Questions to ask to get on the right river trip…

How-To: Get on the right river trip

Every river trip is different and we want you to get on the one that is different in the way that is best for you.

Asking the right questions will help (and having the right answers to our questions will also help). Here’s what to ask (and to be prepared to answer):

1. Difficulty

What you should ask:
How difficult are the rapids? This is sort of the big differentiator – we run trips where you’re almost constantly getting wet and at risk of falling in and we run trips where you could probably go six days and only get wet a few times and never really have to worry about it too much. And we run a continuum of trips in between. You can read about the Difficulty Scale here, but it is a starting point for a much more nuanced conversation. [PS: We love those conversations.]

What you should be ready to answer:
How comfortable are you in the water? [Are you okay with falling out of the raft in the middle of a rapid?] We have pretty good anecdotal evidence to be able to give you a sense of the likelihood of falling out of the raft on any trip (and it is considerably lower than a YouTube video search would suggest). For most people, falling out isn’t a priority or a deal-breaker, but it is a good way to match your sense of adventure to the trip’s level of adventure.  Also, super-important: Multiple people can go on the same trip and have different chances of falling out of the raft! It is what makes our extended wilderness trips such great multi-generational activities.

Try to avoid:
What “class” is the river? The difficulty of a river (or rapid) is much more complex than any number can convey. Plus, our rating scale (I to VI) isn’t very sophisticated or descriptive or consistent; plus there are a lot of variables. Tell us your fears and we’ll tell you our recommendations.

A whitewater rafting oar

2. Boat types

What you should ask:
What types of boats will there be on this trip? This is a corollary to the Difficulty question and an equally big difference-maker. For most people, a Class II rapid in an inflatable kayak is as much fun as a Class III rapid in a paddle raft which is as much fun as a Class IV rapid in an oar-paddle combination raft.

What you should be ready to answer:
How active do you want to be? [Are you the type of person who scrambles for the front of the roller-coaster or the one who takes pictures?] On some of our trips, EVERYONE is expected to sit on the edge of the raft and paddle through rapids. On others, that’s an option. On others, we can set you up in the front of a big, stable oar raft and you can nap. Answering “a little bit of everything” is perfectly fine and the default answer we use when designing our trips. You can learn more about the types of boats we use (and about some that we don’t) here.

Try to avoid:
Can I ride in an [oar raft/paddle raft/inflatable kayak] the whole time? While on a lot of trips you probably could, you shouldn’t. Variety is the spice of life and if you’ve never sat in the front of an oar raft and talked about “life” with a river guide (or with your partner), then you’ve missed out on something. Equally, if you’ve never paddled yourself around in an inflatable kayak (through a rapid or not), you’re missing out on things you can talk to your partner about (let alone talk to a river guide about).

A whitewater rafting oar

3. Length

What you should ask:
How many nights will we be on the river? For our trips, we list the number of days you’ll be on the river, but a lot of people measure their “commitment” by how many nights they are willing to camp out. [FYI: Our preference is almost always for more nights, so expect some counselling here]. On some rivers, we offer different trip lengths and there are distinct differences. We can tell you about them.

What you should be ready to answer:
How much hiking/relaxing/exploring/swimming/fishing/reading/playing/other things do you want to do? Shortening the trip usually means giving up one (or all) of the off-river activities. And we also understand that shortening the trip often means being able to fit any trip into the larger vacation puzzle. We can often help you find the balancing spot (and we can sometimes lengthen or shorten a trip by a day to make it fit your needs, especially if you have a group).

Try to avoid:
Got anything that’s just a couple of hours? [Silence]. Those trips exist (we once had a guide work for us who spent his first summer guiding in Wyoming by running five, 2-hour trips every day. He said he didn’t even try to learn people’s names. Our Golden Rule is that the more names you learn the better the trip. So the half-day South Fork American is as short as we go).

A whitewater rafting oar

4. Wilderness

What you should ask:
How many other groups are we likely to encounter each day? We run trips where we are the only group allowed to launch that day (Selway) and others where we are one of many allowed to launch that day (South Fork American). Plus, there are seasonal and day-of-the-week variations that impact the sense of solitude and isolation. If your idea of a vacation is to not see anyone else for a week, you’re weird, but we have trips that are almost that. If your idea of a vacation is to stand in line with strangers for three hours, we can’t help you.

What you should be ready to answer:
How do you feel about riverside development and jet-boats? In addition to other groups, on a few of the rivers we run we pass wilderness lodges along the way. On parts of the Rogue and Main Salmon, jet-boats are allowed (grandfathered in and limited before Wild and Scenic status). For the most part, they are interesting (and small-impact) pieces of local lore, but if you have strong feelings, let us know so we can prepare you.

Try to avoid:
Why is that? The answer is too long for a phone call. [But here’s a synopsis: Over the past 50 years, access to most rivers in the west has become restricted by various government agencies, from the National Park Service to the local county. Each river has a “cap” on the number of people who can float it based on the type of experience that the agency wants the river to provide. Those “caps” are part of the permit system under which we operate, and they are complex, inconsistent, variable, and sometimes irrational. But they are the rules. Fortunately, we run trips across the full “wilderness spectrum” and can usually offer you the level of remoteness that you want].

A whitewater rafting oar

5. Others

What you should ask:
What can you tell me about the other people on the trip? This is the sophisticated question that the refined ARTA guest asks. Scenery, rapids, boat types, and trip length are all important, but spending six days (five nights smile ) with 15 members of the extended Novatny family who enjoy singing Polkas every night might not be your idea of a romantic getaway. Alternatively, spending four days (three nights) with the Downtown Milwaukee Senior Chess Club might not be your 10-year-old’s favorite vacation (although, you never know). We’re happy to share some age demographics about the makeup of different trips/dates to minimize surprises. [Full disclosure: this doesn’t eliminate surprises; the Novatny family could still sign up AFTER you].

What you should be ready to answer:
Tell us about your group. Kids? Teens? Millennials? College Rugby Team reunion? Book club? Do you all already know each other or are there ‘friends of friends’? We’ll use this information to get you on the right trip AND to try to get compatible people on the trip with you. Consistently, ARTA guests are cool, flexible, interesting, and respectful people to travel with, so ages, groupings, and activity-levels are the differentiators.

Try to avoid:
Can I bring my cat? [No you can’t. Our trips lend themselves to less dismissive participants.]

A whitewater rafting oar

Other more general questions:

Poop
Um, what about, er, you know, um… We’ve been dealing with human waste for decades and we are very comfortable talking about how pleasant our groovers are. If you’re comfortable listening to us, call; otherwise, here is some more information.

Food
What’s for dinner? Our guides are some of the most health-conscious people in the world and they buy and eat our food all summer long, so it’s good. Lots of fresh stuff, not a lot of canned stuff. Each meal is prepared live on the river, so you can politely poke your nose in the kitchen and ask for some noodles without sauce or some sauce without meat or some meat and we should be able to make it happen. Also we can accommodate gluten allergies, lactose intolerance, carb restrictions, vegans, paleos, and almost anything else. (We once did a six-day Middle Fork of the Salmon trip for a couple who only ate fruit. Period. We gave them their own cooler and let them forage every meal; everyone was quite happy). Also, feel free to tell us what you like to eat. If you can’t imagine going four days without watermelon, let us know and we’ll be sure to pack one. [DISCLAIMER: some limitations may apply].

Weather
What is the weather going to be like? Highly variable and always risky to predict. There are some historical patterns that are reliable, but we’ve learned to be cautious about setting expectations. Nonetheless, we can describe a “typical day in x month on the y river” for you with a high level of confidence. It is good to ask, but the answer is likely to start with “We can’t guarantee anything, but…”

Bugs
Are there mosquitos? More predictable than the weather and really only something we worry about for the first couple of nights on Deso trips and maybe one or two nights a summer everywhere else. Ask, but expect a short answer.

Communication/evacuation
What if someone needs to contact me while I’m on the river? Legitimate question, rare occurrence. We have tools and plans and procedures for emergency communications that we try to keep in the background, but if you’ve got a tricky situation or a concerned “friend”, read this, (and then give us a call if your friend is still worried).

Got more? Check out our FAQs or ask us here.

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