The timing was good, no bugs due to the nightly freezes, good water level too, wouldnt want to run this with < 1000 cfs though. With over 600 lakes and reservoirs, and 2,000 miles of river, visitors to Wind River Country have plenty of opportunity to explore the Rocky Mountain West via its waterways. The general plan is to start at the Spring Creek trailhead near Pinedale, spend a few days hiking and fishing our way over into the green river drainage, and then floating out to Green River lakes. Richard, I *normally* use an SOS inflatable BUT I forgot it in the car, so I wasn't wearing a PFD. In the absence of a real freeze-up before your trip, I imagine it will be fine but there may be a few cobble bars youll have to walk or scoot through. Care to give any thoughts on this shelter? The reporting party was reached and assisted within hours, and the missing packrafter was found, deceased, on rocks farther downriver. Obviously this river is not suitable for our 16 footer, though! Fishing is magical. Bjrn Debacker, a 41-year old Belgian Engineer, was presumably separated from his packraft due to wind and waves while crossing ingvallavatn lake. Traveler. All told, the range has more than 30 peaks higher than 13,000 feet and over 130 glaciers dispersed across three-quarters of a million acres of public land. Duration 1-4 Days Level Moderate Dates May-September Price $219-$425 View Tour. Other reviews submitted talk about crowds of people, overuse and even litter. Get Backpacking Light news, updates, gear info, skills, and commentary delivered into your inbox 1-2x/week. Wrangell St. Elias National Park is the largest National Park in the country and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Youtube videos of his boat dont show any perimeter lines, but do show a red leash connecting his paddle to the spray skirt grab loop. Im sure youll have a blast anywhere in the wind river range however. $7,800 Beginning high in the tundra, the Wind River flows beneath limestone spires, past glacial lakes, and finally through the boreal forests of northern Alaska. The next day, his empty raft and backpack were found on the southern shore, about 12km away. Relevant resources: American Whitewater maintains an incident database, American Packrafting Association is close to publishing a safety curriculum for packrafters. What follows is a general flow of events. Colin had considerable experience, including Class IV paddling and actively training to become an ANG Pararescue Jumper (PJ). For another place to enjoy a quiet romp around the water, head up the Loop Road above Bruces Bridge in Sinks Canyon into the Shoshone National Forest. Take your own kayak, canoe or raft, and enjoy the serenity of places like Boysen Reservoir and State Park near Shoshoni. We do some river canoeing and sea kayaking, now I have to add desert paddling to the to-do list. Richard, Kapok? The Wind River Range runs along the Continental Divide and boasts some high elevations. From Beaver Park down to the lakes is an enjoyable Class II float with a couple small drops and some wood. Romain Qunhen, a Belgian on a roadtrip from BC to Alaska, went missing on the Nass River, BC, Romains packraft and backpack were recovered. Very speculative, but a nearby airport reported SE wind gusts of 44 km/h (27 mph) on the 25th. New TRAIL DAYS ONLINE! For those with packrafting skills, this route offers a quick, easy-to-access, multi-sport adventure. Im happy that we havent had any fatalities in New Zealand that Im aware of. Luc, thanks for caring, researching, and publishing! I've posted more photos and comments from this trip here: Packrafting in the Winds @ RyanJordan.com. Whoever you choose to go with, extended time in the mountains fishing is a must. First, the range is extremely remote. The water was high, estimated at three times median flow. Many of the creeks, like the Dinwoody, have wonderful floatable sections. We spend the next week enjoying this little river, as well as exploring our surroundings on layover days. Roman The lightest non-inflatable PFDs use kapok instead of CC foam. Can you swim strongly and with confidence to affect a self-rescue? In fact, a $15 "Walmart special" PFD will likely have the exact same amount of flotation rating as a $200 boutique sea kayaking vest. Don't like ads? We were able to nail them down for a video chat Skip to content Close menu SHOP Kayak Paddles High-Angle Low-Angle Piggybacking on this topic from earlier. Jeffrey DeRonde was trapped in river debris (I assume wood) and fully submerged. Routes. We think he was scouting out the canyon and everything looked good to him, but he couldnt see around the corner of that bend, which is where we feel that he went into the water.. No wildlife except for one Moose on the bank. Ben Kilbourne has been backpacking since his days in the womb. Lions Head, Class IV, is known for its big hydraulics and difficulty distinguishing rocks from water due to both being the same gray color. After inflating our pack rafts and talking about river safety, we set off onto the Winda small, clear river. Seems like a beautiful float so we were hoping to get a hike in and then check it out - if the water was reasonable. If fast is more your speed, rent a motor boat or a jet ski from the marina and cruise around with an engine doing the work. Based out of Fort Washakie, Wind River Fishing Adventures fishes the Popo Agie, the Big Wind River and Bull Lake. The hike up to Berry Pass is seriously underrated, and the views of the 20 Mile watershed are absolutely . To get truly wild with your Wind River Country fly fishing, head into the mountains for a few days or a week for the adventure of a lifetime. There is a challenging rapid 500m upriver, and it seems likely that he tipped there and swam until he was pinned on the undercut rock. Wrangell / St. Elias NPS Incident reportsWashington Post article. You mention "a few weeks back", and "fall colors". I ran in from Beaver Park about 10 days ago at 420 CFS, https://waterdata.usgs.gov/wy/nwis/uv?site_no=09188500. This is the third open water packraft fatality on record, highlighting the danger of open water crossings. Wildland Trekking has a six-day rim-to-rim trip where you'll hike into the canyon. Damn brother. Reach the edge of the water and make your transition: inflate your packraft, assemble your paddle and stash your kit in the raft. Joe Hutto, The Light in High . Their first packraft was the Itiwit Packraft Adventure 500, which we have already reviewed. I misspoke relative to the Astral Kapok (natural material) PFDs. 7. As part of the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic, Rob Kehrer (44) and Greg Mills portaged the Tana River Canyon (Class IV), putting in below the technical features. All recordings are now online! I strongly recommend the Trinity River venue for a true wilderness experience combined with the learning. On Sunday, we put in back at the trailhead and paddled ~8miles below the lakes to the Big Bend pullout (http://wyomingnaturalist.com/river_green_warren.html ). The ideal packrafting PFD. I am sure that a custom PFD could be created that weighs less than the MTI Livery but, the safety tolerance would probably be lower. Thanks to Shimon Saito for collecting and sharing this information. Join the mailing list Receive emails with resources & training opportunities "Start and End at Home" Online trip and emergency planning course "Paddle Up a Level" Online packrafting course "Wild Ice" Online ice safety course River safety & rescue Packraft-specific rescue and skill instruction; Mind & Mountain My wife Sarah's awesome fitness programs: Ski . The Windriver Range offers some of the lower 48s wildest country. In terms of lightest full whitewater pfds. Check out Lander-based Wyoming Rivers Cooperative for details (they also offer incredible rafting trips). It has a scenic and brushless hike in, fun Class II to III whitewater, and sweeping views of the Alaska Range and Talkeetnas. Thats a really heavy list. The third boater noted Marty floating face up, pursued, caught and swam Marty to shore on river right, where CPR was unsuccessful.