High Water Philosophy Class
In June 2009, my son Chase and I embarked on our first outing with our new Boy Scout troop: a float of the Jefferson River during high water season. Our entire gear list seemed centered around our boat selection: the Alpacka Double Duck, a sort-of-two-person packraft that weighs only six pounds.
However, once we hit the water, our gear became less of a concern, and we relished in the joy of floating such a big river (6000 cfs) in such a tiny boat.
The experience is hard to convey with media, but impossible without, so I hope you enjoy the photos and video and that they will inspire you to consider what going light might mean for you outside the realm of trail corridors (be sure to check out the related gear list, too!).
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Reader Comments
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Forum Index » Editor's Roundtable » Two in One Boat: A Photo and Video Essay from Montana's Jefferson River
(addiebedford) - BPL Staff - MLife
Locale: Montana
Companion forum thread to:
Two in One Boat: A Photo and Video Essay from Montana's Jefferson River
(djohnson) - MLife
Locale: Washington State
Ryan and Chase- I always love hearing about your father/son adventures. The two of you are always an inspiration for the trips Henry and I take...and will be taking for years to come. Thanks for the new inspiration!
(djohnson) - MLife
Locale: Washington State
Ryan- I want to see a story sometime on your gear collection. I know it's spread between storage units and tractor trailer trucks so you'd probably have to do it in installations...
"This week- shelters....
#135) Custom Cuben poncho tarp no. 14,
#136) Custom Cuben poncho tarp no. 15,
#137) Custom MLD packraft mid (because of COURSE packrafting requires a special tent),
#138 2' x 1.5' custom cuben hexatarp (lightest hexatarp of all time- .0632 oz),
#139 custom Pertex Falanofabric bivy (never released to the public),
#140 custom 47 person spinnaker poncho bivy,
#141 Eureka Zeus 4 (yeah- sorry about that),
etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc....
I can only imagine...
That said, please let me know when you have a garage sale. Or a Tractor Trailer Truck sale, for that matter. I think I still have a little more space in my garage...
Edited by djohnson on 08/04/2009 22:38:19 MDT.
(djohnson) - MLife
Locale: Washington State
My wife and I just got done watching that video for the third time. Marvelous! The music is perfect and the comments toward the end are brilliant. So funny! Thanks for the great laugh and again, for a vision of how darn fun this will be to do with my son someday.
(Jkrew81) - F - M
Locale: White Mtns
great article/video. Thanks for sharing!!
(cmcrooker) - MLife
Locale: Desert Southwest, USA
Chase - it's lucky you were along to keep your Dad in line. Maybe next time you can "encourage" him to do more of the paddling work instead of leaving most of it to you.
(TomClark) - MLife
Locale: East Coast
Ryan,
Very nice job. Good to see parent/child trips like this on BPL...if that's not what it's all about, it's pretty close. Sorry to hear about the food, water, & whiskey.
(gmatthews) - MLife
Perfect! What a fantastic kid you've got.
Enjoyed the video. Hard work. Mutiny threats.
Really liked the donuts
(belief in alternate realities that result in unusual happiness)