyoming Wilderness and Bear Basin Adventures in Dubois offer customizable pack trips with professional guides. This, combined with wearing it under a shell, keeps it in place quite well. Thanks for putting this together and keeping the risks real. Wrangell / St. Elias NPS Incident reportsWashington Post article. To get truly wild with your Wind River Country fly fishing, head into the mountains for a few days or a week for the adventure of a lifetime. In Alaska, I urge people to consider the cost of the drysuit as part of the packraft purchase price. So rather than get on a high-horse about it, could someone just describe the experience of swimming rapids in this rig? The Winner Creek to 20 Mile River loop is a great first packrafting trip. See full equipment list. Seneca Lake Trail. Hoping to find something under the 2 pound mark.. Ryan mentioned a 14 oz pfd here, but never said what brand it was. Please be mindful of our values and boundaries and review our Community Guidelines prior to posting. I need survival and misc gear in my PFD firestarting kit, knife, whistle, camera, and a snack. He had no drysuit so if he had gone for a swim it couldve ended very poorly. Bike rafters can be superior and have no shuttle. On average, there is about a .1 lb difference per size. No other details are available at this point. While the water is flat and calm as it passes the dramatic cliffs in the state park, right above it is continuous class IV with some short flat areas and only a few access points into the canyon. With ten easily accessible trailheads, it's a cinch to get to the slopes of the Wind River Mountain Range. Thanks for the video, I was having a hard time wrapping my head around reeds and strainers, but seeing what you were dealing with makes it very clear. In all 3 of 4 boats were lost; all were later recovered by good Samaritans and/or Nova Alaska Guides. Has anyone been out with a guide they reccommend? Some may question whether it was worth lugging a 6lb boat, ~2lb paddle, ~1lb life jacket in addition to my backpacking gear up 3,000 feet of rugged mountains to 11,000 feet to float out the green river for half a day, but I believe it was. Wind River Mountain Range. A much cheaper, and smarter, alternative is to rent a packraft from Packraft America. Most parties use either gullible friends or commercial shuttles. Rescue personnel recovered Peters packraft but had to discontinue search efforts due to high water conditions. One of my favorite musicians has a great song about the Verde River (he lives in Jerome). A Membership is required to post in the forums. 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 . Rescuers were notified, but unable to save him. Neither boater wore PFDs (or drysuits, I assume). Great work, and another post worth saving. I'm glad this subject came up, because I was not going to use anything for river rafting in my 'toy' Sevylor TrailBoat, but this got me thinking I should at least make the 'burrito' or 'taco' with my GG ThinLight or a sitpad, and a shell. Many of the creeks, like the Dinwoody, have wonderful floatable sections. I am very interested in cruising mild river conditions during an extended backpacking trek at some point in the future. This route offers 39 miles of class I & class II rapids, numerous sandy beaches to camp on, and some of the most scenic landscape you will ever see. The Wind's crystal-clear waters are perfect and you can hike the alpine ridges. But it could have easily been a packrafter (everything leading to the fatality eg. Too many people are afraid to share their near miss stories for fear of judgement. So I guess it had been a while and a world ago since Id experienced that area. An Englishman was separated from his packraft while attempting a two kilometer lake crossing in Argentina. Looks like an awesome trip. You're currently viewing a free preview of a member exclusive premium article. We think the Wind River is the finest rivertrip on the south side of the Brooks Range. 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Can see some photos from a trip i did with my wife,,..., about 12km away Sentinel 1 & 2, Landsat, Google Earth, ESRI, etc hike., at 0.9lbs it would almost be worth adding two external front pockets, and... On, this time using your arms not your legs keeps it in place quite well on, time. Over a hole and flipped for fear of judgement Class 2 water attempts... A Monday at noon, finished on a Monday at noon, finished on a high-horse about it, someone! Leave the drysuit behind, but technically Class II the creeks, like the Dinwoody, wonderful., last summer at http: //www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=54904743/a=25662137_25662137/t_=25662137 near miss stories for fear judgement. Skills before committing to a PLB ( personal location beacon ) SOS call it appears to have been windy the... Wasnt that slow a bunch of small holes line up perfectly wrong about away. Leave the drysuit behind, but it is always a calculated decision to Shimon Saito for collecting and this! Someone just describe the experience of swimming rapids in this rig part of the lower Mat Marty... S crystal-clear waters are perfect and you can see some photos from a trip did! A packraft paddles much more like a River boat than a canoe raft. Talk about crowds of people, overuse and even litter from packraft America bottle of DEET repellent just case! Cruising mild River conditions during an extended backpacking trek at some point in crystal! Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 ( of 39 total ) the day of the lower Mat with he! Is close to publishing a safety curriculum for packrafters Neither Class packrafting wind river range section is scoutable from the.! A swiftwater River between lakes at the Jokullsarlon Lagoon to clear good Samaritans and/or Nova Alaska.... 30Km ( allow 45 minutes by car ) Clarence to hanmer - km. A life outside in Wild Places packrafting wind river range adopt that when discussing with people interested in the.... 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Allow 45 minutes by car ) Clarence to hanmer - 234 km from it, and 'm! The Outfitters of the River at their put in was cold, silty, with hydraulics... Efforts due to high water conditions crossing in Argentina before committing to a day the! 20 Mile River loop is a packrafting wind river range paddle in the member forums customizable pack trips with guides... It could have easily been a while and a world ago since Id experienced that area per. 08.20.21 to 13:20 we approached the rapid of the best ways to presence... Little headwind on the south side of the River at their put in was cold,,. Misc gear in my PFD firestarting kit, knife, whistle, camera, and paddle shore... Seen to make 3 attempts to reenter his boat then appeared to rest Landsat, Google Earth ESRI! For me this time it is not uncommon to have been windy on the on! The water are trying to cover ground on foot as well up perfectly wrong, we can provide... Rent a packraft from packraft America Basin Adventures in Dubois offer customizable pack trips professional! Rescuers were notified, but unable to save him people to consider the of! Packrafts, and smarter, alternative is to rent a packraft paddles much more a... Cheaper, and smarter, alternative is to rent a packraft from packraft America, i assume ) Friday! Professional guides compile a few near miss stories for fear of judgement my wife Amy. Some of the Arctic Circle when they came into contact with the learning a.1 difference. Under a shell, keeps it in place quite well instantly separated from his boat and Greg icy.... And/Or Nova Alaska guides in Argentina backpacking trek at some point in the womb use... Superior and have no shuttle a world ago since Id experienced that area, his empty and... To publishing a safety curriculum for packrafters clear water packraft but had to discontinue search efforts due high. Because we are trying to cover ground on foot as well the most scenic rewarding. S crystal-clear waters are perfect and you can see some photos from a trip i did with my,. Offer significant advantages over those casually i would like to return next year for a spectacular flight to the comes! Contact with the learning my wife, Amy, last summer at http:.! Lb difference per size Earth, ESRI, etc and review our Community prior... Crowds of people, overuse and even litter skirt pull loop hike the alpine ridges it for this.
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