Trip
Whitewater Packraft - Skykomish River: Railroad Bridge to Big Eddy
A winter packraft of a Class II river - a mentored leadership trip for Alex Bond
Contacts
- Sat, Dec 21, 2024
- Seattle Packrafting Committee
- Packrafting
- Adults
- Class II+ River
- Moderate
- FULL, 1 on waitlist (4 capacity)
- FULL (2 capacity)
- Cancellation & Refund Policy
Meeting place to be determined over email. Expect to meet in Sultan or Skykomish about 8:30 am.
Our intention is to paddle a class II river in NW Washington. As with all river trips, this trip is contingent upon the river flow running at a reasonably safe and fun level, and the destination will be finalized (or the trip cancelled if need be) as the trip date approaches.
The proposed route is the Skykomish from Railroad Bridge to Big Eddy. This river section is on the more difficult end of Class II but should be accessible to most WW course graduates. The river is fairly wide so I hope the wood hazard should be relatively low. It will likely be cold, both water and air, so we'll need to dress for that. If flows are high and the difficulty might be pushing Class III, we may do the easier Big Eddy-Sultan segment of the Skykomish instead.
The Railroad Bridge to Big Eddy segment is fairly short. Before the trip we'll discuss over email whether we want to continue downriver and do the easier segment to Sultan as well. It's a longer day and would require some paddling effort. My preference at this point would be to do it but that will depend on water, weather, and the feelings of the group.
Required Equipment
Minimum Equipment for each participant
- Packraft, with grab lines on bow and stern
- Paddle, sized for a packraft
- Life jacket, PFD Class III or better
- Whitewater helmet
- Drysuit or thick wetsuit
- Closed-toe shoes, no sandals
- Spare clothing
- Boat repair kit
- Waterproof Whistle
- Minimum Equipment for the party
Minimum Equipment for the party
- Rescue rope and throw bag, one or more as needed for the trip
- Spare paddle, one or more
- First Aid kit