Seattle Packrafting Committee

The Seattle Packrafting Committee teaches flatwater and whitewater packrafting skills. We lead packraft trips on regional rivers and expeditions to more remote locations.

We offer the following programs that include something for everyone, from someone who has never been in a boat of any kind, to a seasoned river guide wishing to join our community.

Courses and Clinics
Equivalency
Trips
Leadership Mentoring

How to Join our community: Courses and EQUIVALENCY

Depending on your paddling background and the type of packraft trips you are interested in, choose one of four entry points:

Flatwater INTRODUCTION course

If you are entirely new to paddling, take our Flatwater Packrafting Course, currently taught in autumn.

BASIC WHITEwater course

If you have some experience with packrafting, or with paddling kayaks, canoes, or rafts in moving water, and want to learn to packraft in lightwater, take our Basic Whitewater Packrafting course, currently taught in spring.

WHITEWATER TRANSITION CLINIC FOR SEA KAYAKERS

If you have extensive experience paddling dynamic water in kayaks, canoes, or rafts, but are new to small boats on rivers, take our one-day Packraft Whitewater Transition Clinic followed by our one-day equivalency clinic to earn the Basic Whitewater Packrafting badge.

BASIC WHITEWATER EQUIVALENCY

If you already have experience with paddling in whitewater, including swimming and rescue, take our one-day Equivalency clinic to earn the Basic Whitewater Packrafting badge.

INTERMEDIATE Whitewater course

If you have significant class II whitewater packrafting experience and want to level up your skills, take our Intermediate Whitewater Packrafting course, taught over a period of 3 months in the Spring on Washington's premier whitewater rivers.

Get a Boat!

If you don't already have a boat, see our FAQ page for help with choosing one. You may also want to try different boats out; we have a small number of rental boats for students enrolled in one of our courses and available to committee members and contributors.

EXPAND YOUR SKILLS: TAKE A CLINIC

A typical clinic consists of one day on the water practicing a specific skill, preceded by a lecture on that specific topic. Some of the clinics we have planned are: Catching Eddies, Paddling a Slalom Course, Rolling a Packraft, Surfing a Packraft, and Overnighting in a Packraft (2 day outing).

GO ON Trips

We offer several types of trips on a variety of bodies of water, of varying duration and difficulty.

Day trips on flat bodies of water such as class I rivers, coastal deltas, and alpine lakes
Whitewater roadside day trips on local Class II and III rivers
Overnight river trips on regional rivers, such as the John Day, the Grand Ronde, the Owyhee, the Rogue, and others
Wilderness expedition Trips in Arctic Alaska, the Northwest Territories, Utah, and elsewhere

See more river information.

BECOME A LEADER

An important benefit of taking a course with the Mountaineers is the community you become a part of and the opportunity to go boating with other trained and reliable participants. Our leaders make this possible and are rewarded on many levels. See our becoming a leader page for more information.

Boat Types

We currently limit our trips to packrafts. Packrafts are unique in their diversity of use and are quite possibly the funnest form of boat on a river. Due to their design and light weight they are nimble on the water, relatively easy to maneuver, and simple to gear up and gear down.

Why not other boat types? The skills required to descend rivers in other boat types such as inflatable kayaks or hard shell kayaks are not that different than a packraft so it is reasonable to think they may be included in trips. However, the current committee members do not feel that we have a sufficient expertise in use of these other boat types to take responsibility for using them on trips.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have more questions about packrafts, equipment, and trips? See our Packrafting Resources page and our FAQ page.