Paddle Oar Die Rafting

Cash Gone Wild

2011-07-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

Sau Jaun Trip Cost

2011-05-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

So I think that I have figured out the budget for the trip down the San Juan River in June. It will be about $190.00 per person divided 5 ways now if we add the other 2 roll overs it would be about $175.00 because of the additional gas and such.

Now the one Shuttle service I have priced so far is $350.00
Gas for my car will be about $150.00 so it would be cheaper to take a second car
There might be a way that we could take 2 vehicles and go a day earlier and get away from this but I'm not sure if we will have room to fit everyone and the gear.
the permits with be a total of $136.00 for the BLM and the Navajo
food for 7 people for a 5 day trip I over estimate at $320.00

which brings the total cost to about $950.00 give or take.

The Menu

So far this is the list of peeps I have coming.
Myself
My Wife
My Brother
My Nephew
My Friend

and two roll overs
My Father
My Cousin

that's only 7 if my nephew goes with the roll overs I will have room for one more.

So those of you that are coming the trip is about a month of way so start sending you monies my way.

Desolation June 23

2011-01-26T05:32:00.000-08:00

Hey

Just letting everyone know that Dad called in and got a launch date for June 23 to go down Desolation. So at least we'll go some where if we don't draw out on other rivers.

Rafting 2011

2010-12-07T06:35:00.000-08:00

These are the Launch dates and rivers I think we should put in for to see if we can get.

These all should be 5 days on the water with a two days or so of travel and packing/cleaning

Green River Gates of Lodore - June 28
San Juan Mexican Hat to Clay hills - June 28, then June 27, then June 29.
Four Rivers Permit Main Salmon July 6 then 7, Middle fork July 6 then 7

If we want to do Desolation we have to call in for a June trip in January so comment if you would like to do that.

Moab / West Water Trip

2010-04-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

So since none of us drew out on any of the lottery draws. I decided to call in for a West Water permit and I got one to launch on Saturday the 19th of June. West Water canyon is a short trip you can do the stretch in about 2 - 4 hrs depending on the flow. Also this is probably the wildest day trips in Utah and is not recommended for small children must be at least 10. We have been down this stretch of river twice and had some problems at higher flows above 14,000 cfs, but at 9,000 cfs the ride was quite calmer, still fun though. I only reserved 9 spots it costs $7 per person and you have to give the amount in advance. I only reserved 9 because our paddle raft holds about 9 and I didn't want to be stuck with a huge bill and I haven't had much interest so far.

Sydney and I plan on leaving here early the morning of the 17th to head to Moab to float and camp along the Colorado river just north of town there is a 9 mile stretch of river that has calmer rapids called the Fisher Towers or Moab daily run. We personally have not been on this stretch of river and want to see how good it is. There is no permit required and we can take as many as want to go down this part of the river. Children as young as 4 can go, but we only have 2 youth life jackets. We plan on doing at least one run on Thursday and one maybe 2 on Friday.

The trip will cost 50 - 75 bucks per person depending on the amount of people and how much gas we use. Everyone who goes will share the cost of food, Gas, and Permits. There will also be a pack and clean up fee for those who go and don't help with packing or cleaning up. The extra fee will be 5 bucks for packing and 5 bucks for cleaning depending on which ones you show up for, the times will be posted. this money will go to buying more gear that we need like oars and life jackets. FYI Just to do one trip down West Water would run $160 a person and a trip down the Moab Daily would be 50 per person and that's not including getting yourself to Moab. So if you think $75 for 3 days of rafting is expensive you're welcome to go with a commercial outfitter.

Anybody is welcome to come just let me now as soon as possible.

Also those that plan on going down West Water I would like the $7 before the 1st of May to reserve your spot.

Also if you have any other questions check out the other pages to this blog listed above.

Grand Canyon Montage

2010-01-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a slide show I made of a bunch of pictures.

ps it's almost 20 minutes long

The Grand Culmination

2009-11-29T07:33:00.001-08:00

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

Boat Beach at Phantom Ranch with the Kiabab Bridge

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

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

I love My Wife

2009-09-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

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.

Priceless

2009-08-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

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!

Summer fun

2009-08-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

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

Grand Canyon Finalization!!!

2009-07-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

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.

Good Bye Lucky Hooters Hat

2009-07-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

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!

Final Count

2009-06-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

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.

Drew out for Hell's Canyon

2009-02-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

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

Payette River

2009-01-21T20:29:00.000-08:00

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.

http://gorp.away.com/gorp/location/id/id_payet.htm

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

'Tis the Season

2008-12-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

Just to let everyone it is about that time of year to start filling out applications for river trips for next Spring/Summer. I plan on filling out one for the rivers in Idaho. go to www.rivergeek.com there's information about launch permits there. -Logan

Sexy Cash

2008-08-15T21:28:00.001-07:00

Here's another great video by Paddle Oar Die Productions.

Jessie's Jungle

2008-08-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

Since no one looks at my rafting blog I thought I would put on a movie that I made to get some buzz going about how cool my blog is.

Smith River, Montana

2008-07-29T18:19:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of the latest river trip that Josh set up in Montana.

I'm told that everyone had a great time. I thought I would post some pictures so you all could see just how great and wonderful it is up there.

Desolation 2008

2008-06-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some sweet pictures of our latest trip so you all can see what you missed out on.

Here is a sweet video for you all to see as well, (The screaming is Sydney she was the camera girl).

Final Shirts

2008-06-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

These are the final graphics for the T-shirts.

This will be small and go on the front of the shirt, where the pocket would be.

This one will be on the big in the middle of the back of the shirt.

Thanks Shellie for doing all the graphical artwork.

T-shirts

2008-06-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

Here ars Some Ideas I have for T-Shirts I could use any input anybody has so let me know what you think.

Some of the colors got changed in the conversion process like the oar is supposed to be yellow instead of blue and the die is supposed to be red in stead of blue.

Painting Spree

2008-05-31T13:13:00.000-07:00

Paddle Oar Die, oh yeah!
Over Memeorial Day Weekend we painted the rafts sky blue with Gaco-Flex raft paint. This paint adds rubber to your raft to improve the life and over all dexterity of the rafts.
This weekend I painted the sweet Paddle Oar Die logo on the side so now we will be floating in style.

Some day I want to get T-Shirts made that have paddle oar die on them. I have a cool idea to use a skull and cross bones design but with an oar and a paddle as the cross bones. If any body can help me with this let me know I'm not that good with photo shop.

Great Idea!

2008-04-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

I have this great idea for the Grand Canyon Trip. A lot of you out there think it's going to be to cold. I myself have worried a little bit about it being cold but only about being able to wash myself and not frezzing to death. Some of you might know that Lucas and Shellie had a little camp water heater to help heat you water and take a shower with. Needless to say it wasn't the best but it was better than nothing. Well I have been looking on line for something better. I wanted to get a better pump becase that was one of the things that was wrong with it now pressure and low flow.

I found a hand water pump (guzzler 400H)that will pump water at a rate of up tp 8 gallons per minute. it will hook up to a garden hose. I think it will work so we can pump the water right out of the river.

Then I found a portable water heater the (eccotemp L5) that has 35,000 btu capasity. it said it will raise that water temp from 40 to 85 at a rate of 1.4 gpm. I think if we got these to things we could have some good showers on the river trips even if the water is cold. Now wouldn't that be great, Ladies? - Logan.

Last Call!!

2008-03-11T13:10:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody.

This is the last call to get your spot on the Desolation Canyon Trip. I'm going to call in with the total over spring break that's the 17th of March.

Here's the list I have of who is going and paid for the trip.

Ron, Lucas, Logan, and Sydney Blake. Klint York. Cash, Flint, and Jesse Williams. Mark of Steve Reagan. Pam Christensen.

Let me know if you still want to go we have room.

The trip will be from June 12th through the 18th.

Thanks. - Logan

Glorious Day

2008-01-14T08:03:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone after calling in for a week straight, I finally hit triple 7s on the phone as Dad would say. I got a launch date on Friday the 13th of June. I know some of you out there might be superstitious, but I’m only a littlestitious. Also they didn’t make me pay for the amount on people going yet, so there’s still time to give me some money for a spot on the trip. Currently there are 9 people signed up to go we can take up to 16, so if anyone wants to go let me know- Logan

I Didn't get it

2008-01-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

I tried to call in this morning for a June 8th launch but I didn't get one I will try harder tomorrow morning for a June 9th launch. Sorry. If I don't get a launch I'll give everyones money back. - Logan

Money Questions

2007-12-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

I have been asked recently what the 25 dollars is for. At the time of calling in, I need to pay for all the people reserving to go. I want the 25 dollars before calling so that if someone backs out they're out the 25 dollars and not the people still going. If by slim chance that I don't get the permit, I will refund the 25 dollars to all the people who gave it to me.

I still need money from:

Shellie, and who ever else would like to join us. The date is coming up, I have to call in on January 8th. If you don't have your spot reserved with the 25 dollars, sorry, but you won't be attending this trip.

Update List

2007-11-26T07:55:00.001-08:00

This is the updated list for those planning on attending the Trip in June.

Ron (paid)
Logan (paid)
Sydney (paid)
Lucas (paid)
Cash (paid)
Flint (paid)
Mark (paid)
Jesse (unpaid)
Klint (unpaid)
Shellie (unpaid)

Desolation Deadline

2007-11-17T07:10:00.000-08:00

The money for reservation of your spot on the Desolation Canyon trip in June needs to be in by New Years.

Desolation Canyon

2007-11-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody

I'm planning a trip this June to run the Green River through Desolation Canyon.

I haven’t called in to get a permit yet, but I'm planning on getting one to launch on June 8th. Plan on needing June 7 -13 off of work or other things, as this is a 5 day trip. The permit costs 25 dollars per person and I would like this money from you to reserve your spot prior to calling in(Thanksgiving weekend would be ideal). EVERYONE IS INVITED! We can accommodate up to 16 persons that includes children. This has been a favorite run of ours. The 25 dollar fee does not include sharing the fuel and food costs.

People reserved so far:

Ron (paid)
Logan (paid)
Sydney (paid)
Lucas (paid)
Cash (unpaid)
Flint (unpaid)
Mark (unpaid)
Jesse (unpaid)
Klint (unpaid)

Grand Canyon Trip

2007-11-06T07:31:00.000-08:00

The Grand Canyon Trip is on November 10th 2009. This will be at least a 16 day trip.