Whitewater for 'tourists'?

[Honor]

Hi all,

Background: I have gone down the Chatooga and Ocoee rivers in rubber rafts (bucket style?) with guides (the WildWater company has a lot of good folks). I've also spent a day on a 'sit-on-top' style kayak.

I live in SW Louisiana, and am looking for some exciting rivers that aren't 13 hours away. I'm not too worried about boat type (rafts versus canoe versus kayak versus whatever else I am ignorant to).

My concerns:
(1) I am not at all close to buying my own boat, so a trusted outfitter / boat rental place is necessary. (I think this disqualifies me for the ACC WhiteWater class)
(2) From what I've read, it seems the rivers with decent amounts of whitewater are very weather dependent. I'd like to be able to schedule a trip 30+ days out and know that the river level will be adequate. My next best shot at some time off is the last half of April.

Does anyone have any suggestions on where I should look next?

-James

[GN YAKN]

Find a friend to come with you and attend the ACC whitewater school. Rent a canoe from Turner Bend, wetsuit, etc.
That would be my suggestion!

Otherwise, Head this way and plan on renting a raft, canoe or sit on top. Can't go wrong, it will be an adventure, no matter what! Late April should be a good time for boating.

Plenty of outfitters on line, but Turner Bend or Byrd's can take care of you on the Mulberry and Buffalo Outdoor Center would be my pick for the Buffalo.

Dave

[Eric Esche]

Another idea if you can not make the ACC Whitewater school weekend (first in May), would be to hire an instructor for some one on one or one on two (If you bring a friend) instruction over a weekend or during the week that you want to come, possibly having the instructor set up the rental gear as a package for you in advance. ACC has many instructors within it's membership and someone might say they could do it if you ask on the board here. I can think of several who would be great for this and the prices would be far less than going off to any of the canoe camps on the east coast or Canada. Cabin rentals on an "off" weekend run about $200-250 if you do not want to camp from what I have seen.

I'm not an instructor and may be on the inaction/medical list for a while, but you can email me or call if you want to talk about this idea further. My wife and I have done the cabin thing on the Buffalo River with friends from the east coast who did not want to camp a few times now and it was a winner every time, but it would be a good idea to secure the cabin rental soon if you want to do this as they book up in advance.

Eric Esche
spesche@aol.com
479-721-9101

[SteveGabbard]

You are correct that everything is rain dependant. I think you could schedule a trip 30 days out in the Spring but you may not know exactly where you will be going until the week of the trip.

As far as excitement goes the Mulberry or Big Piney would be your top two choices. As far as just getting on a river you could add the Ouachita, Saline,Caddo, Spring, and Buffalo. All of these have outfitters. I am sure there are a few I have missed.

In case you were not aware of it gages and general river info can be found here http://www.ozarkpages.com/cgi-bin/stages.pl?ST=level" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Cowper]

Try to make contact with Roman Ryder - he is also from SW LA , and prob knows driving times for each option.

[Honor]

Thanks all.

Yes Steve, excitement is exactly what I am looking for. I've hit class III-V rapids in a 6 man raft; I'd like to try some smaller rapids in a smaller boat. Definitely not interested in 'float down' creeks, which we have plenty of here in the flat lands.

I guess my question should have been: "Which rivers provide the most consistent set of Class I-II rapids".

I'll look at the two you suggested, and hunt down this Ray Romano (grin) character.