Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Grand Culmination

Here are some pictures of the Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, They Should be in order of the trip.

Camp sites along the river

Marble canyon bridges

Vasey's Paradise

124 Mile Rapid

The Little Colorado River

Hance Rapid

Upper Granite George

South Rim

South Rim

Boat Beach at Phantom Ranch with the Kiabab Bridge

Scouting Crystal Rapid (What did we get ourselves into?)

Deer Creek Falls

Deer Creek Falls

Narrows above Deer Creek Falls

Deer Creek Spring

On the river

Boat flip in Bedrock rapid

Last Chance Camp

Havasupi Canyon

Grand Canyon above Torroweap

On the River

My Brother bombing a hole in Lava Falls

Nervous Brother

Trying to Row

Diamond Peak at the End of the Trip

Sunday, September 20, 2009

I love My Wife

As you all know I have made a couple of T-shirts in the past. My Wife and I were at Sportsman's yesterday and I saw a T-shirt that I just had to rip off. only it said fishing of course. So I designed a shirt for all of the husbands that are oppressed by their wives about leaving them for a few days for a trip. And here it is.
If anybody wants one let me know I'll add your moola to the order, they're about 20 bucks.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Priceless

I know this is cliche and everybody does it but I'm going to do it anyway.

Neoprene booties 30 dollars
Neoprene gloves 25 dollars
Smartwool socks 15 dollars
North Face base layer 40 dollars
Protec Helmet 70 dollars
Lotus Designs PFD 190 Dollars
Level Six Dry Suit 600 Dollars

Being comfortable in 40 degree water...


Priceless!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Summer fun

I was doing a survey in Henefer, Ut and saw a couple of commercial rafting companies taking tours down the Weber river, so I looked into it. I followed the river and found the put-in parking lot and then found the take-out parking lot. After that, I got the idea of taking my pontoon fishing boat down the river. I went up Saturday and it was a blast. There where about three small rapids and a bunch of boulders to dodge. I asked some kayakers if there are any other places around to go and they referred me to www.eddyflower.com. Logan has a link on this site. Check it out it is a way cool site.
Lucas

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Grand Canyon Finalization!!!

The time has come that everyone who still wants to go on the Grand Canyon Trip on November 10th must finally pony up some dough. The costs will 300 dollars for a half trip and 500 dollars for a full trip. A copy of every participant’s driver’s license and social security card must also be submitted. TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT, THE MONEY AND THE COPIES MUST BE GIVEN TO EITHER I OR JOSH BY THE END OF JULY, OR YOU ARE NOT GOING DOWN THE GRAND!! We have some spots available a few people have backed out. Please let anyone you know, who has an interest in going, about this post.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Good Bye Lucky Hooters Hat

In our last adventure we went to the Hells Canyon where they have big white water and Class IV to V rapids. Granite Rapid, one of the biggest rapids on the river, took my pride along with my lucky Hooter's hat, which incidentally is no longer lucky. My poor wife had to be rescued because she can't swim, but we all ended up okay and nobody was hurt. I want to give a shout out to all the tour jet boats that didn't help us with our flipped over raft, other than to tells us that there was a bear close by on our side of the river. Thank you so much!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Final Count

I need a final count of who's going with us to Hells Canyon.

This who I have.

Me
My Wife
Dad
Little Buddha
Trev
Julz
The Ogden
Ogden Buddy 1
Ogden Buddy 2


That's about 6 rafters and 3 kayakers.

We're thinking of bringing up 2 rafts that should be plenty of room for gear for an over night trip.

I would like confirmation on those planning on going.

Also the Shuttle is going to be 150 per vehicle so we would like to keep the number of cars to a minimum. I was thinking that the rafters could take one and the kayakers another and each pay for their own shuttle.

Post some comments let me know what you think.

Economic Adaptation

As you all may know we are starting to run out of rivers close by, which means we are having to drive farther to get to new exciting waters. With times being the way they are we need to spend less on our trips. One way I think we can cut back is with fuel expenses, so for the past few weekends I've been working on adding wooden racks to Dad's car hauling trailer. In the past we've been using a cattle trailer with racks to haul all the rafting gear from place to place. This trailer works fine, but it has a couple of down sides. One downside is that it's 3 to 4 feet off the ground so it's a long way up to load things into, also the opening is small and the racks go up at least 8 - 10 feet so you can only load from one place. The second down side is wind resistance, which is the real economic crisis. Dad's truck that normally gets over 20 miles to the gallon when it's not pulling anything, but add that trailer and the mileage drops to 11. I'm hoping with the addition of the 2 foot racks we can use this other trailer. The trailer has a much lower profile which will reduce the drag and also allows for easier loading where the back end is a foot or less off the ground. Dad also welded about 15 "D" rings to the trailer to strap things down with and steps for easy access over the sides, making loading and unloading much easier. One more good thing is that this trailer is big enough to haul one fully rigged raft where the other one could not.
Here's my nephews helping me add the last coat of paint to the trailer.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Drew out for Hell's Canyon

Hey everybody,

On a chance that I would get something, I put in for the four rivers permit in Idaho. I did get something; my first choice actually. I drew out on the Snake River on the 2nd of July.

I was wanting feed back from everyone to see if they would like to go. The Snake River is the border between Idaho and Oregon and it is going to take roughly 12 hours to drive there.

Let me know,

Logan

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Payette River


I hear that everyone wants to go on a river this summer, eventhough we are going down the Grand in November. I found a river up in Idaho that you don't need a permit and it provides short day trips. This would be good because we could take the whole family. One parent could stay back and watch the child while the other parent goes rafting. Shellie informed me that I would stay and watch Legacy. You can look up the river on the internet and there are a few good clips on youtube. Here is just a little info I found.




Main The Main Payette below Banks offers rapids of moderate difficulty and is a fine run for boaters with good basic skills.The takeout for the lower South Fork run is the normal launch point for the Main Payette. Rapids on the main are often large waves with little maneuvering required; the section rates class III. There are sizeable holes located at Bennett's Rock, Mike's Hole and AMF. Mixmaster is a large v-wave which has been known to flip rafts. The run is about seven miles long.
Getting There: From Boise, drive 40 miles north on Highway 55 to Banks. LOCATION: About 40 Miles North Of BoiseRECREATION: Rafting, Kayaking FACILITIES: Vault Toilets, Boat Ramp PUT-IN: Banks TAKE-OUT: Bee Hive Bend PERIOD RUNNABLE: Spring, Summer, Fall DIFFICULTY: Class III-IV LENGTH OF TYPICAL TRIP: 1 Day PERMIT: None needed LENGTH OF SHUTTLE: 6-12 miles OPTIMAL FLOW: 2500-4000 SIZE: 12 miles
South Fork
The South Fork of the Payette features a run through a canyon with a portage at Big Falls. The lower part includes the Staircase rapid. The South Fork of the Payette can be an advanced whitewater run for one, two, or three days of excitement. Three-day trips start high in Idaho's Sawtooth mountains, above the town of Lowman. After the Deadwood River adds its flow, the river begins to drop about 40 feet per mile with continuous steep rapids. This Canyon stretch is punctuated at its deepest point by a 40-foot waterfall. River runners portage around this spectacular sight then continue on through a narrow gorge filled with natural hot springs. In Garden Valley, the river flattens out, allowing time to relax before maneuvering more class III-IV rapids. The safest and most popular stretch is from the Deer Creek Turnout to Banks. The put in is located about a quarter mile downstream of Deer Creek at the remains of the Deer Creek bridge. The most significant rapids are Staircase, Bronco Billy and Slalom, all of which may rate as high as class IV depending on water levels. Another attraction is the Play Wave, where decked boaters may spend hours in a twenty yard stretch of the river. Dog Leg often collects trees which may block the river; scout this from the road before putting in. The run to Banks is about five miles long. If a longer run is desirable, more whitewater awaits downstream of Banks.
Getting There: From Boise, drive 40 miles north on Highway 55 to Banks. At Banks, turn right up the South Fork toward Garden Valley. The Deer Creek Turnout is about five miles up the South Fork. You can stop and scout Staircase from a turnout in the road about two miles up (recommended).
LOCATION: About 45 miles north of Boise. RECREATION: Rafting, Kayaking, Canoeing FACILITIES: Vault Toilets PUT-IN: Deer Creek Turnout TAKE-OUT: Banks PERIOD RUNNABLE: April-Sept DIFFICULTY: Class III-IV LENGTH OF TYPICAL TRIP: 1 day PERMIT NEEDED: None needed LENGTH OF SHUTTLE: 5 miles OPTIMAL FLOW: 800-3,000 SIZE: 13 miles
North Fork Cabarton
This stretch of the Payette runs through a secluded forested canyon. This is an easy day trip for intermediate floaters. This is a popular float, so expect crowds on weekends. Trestle, about halfway down the trip is a good III rapid. After you cross under Rainbow Bridge you hit Howard's Plunge, a large drop into flat water about one mile before the take-out.
Getting There: From Boise, drive 70 miles north to Smiths Ferry. About 10 miles north of here, turn left on the Clear Creek Road and drive about two miles to the put-in.
LOCATION: Cabartion Bridge-Smiths FerryRECREATION: Kayaking, Rafting, Canoeing PUT-IN: Cabarton Bridge TAKE-OUT: The Cougar Mountain Lodge (includes charges of $5 per car and $5 for each raft taken out behind the lodge)PERIOD RUNNABLE: Spring, Summer, Fall DIFFICULTY: Class I-III LENGTH OF TYPICAL TRIP: 1 day PERMIT NEEDED: None needed. LENGTH OF SHUTTLE: 11 miles OPTIMAL FLOW: 1,200 SIZE: 9 miles