[Zach]

I just finished a trip yesterday and the upper section is in good shape. The debris flows at Ramshorn and just above Velvet are very obvious and easy to scout. I’ll try and get some video of the new Velvet uploaded tomorrow.

There is a report of something tearing rafts between Ramshorn and Velvet. This may be a new sharp rock or debris from the Ramshorn Bridge worth looking out for.

[Zach]

Great question. I think the Upper Wind is the best place to develop skills needed for the Illinois. Here’s an article with a nice progression for building up to the Illinois.

River Safety: Northwest Cataraft Progression

A few other good places to develop skills for the Illinois are the Tuolumne and the Cal Salmon.

[Zach]

I just got off and there is still quite a bit of snow. It looks pretty promising for Memorial Day flows. The downside is that if there are flows that weekend that it will be really crowded and campsites are pretty limited.

[Zach]

Whether or not to run Illinois trips the past 2 weeks has given me so much anxiety as I’ve debated balancing safety and guest expectations. It’s a wild river in an incredibly remote location that unfortunately requires conservative decision making.

[Zach]

Oh I didn’t see that person. Yikes!

We’ve been doing a lot of pinned swimmer scenarios and can confirm wearing bright colors is crucial for spotting victims.

[Zach]

In today’s live show I shared some more thoughts about your video

[Zach]

A friend of mine just finished an Illinois trip yesterday (May 1) and said that log is no longer in Green Wall.

[Zach]

If nobody is in immediate danger then I relax and focus on not letting things get worse. Once you’re around enough of these situations you find that the response can be worse than the rescue.

Experience is the best teacher.

[Zach]

What could the upstream boaters done to help? Any boats that went into the trees could have caused more victims.

With the fast current and loud water noises it’s almost impossible to communicate in that situation. My priority would have been to stabilize the situation and provide downstream safety for the swimmers which would be getting everyone to eddy out.

From what I saw the person in the trees was in no immediate danger so there was time to calmly assess the situation and come up with a responsible plan.

[Zach]

Thanks for sharing. Here are some quick thoughts:

– We need to stick with the point positive convention for consistency.
– It didn’t look like that swimmer was caught on a strainer – were they actually caught on a tree?
– If I was in that situation I would and the swimmer was caught on a dangerous strainer I would have blow three whistles and then eddied out on the right side as soon as there was a responsible place to eddy out and walk up to assist. My priority would have been the safety of my self and the people in my boat first.

These are the dangers of hight water boating. A good safety talk that includes information about the additional risk of high water and to avoid strainers when swimming is important.

[Zach]

My personal favorite camps are Hike Out, Lambert, the Cave, Jackson Hole, and Lower Greeley.

[Zach]

Here are some thoughts:
– I think my oar lock formula may break down for really small and really big boats.
– I have that same boat and the distance between my oar locks is 60″ and the formula gives 8.15 feet and we use 8 foot oars. They work fine.
– Rowing these small boats always seems a little awkward to me compared to normal (13-18′) rafts.
– I think part of the problem is that your frame is a bit narrow for that boat.
– I also personally find cataract oars a bit awkward so you may like Sawyer oars more.

My best advice:
– Get the oars a bit shorter – closer to 7’3″ would probably help so they balance better.
– Try to have the oar handles touch or even overlap so the percentage of oar outside the lock decreases.
– I’ve never tried smaller blades to solve problems like this but I’ve talked to people who have and it seems to work.

Good luck!

[Zach]

Here is a link to video of the log from April 27, 2023

[Zach]

I like them straight up with the NRS frames. It may be an aesthetic thing with the NRS oar towers because I’ve used them at around 20 degrees for most of my commercial guiding.

Unfortunately I have no good explanation for the angle they should be. My take is that anywhere between 0 degrees and 20 degrees from vertical should be fine and the exact angle is not a huge deal.

There are some good photos in this article that show the 20-ish degree angle: https://www.nwrafting.com/river-equipment/oar-locks-vs-pins-and-clips.

[Zach]

It depends on how much you want to spend. Have you looked at the DRL frames? They make a great frame at a good price.

[Author]

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