so my cousin owns this whitewater rafting / fishing outfit that runs the Selway river in Idaho ... S.O.A.R. northwest river company
northwestriver.com/
i'm a website designer, so i redid his website in exchange for a trip. i must say, one of the best trips i've had.
this was the first extended hammocking trip i've gone on. i've done 1 - 2 nights here and there with the hammock for the past year+ ... so i'm familiar with the hammock, i've customized my HH with whoopies, with a guide gear tarp, tensioners, just bought a JRB underquilt, but this was truly a fantastic test of the hammock's merits as superior 'backpacking' gear. i put 'backpacking' in quotes, as being on rafts is more like car camping ... so i brought some extra gear; mule tape (never had to use it), some extra lines and extra tensioners to play with different tarp setups, etc
so, we'd shoot some rapids and drift down the Selway river for most of the day, then stop at a campsite for the night. there were about 18 people total on this trip (4 boats) ... when we'd pull up and unload the boat, people would all rush up to where they campsites were ... you could feel a slight sense of anxiety and tension as people fretted over getting a good tent spot. some people wanted more privacy, some wanted a better view, some wanted to be closer to the main camp kitchen so they didn't have to walk as far (there was quite an age range on the trip).
after the first night, i figured out to just let people stress over finding their nice flat tent camping spots ... i didn't have to worry about that. after everyone was all setup, i'd go around and scope out what trees were where and i'd casually claim the best spot in camp.
of course my hammock rig got a fair amount of attention and questions. "what if you fall out?" ... "what about bugs?" ... "what if there are no trees?" ... "is it uncomfortable to sleep on a curve like that?" ... yea yea yea, we've heard them all. i was happy to talk shop and it was fun watching people's minds churn as they took it in and struggled to accept it.
i was very comfortable, very warm, very dry and was able to setup with a spectacular river view most nights.
okay, enough talk, on with the pictures.
by the way, if you're interested in more details about the trip itself, please pm me. i'm not recommending it because it's my cousin's company, i'm recommending it because it's one of the most fun, most breathtaking trips i've ever been on
edit// what's the best way to post photos inline? i put them in the gallery, but i'm not sure the best way to get them to show up here?? thnks
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Beautiful views. A few times we went in October during Leaf Peak season. Wow. Incredible. But unfortunately they don't incorporate an overnight camping trip in the rafting trip. Instead, if you want, you can camp back at the lodge. Man I would much rather camp at the river banks like your cousins company does. Thats a great thing to offer customers. Nice pictures and set up....beautiful place!
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