“Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains bag the peaks run the rivers. Breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk bound men and women with their hearts in safe deposit boxes, and their eyes hypnotised by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will out live the bastards!”

-Edward Abbey

Edward Abbey’s writings have had a huge influence on my life. He always drove home the point to go outdoors, walk around, explore, and enjoy wilderness. Just last week I was following in his footsteps on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and many nights stayed up with my friend Doug talking about the impacts of humans (i.e. the two of us) on the environment. At the end of many late night discussions, we concluded that no matter what we do, we’re increasing entropy. We’re both engineers, so “increasing entropy” is our way of saying “speeding up the destruction of Earth.” Did our river trip increase entropy? Like Edward Abbey, we both love walking (and floating) around in the woods, but we don’t want it to add to the destruction of earth.

Many river runners think that by recycling and composting, they’re being environmentally friendly. I agree with my friend Will who says “Don’t try to be green on a river trip.” The vast majority of the environmental impact of the trip has nothing to do what happens on the actual trip.

Travel to and from rivers

Perhaps our biggest impact is the travel of us and our equipment to and from the rivers. The biggest violators are those that drive themselves and their raft (notice singular) hundreds of miles to float a river. Try renting your equipment locally: Try Canyon REO in the Grand Canyon, Blackadar Boating on the Idaho Rivers, and Rogue Wilderness on the Rogue. Transporting your equipment wastes fuel and requires you to travel with less efficient vehicles and with fewer people per vehicle. Fit your whole group in one or two cars and bring only what you need. Also, consider hitchhiking your shuttle or bringing some bikes to reduce your driving. Extra Credit: buy some carbon credits to offset your emissions.

The simple, obvious solution: live close to your favorite river.

Food

This is a big one because there tends to be a lot of food waste on trips. Do you really need 7 cheese lasagna, a candied walnut salad, and cheesecake? I know I do, but sometimes, consider something simple like spaghetti and grilled asparagus. You can also design smart menus that allow food to be reused for future meals. My favorite example is making chicken fajitas, followed by river eggs and curry chicken salad. There are always left over veggies that can be used for river eggs and chicken that can be reused in a tasty chicken salad with curry. If you love your beer (like we do), consider buying locally brewed kegs instead of bringing canned or bottled beer. Extra Credit: choose a menu based on foods grown in the area that you’re boating.

The simple, obvious solution: there is none, this will take some effort.

Equipment

We all have a lot of gear made all over the world and the transportation of those goods have a tremendous environmental impact. Buy river gear that’s made in the US. Sotar, Maravia, and AIRE all make boats in the Northwest. Sawyer Oars are made in Oregon. There are many small equipment manufacturers (including us) that make quality things close to you, but you’re going to have to pay a little more because American workers demand a higher wage. Also, take care of your gear and learn how to fix. I have a 20 year old stove that’s better than anything out there, but it takes a lot of maintenance. Extra Credit: only buy used gear.

Rant: Don’t buy things made in China. This means almost anything made by NRS. Boats made in China cost about $700 and dry bags less than $5. The quality is this equipment lower, but the warranties are longer because it is WAY cheaper to make things there. When you pay $20 for a dry bag, it’s easy to send you a warranty replacement when they only cost a few bucks each. This is much cheaper than repairing broken equipment, which is what we should be doing. Things made in China are essentially disposable. (Learn more about working conditions in China at http://www.hulu.com/watch/91553/vanguard-outsourcing-unemployment)

The simple, obvious solution: don’t buy gear made overseas.

Impact on the River Corridor

When we camp on a river, we have a considerable impact. Our food scraps change wildlife habitat and behavior, our use of firewood removes ground cover and wildlife habitat, our pollutants damage the water and the land, and our equipment brings in invasive species. There is no doubt that we impact the places we love. The managing agencies (BLM, USFS) have rules that help minimize these impacts and preserve the places we love. We can also choose to follow the Leave No Trace principles to minimize our impacts.

The simple, obvious solution: know the rules of the river you’re on and follow them.

To minimize your impact on the Earth you should stay home, turn the electricity off and grow a pesticide free garden.  Like Edward Abbey, I need to be in the wilderness, so I’m going to do it in the most responsible way I can.

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This last weekend was the 26th annual Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival near Estacada, Oregon. Zach entered the cat boat races with a Madcatr cataraft racing frame and 14′ SOTAR Legend tubes. He also entered the oar boat race with a 14′ SOTAR raft and a River Hardware Creek Frame. Here are the results:

1st Place Cataraft Slalom
1st Place Cataraft Rodeo
1st Place Val’s Volleyball
1st Place Oar Boat Slalom

We also entered the paddle boat races. Thanks to Sawyer for letting us use super light bentshaft paddles and to SOTAR for rafts. This was our first time competing in paddle boat races and our hats are off to the Oregon Rafting Team for their solid victories. Their training and determination paid off all weekend. We were able to place in one event:

3rd Place R-4 Downriver Race

Thanks to the NWRA and the festival organizers for a great weekend!

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We just got home from the 2nd annual Upper Klamath Race. The race began with a mass start of kayaks, catarafts, and paddle boats and began just above the Class IV+ Caldera. The finish line was seven miles later just below State Line Falls.

Team Hardware members Zach Collier and Pete Wallstrom were the first and second place cataraft finishers. They were so fast that they beat all paddle boats except the Oregon Rafting Team. Zach finished only 20 seconds behind the ORT and was right behind them the entire race. Momentum River Expeditions (Pete’s company) was the first rafting company to finish the paddle boat race.

A big thanks to Noah’s River Adventures and the Oregon Rafting Team for all their hospitality and for putting the race together. Thanks again to SOTAR and Madcatr for providing the best boat and best frame for the race! Our next event will be the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival on May 16th & 17th.

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This last weekend was the 2nd annual Upper Wind Race. It’s a three mile course through the biggest rapids on the Upper Wind. Our cataraft entry with Zach Collier won 1st place and was 56 seconds ahead of the next competitor. Here’s Zach’s report:

“The race was close, but I was much faster this year (and able to win) due to the SOTAR Legend cat tubes and the Matcatr racing frame. The Legend tubes have an upturned bow and stern that ran every drop effortlessly whether I was pushing or pulling. The Madcatr frame has the tunnel that allowed me to straddle rocks I couldn’t have otherwise. Plus the frame weighed only 20 lbs. Last year I lost by 30 seconds and with better gear, this year I won by a minute. Big thanks to SOTAR and Madcatr Creations.”

As you can tell, Zach was more excited about the gear than the race. Big thanks to SOTAR and MadCatr Creations for sponsoring Zach and Team Hardware.

The next race is the Upper Klamath Race on April 18th and 19th.

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Our next project is the Guide Shack (code name: x-wing): a two person shelter designed to cover a 16 or 18 foot raft. We took our wing tarp design, cut off the sides and shortened it to 12 feet so it would fit on a variety of boats and be easy to set up. The prototype is being sewn as I write this.

The goal is simplicity. Each end of the tarp will be tied to a raft paddle and then down to a D-ring at the bow and stern of your raft. There will be 2 tie downs on each side that can be strapped to D-rings on the sides of a boat. That’s it! This tarp can easily be set up on land as well by stringing it between 2 solid anchors (trees, rocks, etc).

The guide shack is lighter than regular tents, more durable, it won’t require extra poles or stakes, and is much easier to set up. It will be perfect shelter for the minimalist river guide that needs a solid shelter on a daily basis (i.e. Middle Fork, Rogue, or Grand Canyon guides).

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The Guide Throw Bag is finally here. It took 14 prototypes, 2 months of design, 3 months of testing, and a month of getting production just right. Let me tell you why these are the best throw bags ever made:

• The material (including the mesh) is the most durable, abrasion resistant, and UV resistant we could find.
• The wide mouth design allows for easy throwing and easy packing.
• The bag doesn’t hang from an excessive strap. The side strap allows for a simple, safe, and bomber attachment to boats and frames.
• The buckle is bomber. Buckles are the most common thing to break on throw bags.
• We chose a strong, supple, and lightweight rope. It is a 5/16″ diameter rope which we makes it just the right weight so the average person can throw all 75 feet. Only Super Kev can throw 75 feet of rope any heavier.

Click here to learn more and to order your very own

Our next project is the outfitter throw bag which will have 75 feet of 3/8″ rope and no knots. When the outfitter bag is done, it will be the best throw bag ever made (instead of this one). The only downside of this new bag is that it takes Super Kev (picture He-Man in Patagonia) to throw the whole 75 feet of this 00rope.

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We spent the last three months refining a new, improved throw bag. The idea was to make it more like a climbing chalk bag with a wide opening to allow for more efficient stuffing and throwing. We also wanted to make it safer by removing excess straps that can get tangled in a body limb. The result is beautiful.

It took 12 different prototypes to get it just right (a few are pictured above). We tested a variety of buckles and materials for maximum durability. We also tested many bags to find the right size and shape to make throwing and stuffing easy.

Along the way, we tested the prototypes and added some cool features:

• Strong buckles that resist breaking by crushing
• Durable mesh that allows the rope to dry quickly
• Attachment point for a carabiner which keeps the rope from dangling from bag

The bag was tested for durability. We left it in water for days on end to make sure it would still float. We tested the straps in multiple configurations to pick the best for attaching to rafts and frames.

During testing on the Rio Grande, recent floods left the riverbanks muddy which made it tough to walk on shore close to the river. On day 2, we passed a burro stuck in the mud and up to it’s chest in water. We decided to do something and quickly made a tagline to get behind is back legs and pull him up and out of the water. This was the first real use of our throw bag in a safety situation.

Eventually, we got him out. It took some pulling on ropes and some heroic people to get in the water with him and dig out his feet, but he made it. It’s funny that the first time these throw bags were used in a safety situation were to pull and “ass” out of the river.

Our final prototypes were approved yesterday and we begin production next week! We’ll get pictures of the final product up as soon as we get them.

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This summer was my first experience with a jockey box. A friend brought one (and 4 pony kegs) on a Rogue trip and I couldn’t help but wonder “where has this thing been all my life?”

A jockey box is a cooler that transforms warm beer into cold beer. The beer enters the cooler, flows through 50-120 feet of stainless steel tube submberged in ice water, and flows out cold. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) pressurizes the whole system so beer flows at the exact moment you pull the faucet.

After this famous trip, I was talking with my friend Ken (an expert on beer) about the jockey box and he sent me the parts. Here’s the list:

1. Faucet (2) - To regulate the beer flow
2. Facuet Shank Assembly (2) - To attach the faucet to the box
3. Ice Box Shank Assembly (2) - To attach the beer from the keg to the box
4. Stainless Steel Cooling Coil (Right Hand)
5. Stainless Steel Cooling Coil (Left Hand)
6. Keg Coupler (2) - To tap the keg
7. Beer Hose (2) - This gets the beer from the tap to the box
8. Aluminum CO2 Cylinder
9. CO2 Regulator
10. Blue Vinyl Gas Hose - To go from CO2 tank to the coupler
11. Stepless Clamps (6) - for Gas Hose
12. Gas Hose T - To split the CO2 to go from one tank to 2 couplers
13. Faucet and Hex Nut Wrench - You’ll need this to tighten the faucet

We found that the ice water didn’t last long enough for a multi-day river trip like the Rogue. So I bought the best cooler in the world: Yeti Tundra 65 cooler. If you use an expensive cooler like this one, get ready for some nerve-wracking drilling. Your tasks:

1. Place the coils inside the cooler and measure where to drill your holes as accurately as possible. Drill the holes.
2. Cut PVC pipe to fit in these holes. You’ll want the PVC pipe holes because you’ll need to tighten down the shanks and you won’t want to collapse the sides of the cooler.
3. Use silicon to hold the PVC pipe in place and to fill the space between the cooler and the pipe.
4. Place the shanks in the PVC and tighten.

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I’ve been using a great wing tarp for years. It’s easy to set up, durable, uses oars as poles, and it’s big. Last Fall I was ready to buy more and couldn’t find any. In fact, I couldn’t find anything even close. After asking NRS and Cascade Outfitters at the America Outdoors trade show the closest thing I could find had six tie down points and used thin poles to hold it up.

Six tie down points is way too many. You can find six tie down points when you’re in a grass field, but along rivers, you’re using rocks, small trees, and even bushes. I wanted a tarp with four bomber tie downs. And I didn’t want to rely on bringing extra poles. The poles are just one more thing to break or loose. I wanted to use oars as the poles because they’re bomber and we always have them.

So I made some calls. Lots of calls. It turns out the tarp I’d been using was sewn by a woman in McCall, Idaho and she stopped making them. Then I guided an Illinois River trip with ARTA and they had the same tarps which they treating like gold because they knew they couldn’t get any more.

After the trip I renewed my search for a good tarp and couldn’t find anything so I decided to get some made. After finding the right material (nylon 420), the rings at the corners, and someone that could sew something that big, we made some.

They are awesome. I found a windsail maker here in Hood River to make the tarps and they used their experience to reinforce the corners and stitch them to handle high winds. But it cost $400 to make the first four which I sold right away. To get the price down I needed to make more so I made ten more of them.

What am I going to do with ten tarps? Sell them. Need a bomber tarp? Learn more about the Outfitter Wing Tarp.

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