Beautiful day on the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River yesterday. 1st of 2 ice bridges that were thick enough to walk across. Keep your head on a swivel, even on the back yard runs

Looking at international travel, where I'll fly in and rent a car and boat, but rental cars never have racks. You can often rent a pickup or van but the cost is about double. There's various inflatable racks on Amazon but it's never very clear from the description how big they are when deflated. Anyone have any recommendations for something compact enough to fit into luggage and reasonably durable?

Hey everyone!

I’m an athlete in my 40s who’s passionate about whitewater paddling. I do Rock climbing and swimming and I have a podcast where I invite athletes on discussion about adventure sports. We have many surf guests on our podcast like Yuri Soledade, Fred Pompermayer, Gary Linden, Katie McConnell and more.

Over the years, I’ve learned that staying active in this sport requires adapting to new challenges—whether it’s choosing the right gear, adjusting paddling techniques, or simply recovering after a big day on the river.

I’d love to hear from others who are navigating whitewater as older athletes. What’s worked for you when it comes to:

Building or maintaining strength and endurance for paddling? Staying safe while enjoying the thrill of rapids? Choosing gear that’s comfortable, reliable, and lightweight? Balancing adventure with recovery and injury prevention?

Your insights could inspire a lot of paddlers, including me!

Is there any sort of waterproofing that can extend the life of an old neoprene spray skirt? With the cold weather I'm getting more and more unhappy.

I’m leaving for a grand trip in January and I feel ready to invest in a drysuit but I’ve been struggling to find a decent used one in my size. I’m 5’4” 130ish so getting something that’s not too long seems to be the major obstacle. It has occurred to me that I could double my options if I look at men’s too and just use one of those things that let you stand up to pee lol. Has anyone tried this??? Is it a wildly stupid idea?

I'm a little bit of a beginner to whitewater. I took a class for it at my university for half of a semester and thoroughly enjoyed it, which sparked a new interest in whitewater and everything about it! I've found I really like rafting in particular, I lowkey enjoy going for swims on occasion. I love it all! I've run classes I-V (the V was terrifying and Im itching to run it again, but I need to build up to it again lol) and have R2'd two or three times? Either way, I'm pretty familiar with the river and the section we do the rafting on.

The only thing is, though, I've developed a bit of an irrational fear regarding whitewater safety. I understand its an extreme sport, and any time you go into the water, you have to know you're taking a huge risk. I respect the water, and to be honest, the more I obsessively researched whitewater, the sport itself and the water itself, the more hyper-aware of how dangerous it could potentially be, I became. Water is fucking terrifying!

I went whitewater rafting awhile back while it was warm in my area, and had a blast. Had a great group, great guide, and we didn't end up going for a swim. But I had this horrible feeling of impending doom beforehand and then afterwards. Like the "oh my god im going to fucking die" before, and then I have fun during it, anxiety free, and then afterwards I'm like "oh my god i could have fucking died."

It's a vicious cycle. And because of local attitude and history about the river we raft on, it really doesn't help my slight paranoia about superstitious things.

With that being said, does anyone have any advice on how to manage the anxiety about safety, while still remaining safe? I typically have a set of things to say to reassure myself of the safety of the runs and rafting. Has anyone else experienced something similar? Anything is appreciated! :) Thanks!

I go down Grand Canyon a lot and I never wear rowing gloves because I feel like they just slip and don’t allow me good oar control but I end up with painful blisters after so many days of rowing.

Looking for a recommendation for grippy gloves that will protect my hands but also stay on the oars well.

Wanting to get a Machete 85 for this upcoming season, mostly for big water class IV easy V. Wanted to hear from anyone who had paddled it before, hoping for it to be my one boat to run everything basically. Unfortunately I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to demo one. I’ve tried the Ripper 2, Steeze, Rewind and there’s things I don’t like about all of them, hoping the machete will be a nice compromise for shit running ability and play.

To be specific, I’m looking at buying a nicer paddle for familiar river runs and was curious what y’all’s thoughts and reasoning were on 58 vs 60 inches.

My boat is a 2-thwart with 18 inch tubes and I’m about 5’8”.

I’m on the fence because I use a 60” customer paddle effectively for R1, but find it a little uncomfortable to use multiple days in a row. My arms get soar from holding certain positions for long periods of time, but I’m not sure if it’s the length that’s the issue or if the cheaper materials are causing most of the fatigue (which I’ll stick to 60” for whatever I buy if that’s the case).

Happy to hear everyone’s opinion!

I want a two person canoe that is lighter than an aluminum boat to travel on rocky rock rivers. I don’t go on rapids, though so one that can get knocked around and be ok (scraping the bottom). Any suggestions?

I recently was talking to a friend about some river trips he's been on, including some international rivers that I had never heard of that sounded amazing. I was wondering about other people's experiences with rivers that seem to fly under the radar, commercially guided or personally guided, internationally or domestic (USA). Have any of ya'll been on a multi-day trip that you would highly recommend?

Hi y’all!!! I got a spot on a private grand trip in January and I’m trying to get my gear together. I have an Astral type V PFD that I bought for guiding last summer. It’s in good shape but I sharpied my name on the inner stretchy mesh before I knew better. I’ve heard that the inspection at Lee’s Ferry is very strict and I’ve been worried that this might be a problem. I can rent a PFD from our outfitter if needed but I’d really rather use my own. Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Have a 2010 14’ aire trib with a 2.5 bay frame, front fishing seat, and 3 oars that has recently been serviced by aire and give a clean bill of health for its age. Garage stored in the winter tarped in summer two cataract fiberglass oars, spare is aluminum, nrs frame

Is $3000 a realistic selling price for Idaho/montana?

Some friends are moving to Colfax in eastern WA for a few years and I am looking for recommendations for class III-IV whitewater runs within an hour or so. Maybe some class II also since I will probably teach them to kayak. And are there any good outfits there where they could rent/demo equipment? Thx

Early morning, paddle out on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I was captivated by this beautiful pattern in the reflection on the pool

Gonna try paddle the upper dart this Saturday… does anyone local know if the storm has put any trees down???

Planning my bachelor trip for next summer and we're doing whitewater rafting. Planning to stick around the New England area, ideally either New Hampshire or Maine. Give me your recommendations on best places for whitewater rafting.

Note - the group going are a bunch of young, somewhat athletic dudes. We'd definitely want a more challenging experience to make it exciting. Hoping to get at least class 3 rapids, ideally class 4 rapids. But I understand that's sometimes out of my control

Im looking to go to Sikkim and see if I can borrow a kayak for some whitewater. Does anybody know if there are any kayakers out there and some beta on the Teesta and other rivers in the vicinity?

Im looking to buy New waterproof clothing for the class IV/V whitewater kayaking, that I do a lot of.

Now, im really getting stuck at the descision of whether to go for a drysuit or to get a set of dry pants to pair with my paddle jacket.

This is what I mean, when i say dry top + dry pants:

Dane in Dry-pants + paddle jacket

I should add, that I do paddle in very cold and rough conditions a lot of the time and, that I opt to choose the option, that will work better in those conditions.

For more context, I've been using a paddle jacket (palm atom) paired with a neoprene suit and multiple layers of clothing below it for all of my paddling career.

It just feels really bulky, which is why I want to "upgrade"

Does anyone have opinions/insights/experiences to share regarding the Drysuit vs Paddle jacket & Dry pants matter?

Looking forward to your answers!

https://youtu.be/tlldZsw76bs?si=9RLDM77RzxJaDdF6

Anyone know what the pay/tips look like on the Deschutes? Trying to plan for the next year.

What’s the best seasons/months to paddle the following locations for a class IV/V boater

Any extra beta helps too! (Eg. Snow melt or rain fed, weather conditions, paddling community in the area, Facebook groups, notable runs, tips for the area/travelling in the area)

NORTH AMERICA

BC (early spring to late summer)

Seattle (robe canyon)

PNW 24th November into winter?

Leavenworth (icicle creek, tumwater - summer)

Cali (spring run off late April-May)

Ottawa (summer - May to September)

Idaho

Southeast

Hawaii

Mexico

SOUTH AMERICA

Costa Rica

Colombia

Ecuador (wet season?)

Peru (winter?)

Chile (winter = high, spring optimal conditions, late summer Patagonia)

AFRICA

Zambezi

Madagascar

OCEANIA

South Island NZ (late winter/spring?)

North island NZ (summer?)

FNQ (wet season Jan-mar)

Tasmania (late winter/early spring)

ASIA

Pakistan

Meghalaya

India

Nepal

Arunachal Pradesh

EUROPE

Norway

Austria

Slovenia (soca river)

Wales

Scotland

Every year, a group of 4 of us (mid 50's - late 70's) go on a 5-7 day kayak camping trip somewhere. Normally we have a basecamp and then go out on day trips from there, although one year we did a progressive 'you only bring what you can carry' type trip and camped as we went. This year, we'd like to do something 'out west' (broadly defined - lets say points west of Minnesota...) - but because we're all mid-westerners or easterners - we're far less familiar with the options out 'that way'.

Given that one of our group is in his late 70's (he's an absolute rock star - but still in his 70's..) - the trip can't be too boisterous - hence the request to look for ii/iii mixed, ideally with interesting scenery along the way.

What recommendations might y'all have for us to consider?

Thanks!

I was a guide on the nolichucky river before hurricane Helene destroyed our company. Does anyone know of a rafting outfit looking for guides for 2025 with employe housing? Anywhere in the lower 48.