RAFTING the NFAR 1973 & 1974
So it seems like today will be the day I add a long series of rafting pictures and comments to share with everyone. The put in point is Euchre Bar Bridge coming in from the Alta side of the canyon. Somehow each member of the group needs to carry their half of the equipment in, in the past I've made wooden back pack frames, added some foam to the wood across the hip, attached straps and waist belt and then each person lashes their gear to the frame and hikes it in. IF The Water is at the proper level (250 cfs max and lower though @ ~ 100 cfs its a lot of portaging and dragging and the Suck Holes are more dangerous (less water w/tighter gaps between the rocks).
Lets back up a little bit - first everyone MUST HAVE dry bags for clothes, sleeping bag & food. If you do not have Real Dry Bags make certain you can bend over and kiss your backside as that will be the last good thing that happens to you on your "Experience"!
NO, rubberized laundry bags are NOT dry bags, pony up the bucks and get the right equipment - trust me on this.
Next, yellow 4 Man Rubber Duckie Rafts will work ONLY IF they are modified. Check out the pictures of the rafts: first pictures in the garage are 1973, the floors have been reinforced with patches, holes punched @ center of patches and brass grommets attached. You will note the ropes that hold the Inner Tubes to the floors AND to the side walls or air bladders, this lashing Stiffens the rafts side to side and front to back which makes them a Little More Maneuverable (w/o the stiffening it is like trying to ride a snake down the river and there is NO steering the raft). ALSO, each raft MUST have its own foot pump for inflating the rafts.
The 1974 modifications to the W.D. raft added 'D' Ring patches to the sides & floors and Grab Handles front and back for the two rafters. So no ropes on the outside of the raft to hang up on rocks, trees or two man crosscut saws! (and yes that did happen one year).
The next bit of right equipment are the paddles. The two piece aluminum paddles that come with the rafts should be left at home. The shafts bend when you really need to Dig into the water to bring the raft around to go nose first down the falls. The blades become sharp from fending off the rocks and will eventually go through the floor or the air bladder (yes this has happened). Wood Canoe paddles would work well. In one picture I will point out the paddles I made: ~ 4' long, unbreakable plastic blades, "T" at the top of each shaft. The Unbreakable Plastic Blades are important as they must not break. Why would they Break? You will be using the paddles to push off of/away from the rocks. Oh, Do Not let your raft bash into rocks as at some point the raft bladder will be punctured (and yes this did happen).
Safety equipment: flotation vest, hat with corks attached, simple helmet (keeps your head safe when your partner gets back into the raft with his paddle in his hand). Golden Rule - always hold onto your paddle! Also, the helmet is good sun shade and can protect your head should you hit a rock (this never happened but it could). I was the only one to ever wear a helmet and I loved it as those paddles hurt when you get clocked in the head with it. Further safety equipment: SUN BLOCK! One year I had blisters on my legs from the sunburn, stupid me!! Everyone needs to be a capable swimmer! Eye Glasses MUST have a type of solid strap to keep them on your head! A good first aid kit needs to be along and no raft leaves the other rafts, stay together.
Warping a Raft = the raft will drive into a wide rock, this causes the contact edge of the raft to slide up the rock and of course the occupants drop out the other side causing that edge to go down into the water. Water weighs 8 lbs per gallon, the surface area of the raft as it is submerged is at a maximum with all that river water pushing it right into the rock Trapping the raft against the rock, warping a raft (rafter jargon). DO NOT get between the raft and the rock as you will DIE!
Ok, so here comes the excitement and fun:
1973 Trip, Rafts have all been modified with patches to the floor (in a circular pattern to trap each car type inner tube), brass grommets and rope tied around the raft bladders and the inner tubes
1974 trip, W.D. Raft has had "D" Ring patches (so the ropes are not exposed on the sides and bottom of the raft) and "Grab Handles" front & back added for the two rafters to hold onto! In this picture WD is being inflated via a foot pump. Be good & kind to your foot pump!!
What patches with grommets look like and rope being strung through all those holes, ugh.
Inner tubes stiffen each raft to make them somewhat maneuverable
Leaving Euchre Bar and heading into the "S" Curve which is the entrance to the first solid rock gorge on your way down to Green Valley.
Watch out for the logs
In the background is a raft on its "edge"
4' Waterfall down in Giant Gap
on the other side
Dredgers showing us their gold at entrance to Pickering Bar
more logs
The Slot
Out of Control:
looking back up the slot
Re-fit & Lunch In the foreground are the two custom raft paddles.
Many rock walls to pass by on this three day trip down to the 2nd Colfax Bridge
The Physics of sliding on water: the heavy front end goes down, then the back end goes up and then the back end drops. Many times this dumps the front man as well as the back man.
Which way to go around any given obstruction
Calm water for a minute or two, maybe
"Scotty" getting out of the way of the picture taking and being "Cool" about it!
Deflated Ego's
Repair: stitch, 1st coat of rubber cement, patch, G0!
Quartz outcrop seen several years earlier
First night just arriving and almost at the turnoff to the Jeep trail, early October 2017
Zero Degree Bag 
Where I thought I needed to go
Brush and more brush 
Camp in shade (silly me its Oct.) where little critters chattered in the night
View towards NFAR Canyon 
Finding my way through #1
#2 
Big Momma Shadow getting little photographer shadow
Barely Surviving! 
Out 'Splorin' see the tiny creek & Deer near by
Black straps = Insurance Policy Holder 
Where I came from
More brush & Interesting side canyon right side center with dark shadow
canyon full of branches 
Starting across 
Looking back 
On the other side
Other side looking up 
Creek in brush
Burned area and entrance to Beacroft Trail. Be careful with campfires and your smokes as you could be in the middle of the forest fire you've started!
New loppers 
Survival Gear
This is the steel cable I use to keep the Bears from taking my food bags from me. It still requires two lengths of Parachute cord one for pulling the cable up over the tree limb and the other to go over the pulley and to hold the two bags, one bag on each end. Only one pulley is needed but here are two different types and either is light weight. Also only two Carabineer's are required, either the real things about $7.00 each or the smaller steel units for 2/3 rds the price. One carabineer attaches the pulley to one of the cable loops and the other carabineer is used to hold the loop on the loose end of the cable to itself once its been wrapped around a tree.
This was What the top end of Green Valley Trail Used to Look Like. With my older brother and his re-built, re-built, etc. VW Bug, maybe 1970?
At the stone wall in Green Valley with the little spring to the left of picture. Also, some of NFAR'S finest for dinner!
Now that is a nice canyon 
Waiting, impatiently, for the snow to melt 
Camped on the river 
checking things out
Up a side canyon beeping 
a line of rocks
Beautiful 
At the top of a hill
Out brush busting 
Looking from the sighting end of an insurance policy
Other uses for a sluice box 
bread rising in oven
Oven closed 
Camp Site 
Nights coming 
One Lunger 
Conveyor for mine ore powered by one lunger
Out lookin around 
Interesting vein on the "other hill"
Early Morning 
Out lookin around
That is not Engine Oil, That is dinner
no gold 
Nice Creek bubbling out of the ground
200' Waterfall In Blackness 
Breakfast
dinner from 200' waterfall POOLS! 
That's WOOF @ Walker Mine
For Morning Swims 
The pool is to the left
Camp 
Blacksmith Stuff
the tub makes panning easier
side canyon is slippery
Sifter from the Prospecting Section of Bed Bath & Beyond (drawer divider @ BB&B)
Near the top and the vehicle 
2008's Ride
The stove runs on 3" to 4" long sticks not logs. All stove's or fire pits have their draw backs however this stove will be usable in the worst of drought conditions as it is clean burning and should not throw any embers. Just the same I will use it in a cleared space with no overhead bushes/trees. It is supposed to heat a quart of water in 8 to 10 minutes. It is smaller than the propane tank I would carry for my other cooking device, weighs 9 oz and the fuel for it is all over the forest. So it will save weight, some space in the pack and should be easy to use. How often will it need to be fed is the question I need to determine however, for long stays this stove will save $'s spent on propane tanks. More input on the stove as I get to use it.
As far as size goes, here are all four of the coils for the GMT from Whites.
Here is the DD Shooter coil on top of the Concentric "metric" coil (the outer left edge of the coils are aligned so one can judge the width of both coils)
On the left is the Standard Coil, Middle is the "metric Coil, right is the DD Shooter coil. These three are what most people are likely to use, the large Sierra coil is only for "really strange people" (so of course I own it).
Warped Raft - Dangerous, do not get between the rock and the raft.
Note - rear Grab Handles
A day on the water. 
Which Way!
Next !! 
No Control
No Oars in the Water
That's better 
Down they go!
Result of hitting rock wall with raft 
Various patches
Early Morning in Camp 
Do Not Sleep On the overturned Raft! 
Fixing It
As soon as the glue dries, this is next! 
where are they 
All four together again at the end of the run.
Giant Gap 
'56' Chevy took us on a lot of trips! The end
This set is offered in the Prospecting section at Costco (housewares) for the price indicated. They look well built though will require gentler use.
