Whitewater Canoeing is an exciting and satisfying way to enjoy the wilderness. How do you plan a whitewater river canoe trip? The following article will explain what to do.
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Determine if you are ready for whitewater canoeing
There are numerous rivers in North America that you can choose from for a whitewater canoe trip. Each river has a different level of difficulty. The levels of difficulty range from novice, intermediate, and advanced. No river remains uniform in its rapid difficulty throughout the trip. Each rapid will range in difficulty from class I, II, III and up. Class III is the maximum difficulty for an open canoe without a spray cover.
Before embarking on any river trip you must determine your level of paddling skill. If you have no experience in running rapids in a canoe it would be important to start on small rivers and also before attempting a whitewater river for the first time to bring someone who has experience and knowledge running rivers.
Gaining knowledge regarding whitewater river tripping involves watching tutorial and tripping videos on YouTube. You can learn a lot this way and this can help you get a more well rounded knowledge about this style of camping. You can also read various paddling instructional books that can be found at the library. Many of these books were written be whitewater canoeing pioneers in the industry and can form a good knowledge foundation that can then be built on.
You can gain paddling experience safely by going with knowledgeable canoeists to local rapids. These trips don’t need to involve long trips down a river. You can camp beside a rapid and just practice on the same set of rapids in a controlled way. If you spill you can safely get the help you need rather than spilling in an isolated spot on a river.
How to plan your tripping group
If you are planning on going with a group of people it is important to organize the canoe sets according to experience. It would not be wise to pair inexperienced canoeists together in the same canoe. So how should these groups be organized?
While the front paddler (bow) plays an important role, the rear man (stern) generally plays a more important role. He controls the direction that the canoe will take down the rapids. The bow man rely’s on the stern man’s commands as to what course to take during a maneuver. So it makes sense to put your more experienced canoeists in the stern and the less experienced in the bow.
It is good to pair the more experienced with the less experienced and those that are moderately experienced in the same canoe since they can help each other out more. You may notice during the trip that you may need to rearrange the groups a bit more if you notice that some are struggling. Of course you want everyone to enjoy the trip, however if your the organizer you do have the responsibility to insure everyone stays safe.
How to choose the correct river
You would want to choose a river during the planning process that matches the skills and needs of the group that will be going. You can research various rivers online and narrow your choices down until you can decide on a river. You want to see if you can get detailed maps of each rapid that you will be running. A detailed map can show you where the safest routes down a rapid are, what obstacles to avoid and which rapids not to run.
If you are going with an experienced small group than you may be able to get away with less detailed knowledge. However, needing to spot rivers on the fly can be difficult and requires advanced skills.
In choosing a river you want to also consider logistics. How far is the river from your residence? Where will you be camping before you begin your trip? How will you access the northernmost reaches of the river? What vehicles will you be using to ferry the canoes? Will you be using an outfitter? Where will you be renting the canoes, if they are not owned? How many days will you be allotted for your trip? Where will you be camping on the river? These are all things than one must consider when choosing the right river for you and your group.
Planning Logistics
If you have settled on a river how will you access it? Some rivers can only be accessed by the air. Others can be accessed by cargo train. This requires good communication and planning with the particular outfitter that you will be dealing with.
If you are planning on ferrying the canoes using vehicles than you need to decide your river access points. Finding a guide on the river using written tripping logs either on the internet, library or bookstores can be very helpful.
To ferry the canoes you will go to the start of the river with all the vehicles to drop off the canoes, people and equipment. Two vehicles will be driven to the destination point with one vehicle being left there. At the end of the river trip two people will need to go back for the car that was left at the starting point.
Using this ferrying method worked great for the 5-7 day whitewater trips that I have done. The ferrying can take a few hours depending on the distance traveled along the river, so these times need to be allotted. For longer distance trips maybe another method such as using outfitters to do the ferrying for you can be effective.
Navigation
River travel can be challenging at times. Rivers can break up into smaller systems, there can be other rivers flowing into or away from the river. Traveling on the river can be quick or slow depending on incline. Having a good map of the river is a necessity.
It is a good practice to laminate, use Ziploc or otherwise waterproof your map. The map needs to be easy to access, some keep them on the outside of their packs while paddling for easy reference. I personally never used a GPS for navigation but using GPS to aid navigation is probably a good idea.
It is also probably a good idea for a few of the members of the group to help with the navigation. This way if one makes a wrong map reading decision, others will not just follow along blindly unaware of the situation.
It is helpful if the map that you are using is detailed enough to provide information on portage trails and campsite locations. This can help the group plan their days and where and when they will break camp for the day.
Not all trip maps will provide detailed information on the river however the more information you can gain ahead of time the better prepared one will be.
How to pack your canoe (generally speaking)
Packing your canoe for a whitewater trip is different than packing your canoe for just tripping. You will need to make sure all of your belongings are waterproof and secure.
Waterproof barrels are a practical way to store all your things and keep them dry. A barrel can come with a harness for portaging but more importantly a barrel will keep you items secure and dry if your canoe flips over in a rapid. If your barrel becomes detached from the canoe during an upset it will still float and can most likely be retrieved. Barrels are also extremely durable, something you want when its floating downstream and hitting rocks and other objects.
If you decide to bring a backpack, you must find a way to ensure that it is waterproofed. An inexpensive way to do this is by doubling up garbage bags and using them as a liner. You must make sure the backpack is always well secured to the canoe since they don’t float. Dry bags is a great way to store some of your items. You can clip the dry bag to the yoke or other parts of the canoe.
You should position the load in a balanced way so the weight is distributed evenly. In a lot of cases you won’t be running the canoe full but will be portaging the stuff around and running the canoes empty. However, in some situations this will not be possible and you will be running the canoe full.
Canoe Safety
Outfitters usually provide floats that are installed in the bow and stern of the canoe. This is almost a necessity if you are running rapids. Even in class III rapids the floatation provided by these will help ensure that your canoe stays buoyant and doesn’t swamp easily.
Some other safety items should be of course a life jacket, bailer, throw bag, helmet (although I never used one) but recommended, and an emergency whistle. The life jacket should not be taken off under any circumstances while entering a rapid. In addition to providing buoyancy the life jacket also provides extra protection from rocks in the case of an upset.
Upon approach of a new rapid it is a good practice to survey the rapids first before descending. You can discuss with your friends in the group which is the best and safest way down.
Generally speaking the most experienced canoeists should head down the rapid first. This way the less experienced can observe how they did, if they ran into any problems and then can refresh the plan for themselves. As well the canoeists that successfully ran the rapids can wait at the bottom with throw bag in hand and to offer any assistance in retrieving overturned canoes.
Each person should go single file down rapids and allow time and space for each canoe. If possible there should be an agreed upon signal such as a raised paddle to alert the next set of paddlers that all is clear to begin.
If the canoe is overturned in the rapid it is important never to try to stand up in the current. It is also important to raise ones leges up and use your bum to take any impacts from rocks etc. Having your legs raised ensures that a foot will not get caught in between any rocks leading to possible drowning from being pushed and held under by the power of the current. Ones legs should also face downstream so that you can guide yourself safely to shore.
If you do spill, you may be submerged for a few seconds. It is important just to ride it out and not fight against the current. It is also important to get away and behind the canoe if at all possible.
Try Whitewater Canoeing
Whitewater river trips is a great way to see untouched nature. The river is like a highway that leads you along to see great sights. You can enter areas of wilderness that have a greater level of isolation than other forms of camping. The other exciting fact about river running is that every day is different and paddling is actually a lot less work than just paddling on flat water. You can feel your heart beat as you approach each rapid and your adrenaline begins to run. You also develop a camaraderie with the other members of the group as you experience things together and rely on each other.
