Joan in Warm Springs
I thought about showing the picture of Joan after she flipped, but it's much more impressive that she ran Warm Springs in the first place, so she gets extra credit.
Since the trip, we've all had time to reflect. Some people didn't like the fact that the trip was so cold. I didn't really have a problem with that. I carried plenty of warm clothing and my tent and sleeping bag were quite warm. It might have been nice to have warmer weather, but that could have meant significantly higher flows and lots of insects, so I was happy with the tradeoff.
The food was great, and everyone worked well together. As I mentioned previously, I did forget the hand soap, and that won't happen again. Other than that, I can't think of anything I needed that I didn't bring. I did bring oar extenders and counter-weights, and I could have done without the extra weight. I would like to get some sort of medium-sized drybox that I can strap to the table I carry in the front of the boat. This would allow me to carry more up there.
Some new things I tried worked very well for me. Rather than an ammo can, I brought a small drybag for groover supplies. This was easier to attach to my boat, easier to carry, and made for a convenient "bathroom key". Another thing I did was to rig the groover so I could put it on my boat without having to put other gear on top of it. That allowed me to have the boat almost completely rigged beforehand.
The best new thing I did was to change how I packed my personal gear (tent, sleeping gear, clothing, etc.). I used to separate my gear into 3 drybags - one for tent and sleeping gear, one for clothing, and one for miscellaneous items (iPod, batteries, medicines, etc.) - but I realized that I was carrying a lot of stuff to and from camp that I didn't need. So, I switched to putting 2 days worth of clothing and the items I needed in the tent into a small bag, and the rest of the clothing and miscellaneous items that I didn't need every day into another bag, which stays on the boat. When I need new clothes or other items, I can swap them without having to carry them. This makes a big difference when my campsite is a long way from the boat - it almost always saved me a whole trip.
The Yampa trip does involve a lot of traveling. It would have been easier if everyone had been able to take one more day off at the end, but it really isn't practical.
I would love to run the Yampa again, and there's a possibility of running the Gates of Lodore section of the Green, which includes the section we ran below the Yampa. Here's hoping!
The food was great, and everyone worked well together. As I mentioned previously, I did forget the hand soap, and that won't happen again. Other than that, I can't think of anything I needed that I didn't bring. I did bring oar extenders and counter-weights, and I could have done without the extra weight. I would like to get some sort of medium-sized drybox that I can strap to the table I carry in the front of the boat. This would allow me to carry more up there.
Some new things I tried worked very well for me. Rather than an ammo can, I brought a small drybag for groover supplies. This was easier to attach to my boat, easier to carry, and made for a convenient "bathroom key". Another thing I did was to rig the groover so I could put it on my boat without having to put other gear on top of it. That allowed me to have the boat almost completely rigged beforehand.
The best new thing I did was to change how I packed my personal gear (tent, sleeping gear, clothing, etc.). I used to separate my gear into 3 drybags - one for tent and sleeping gear, one for clothing, and one for miscellaneous items (iPod, batteries, medicines, etc.) - but I realized that I was carrying a lot of stuff to and from camp that I didn't need. So, I switched to putting 2 days worth of clothing and the items I needed in the tent into a small bag, and the rest of the clothing and miscellaneous items that I didn't need every day into another bag, which stays on the boat. When I need new clothes or other items, I can swap them without having to carry them. This makes a big difference when my campsite is a long way from the boat - it almost always saved me a whole trip.
The Yampa trip does involve a lot of traveling. It would have been easier if everyone had been able to take one more day off at the end, but it really isn't practical.
I would love to run the Yampa again, and there's a possibility of running the Gates of Lodore section of the Green, which includes the section we ran below the Yampa. Here's hoping!
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