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83 Posts
They all moved to Ft. Collins, SLC, and Boulder.
East Coast Rafters... Where'd they go?
It seems over the last 8-12 years or so east coast boaters who were quite chattery have disappeared. They aren't on the vast wastelands of boatertalk or NPMB or any other forum. Facebook might have swallowed some up. But that's a cesspool in itself.
Are the mountain buzz folks that uninviting? Or does buzz need an east coast sub forum?
FWIW, I've pulled a lot of great information from those old threads and it's a shame those folks are gone. I could be a member of 200 FB groups but it's a lot easier to search buzz for quality info than wade through FB. Hopefully we can get some east coast boaters back filling the forums with good info.
Are the mountain buzz folks that uninviting? Or does buzz need an east coast sub forum?
FWIW, I've pulled a lot of great information from those old threads and it's a shame those folks are gone. I could be a member of 200 FB groups but it's a lot easier to search buzz for quality info than wade through FB. Hopefully we can get some east coast boaters back filling the forums with good info.
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710 Posts
And now none of them can get permits or the rivers don't have water, so they're getting into mountain biking and yoga. You might find them tanning their buttholes in Sedona.
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104 Posts
There is some truth to this because as a outdoors oriented person who does a bunch of sports, lots of my partners have moved west. On the flip side, I've met a lot of people that moved east. Don't get me wrong, it's a negative migration east. Afterall everyone lives in Denver/Boulder, Boise, or Spokane nowadays.
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104 Posts
More truth. Plus they compete with a-holes from the east that make one trip west a year for a permit river. In WV you can paddle all year and not deal with a single permit. Plenty of overnights/multi-days. If you avoid Gauley Fest you can even avoid most people.
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710 Posts
There are roughly 20 people who graduated from my highschool in upstate NY within a year of my graduating class living in SLC. I brought half of them here to work at the ski area. The other half showed up on their own.
Now that the cost of housing has tripled and the lake is about to dry up and they’re all getting married and having kids, they’re talking about heading back East.
Now that the cost of housing has tripled and the lake is about to dry up and they’re all getting married and having kids, they’re talking about heading back East.
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83 Posts
I know because I'm one of 'em.
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104 Posts
Oddly enough, I was looking for a change of pace. Really just less humidity and more sun and I got into boating (vs climbing as my primary sport) in 2016. I thought Boise looked great. Cheap, good river access, not perfect weather but drier/sunnier than here (if you don't mind droughts and wild fires and inversions). By the time we got back out in 2018 prices were sky rocketing... Didn't look so cheap. Some places look great when the price is right.
Looking at the west right now it's crazy. Honestly, if it wasn't so damn hot and humid best boating (all year) in America is the southeast. The Northeast is a bit more seasonal but dam releases happen all summer on enough rivers.
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104 Posts
Shhh! I don't want people on the rivers, I just want their beta. Keep this hush hush.
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20 Posts
I’m one of them “East Coast” boaters. I started in 2000 in Maine, moved to Colorado in 2003, then Alaska in 2005, then back to Maine in 2010, and still boating. Just bought my first raft, (13’ kiwi green Hyside Outfitter,) and am getting back into it. I don’t know if I will guide again, I got burned out after Alaska, but I plan on being on the water every opportunity I can.
The west was nice, and I certainly miss it. But, there is a lot to be said about having guaranteed whitewater via a dam release every day. Plus, my family is here, I have a little one, and I’m pushing 50.
The west was nice, and I certainly miss it. But, there is a lot to be said about having guaranteed whitewater via a dam release every day. Plus, my family is here, I have a little one, and I’m pushing 50.
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3,209 Posts
I sold my house in Leadville because I'm sick of the western scene. I'm not a big overnighter these days, I'd rather run hard whitewater in my duckie or small raft and soak in the hot tub after. My family is all in Wyoming, so I'll always have roots here, but I'm looking to buy a place in Fayetteville, Friendsville, or some other 'ville out east by the water - where I can paddle 6 months a year without a peak and short shoulder seasons. I bet I pay half of what my Colorado crib sold for too!
The East is the new West!
The East is the new West!
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104 Posts
6 months is kind of the low end. Sitting here with a West Virginia book right now. WV gets national acclaim for the Gauley but the diversity and season is great. Looking at some stuff to escape ice climbing and get down there this February for a little mid-winter respite. Lots of stuff should be peaking Feb-March just need to decide if I'm day boating or overnighting.
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3,209 Posts
The New in March is a national whitewater, huge adventure, gem. Bigger than the waves in the Grand.
East is great if you're a kayaker. Rafting there is a lot more limited, and fly-fishing absolutely non-existent. I spent a few years living in ATL (back when I was primarily a kayaker), and I did a shit ton of boating. I miss how early Spring hits there, and the Fall paddling can be outstanding. There is a great line up of scheduled Fall releases in the Southeast now. Cheoah and Tallulah were my two favorites. Back the in day there were bargains on real estate in the rural areas of TN, NC and GA, but I'm sure those days are long gone.
I'm in Idaho now, and am actually considering moving to California, and least for the winters. There are so many of them moving here that we're dealing with California level crowding, and Californian level real estate prices, and California attitudes. Might as well be there where the weather is a lot nicer.
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3,209 Posts
Um, except for the awesome rafting on the Yough, Gauley, New, Savage, Russel Fork, Ocoee, French Broad, and a hundred other rivers! It's the west where rafting is limited, man.
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20 Posts
Yep. In my neck of the woods, within a 2 hour drive, I have the Penobscot, Kennebec and Dead. Within 4 or so, I have the Hudson, West, Deerfield, and rivers in Quebec.
They might not be as challenging as Gore Canyon, 6 Mile Creek, or as long and scenic as the Grand or Talkeetna, but they’re great in their own way.
As long as you’re out there getting some, and having fun, that’s all that matters.
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280 Posts
There is some great water on the east. I have had a few fall trips on the Hudson with my oldest son that have been absolutely sublime. I love getting out on the oars, but right now, my littles are starting to move into their own boats, and I am mostly duckying every chance I get. The Tohickon will be running the first weekend in november, and that is a hoot in a duck or a hard boat. Little crowded and short for an oar rig.
For sure those are some awesome runs, and I’d love to get on them all. I guess I was thinking more from the perspective of oar boats and multi-day trips. I do think there are way more private rafters in the West than East though.
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