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When can you go rafting by yourself?

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9K views 28 replies 27 participants last post by  bighorn1478@msn.com 
#1 ·
The weather, water and steelhead are perfect. Your party cancels the night before, leaving all your plans, gear and food waiting...this just happened to me.
When can you go rafting by yourself? Many say, never. For discussion, In this case, the Lower Deschutes River, some options:
1. Do the original plan, 50 miles trip in four days.
2. Cut the trip to 10 miles and always near roads but that requires class III+s.
3. Cut the trip to 10 mile trip with only II's but no roads.
For the discussion, this is a journeyman knowing the river. What do you think?
 
#4 ·
I've done some fairly significant solo boating. Make sure you know the run extremely well, use extra caution beyond what you normally would, bring everything you would need for a worst case scenario and let people know your expected schedule and when you expect to make the takeout.

Do you expect there to be other folks on the water? That makes a difference, as does the weather forecast this time of year...
 
#5 ·
Well I am not the best one to ask since I go anyway. I have floated solo boat trip the Middle Fork Salmon a few times. Parts of it with one passenger, parts with my family and some just me. Can't wait to do the whole thing again solo, solo.

I know the run very well. It was at class 3 type flows, not 4. But a couple of those times there were virtually no other parties on the river. Once in mid-October and we knew there was no one else around at all. Maybe boicatr out for the fall hunt…..

Not recommending this for anyone else but for me it was and will be the right thing with the right flow. You will never boat better than when you are completely alone. And for me more sober….
 
#7 ·
Good timing on this thread, just had crew cancel on Westwater day trip.
Was weighing my options, making the drive anyway because we are doing Cataract Canyon the next day.
I love solo boating, my hangup is shuttle logistics.

Fall is a wonderful time on the river, I'm sure I'll go anyway!
 
#12 ·
Much of the above, plus

A) that's why I moved to raft from canoe.

B) post on mountainbuzz, be careful of the results (for example: Texans expect people from the land of microbrews to drink Tecate).

C) I seem to never have any boat ramp entirely to myself. People who boat are usually friendly, and if you behave well will boat with you in the future.

D) Be flexible, and deal well with ambiguity. I've pulled together fun trips when I was dropping off my key at the shuttle op. Once did a week long GC backpack with a guy I met in line at the permit office.

by the time you meet anyone at the adventure put-in, an awful lot of self-selection has already happened.
 
#15 ·
Solo boating can be very rewarding. It comes with a significantly different risk profile and potentially can have severe consequences.

The decision to paddle solo is a decision best made through honest self assessment, risk assessment, and it is a personal decision. It's not a decision to take lightly or one I would want input from the internet on. Only you will truly know if it's for you, and when you truly know you won't have to ask anyone.
 
#16 ·
I have done both sections of the lower D solo, and met several boaters doing the same. If you are familiar with the rapids, and a competent rower, you should go if you want to. For the next few weeks, you will likely have the option to hold up at the more significant rapids, and have company to run with in a fairly short time. Also, the lower lower (Buck hollow down) is now open to full time power boat traffic. I spent much of the last two weeks at Macks Canyon, and there is rarely a power boat out of hearing range, or a steelhead angler out of sight. Reason enough to head for the upper, slightly less crowded section if looking for some solitude.
 
#20 ·
When my trip disintegrated and I needed grounding it happened here. First, solo boating including heavier water isn't the issue. Soul searching, versus perfect reasons to go hit me. Great wisdom and advice, including local thoughts. In the day, solo tubing (what lifejackets?) to fish was the norm. Hopefully, I grown wiser. FYI tomorrow I'm taking off. Ciao.
 
#21 ·
Last weekend I had a friend get pounded in a 13 foot raft rapid pretty hard at Washout. It was him and his wife, she fell out and went for her first ever swim, and he stayed with the ship and got it out of the hole. The hole looks to be river right, and there is a video of a paddle raft stuck there for quite some time on Youtube.
That said, it is safer to boat with people. If you are confident in your abilities, then go ahead. There are solo hunters wandering all over Oregon right now, and they are taking just as much risk as you would.
 
#22 ·
If you have any doubt at all why not just lap the section between Pine Tree and Macks. Or make it a couple day trip with a camp spot. There is enough good water in that stretch for a lifetime. You will have to deal with guides out on day trips but if you set up camp you can have some prime water mostly to yourself. On the Deschutes this time of year fish are all over the place so it is well worth fishing through good water a few times before moving on. That could make that stretch well worth it.

And the posts about other traffic are 100% true. I doubt that you would ever be out of sight of other people on the entire lower stretch this time of year.

Go for it.
 
#23 ·
Dennis Julian was a trapper who sailed and rowed most of the Grand and Green rivers solo. In the 1840's. Left inscriptions all over the canyons. Safety is over-rated. Here in the Wasatch Mountains there are plenty of folks who go out and back-country ski solo. Given the cold and avalanche danger, risky indeed. Most of them are still walking around. It is often your friends who goad you into doing something stupid. I've run Westwater solo. Gives you respect for the country. I think it is how you choose to live rather than how long you live that matters. On the news here in Utah there is typically a story about some woman or another who lives in a the senior home and plays canasta every day. And is 95 years old. Where is the fun in that? Do something bold and brag about it. For the sheer fun of it, and because it ticks off careful people. My 2 cents.
 
#24 ·
Go. Scout everything. If you get to a rapid that you're not 100% comfortable with running solo, wait for a group of people to come along. Flag them over, ask if you can run through the rapids while they're around just in case. Who would say no? May need to time yourself so you show up at a rapid in the morning and can wait.
 
#28 ·
Hi,

I was a long term volunteer ranger at Westwater for ten years, and have more than 300 patrol runs there, almost all of them solo. I've also done Westwater to Hite through Cat solo, and the bottom end of the Grand Canyon solo. Different boats, from late March to late October -- wonderful times on the river if you're wired that way.

As has been said, know your capabilities, be sure you're ready equipment-wise, and be wise in your approach to not just the river, but also off-river activities.

FWIW.

Rich Phillips
 
#29 ·
There are 3 major problems to consider when going solo.
1 you have to do all the driving:mad:
2 you have to do all the cooking:(
3 you have to assume all the responsibility for having fun:D
 
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