Personal Gear Must Haves for ALL trips: Shoes that can handle being wet 24 hours a day for 7 days. Something that dries fast Something that will stay on your feet. When you fall out of the raft, the LAST thing you want to think about is keeping your shoes on. Something that will cover/protect your toes. Most of us use adventure sandals. See the following for examples: Keen Newport H2 Northface Hedgefrog Pro-Tip: get something that won't drag you to a watery death when you fall out of the raft. "Tech Shirt" x 2. Something that you can wear all day, for several days. Long sleeves (that can roll up), light weight, quick drying, built in spf is a plus. Built in bug repellent is a plus plus. Something with SECURE pockets to hold stuff you will need throughout the day (like bug spray and a small knife to cut limes) Examples: REI Sahara Tech ExOfficio Bugsaway "Tech Pants" x 2. See above. Something that converts between pants and shorts is fantastic Example: REI Sahara Convertible Pants A big floppy hat. Something with a brim that goes all the way around. Something that will stay on your head (yeah, you probably want a strap or something). Sun screen. A LOT of sunscreen. spf 50. Something sport rated. Bring a big tube. It becomes communal property Bug spray. I don't mean the namby-pamby stuff you buy in an aerosol can. The mosquitoes will drink that as an appetizer. You want something strong. Something that looks like oil and burns when you put it on. Something that never "rubs in". 100% deet? yup. That's what you want. Can't find it? look harder. Will this work? Sort of? Last trip I watched a mosquito land in a slick of that shit I put on my arm, destroy its legs in the oily gunk, fall onto its side, then stick me. After the first night every exposed piece of flesh literally had mosquito bites 3 layers thick. Hope you don't have to pee at night. It won't be fun. The good news is the bugs only last 2 nights......then they are gone (applies to deso only) Example: Repel 100 Inspect Repellent Sun glasses. There is a 50/50 chance you will lose them. Don't say you weren't worn when you lose your $200 Oakleys. Get a strap to hold them to your head. If that strap is bright orange and will float all the better. Water bottle. Requirements: Not easily broken Has the ability to hook onto the raft somehow Drink cup. Same as water bottle, but add a drinking lid. The lid isn't to keep the contents in, its to keep river crud out. Blanket (or sleeping bag). Varies by location Tarp/Tent. Varies by location. Flashlight Waterproof bag Must Haves for NON-Outfitted Trips: Chair Plastic plate (or three) Spork (or if you are awesome, sporkife). Take real silverware if you want, you have to wash it all. Nice to Have: Personal bug proof shelter Knife. Not really needed, but fun to have. Group Gear This is the stuff that should be brought for the entire group I need content? Can you help? What is a Groover? To be blunt, its a box you take a crap in. Our very own portable port-a-potty. Yes, its as awesome as it sounds. #1 goes in the river. #2 goes in the box. While the groover is on the raft it is sealed air-tight. (for obvious reasons). "Burping" the groover which is what has to happen when its opened after being sealed is not a fun job; it is for this reason that whomever is on groover duty doesn't have to do other chores. If Mel ever goes on another trip he is in charge of the groover. Mel doesn't have to do groover duty, but he will be in charge of whomever happens to have groover duty. Without Mel running the groover show, the groover gets placed in far to modest and discreet locations; we can't have that, its not the image we want to project. Why is it called a groover? Rumor is, they didn't always have a toilet seat that attached to the top, thus leaving you to sit on the lips of a 8" hole, which.... How Do I Navigate Rapids? With the oars stupid. But really its not rocket science. Largely you want to go AROUND the rocks. If you go over a rock, go head on, not sideways. Try to keep the raft straight in the rapids, once you go sideways its much harder to correct. Before you get to the rapids, stand up, look at them, pick a path you would like to take through them, then try to follow that path. If you are unsure, watch someone else do it, or ask advice from someone else in your raft. If you are piloting the boat, you are in charge, do NOT be afraid to tell the other people in the raft what you need done. Oars work in both directions, try not to forget that. Chore List Everyday there is a set list of chores that HAVE to be accomplished. These are: Cooking, cleaning, loading/unloading rafts, groover duty. Groover Duty This is a fully day chore. In the morning you have to put the chemicals in the box, put the air-tight lid on the box, gather up the implements and load everything on the raft. At lunch if someone needs to use the loo, you set it up and put it away after. When we reach camp for the night you scout for an awesome location (i.e. up high, visible from the river), then set the thing up. That's it. Whomever takes groover duty for the day is exempt from doing all other chores. Cooking Cooking is a 1 or max 2 person chore. Chefe is in charge of cooking. Chefe doesn't have to cook every meal, he is just in charge of making sure meals get cooked. If you are helping as a 3rd or 4th or 5th person, super.....but its not going to count as having done a "chore". Cleaning Cleaning is a multi-person chore. Slarty is in charge of cleaning. At each meal Slarty will grab the required number of cleaners. Cleaners thus choosen are expected to help clean until Slarty declares cleaning is finished. Everyone except the cook and groover duty persons are eligible to be choosen for cleaning duty at each meal. Setup/Tear Down ALL members must participate in loading the raft in the morning and unloading the raft in the afternoon. If everyone pitches in, chores go by really quickly.