There is a lot of planning and preparation that goes into a whitewater rafting Idaho trip. Just like any vacation, or camping trip, but on a larger scale, because everything that the guides and guests need for the next three to six days has to be loaded up and meticulously planned for- there is no access or grocery stores once the boats leave the launch site. So, it takes us a couple days to prepare.
It takes a lot of preparation to get ready for a rafting trip– whether it’s a 1 day or a 6 day, we have to be prepared, equipped and ready for anything that may come our way. We want to be sure that if a need arises whether it’s something gone wrong with the gear, someone needs a shoelace replaced, or a full-out emergency. As outfitters, we are prepared for it all! So, in this post, I am going to go through a bit of the process for packing a river trip…
So, in anticipation of a trip here is the timeline for a Saturday launch date.
Thursday: buy all fresh fruits and vegetables, and meats. We have a well stocked river kitchen with most of the pantry staples, like cake mixes, crackers and canned goods, we’ll shop in the river kitchen as well as the local market. We try to source as many local and organic ingredients as possible.
Friday: pack day: prepare salads, bake cookies, load coolers, load truck, count life jackets, review first aid kits, fill-out paperwork, etc.
We also meet with our guests on the evening before to hand out dry bags for packing, sign waivers and answer any looming questions that may be causing the pre-trip jitters.
Saturday: leave the warehouse and head to the launch site. At the launch site we arrive 1 hour before the guests, so that our boats are rigged and ready, when guests arrive we load up their bags, the gear boat takes off and we go over safety and what’s on the agenda for the day.
Sunday: more of what happened on Saturday- floating, lounging, eating, blasting through HUGE rapids, hiking, basically the most fun you’ve ever had in your whole life!
Monday: all that fun continued, if it was a 3 day trip, this would be the take-out date. We’d reach the take-out, have a late lunch and hit the road back to civilization. You can read more about what is done at the take-out.
So, that’s the timeline of what it takes to pack a whitewater rafting Idaho trip. All that work in the beginning is so worth it. Being prepared for anything that can arise on the river is essential to the functioning of the trip and can make the difference between an OK trip and a stellar trip. So, join us on a whitewater rafting Idaho trip!
