Anyone go rafting before?

[Antoneo]

Alright this is a probably a silly thread but since the 1800 number at the place I am going to does not have any people over there, I'll ask here...

Anyone been to LeHigh Rafting at the Poconos before? I am going in a group of 20 people and was wondering what the maximum number of people one raft holds. Safely. Uh... do they stuff people on the boat by weight or is it a fixed number like 4 (which is what I am guessing). We are probably going on a safe, no fun route since there are kids going.

Well hope someone knows something

 

[Jzero]

I went down the Lehigh with Pocono Whitewater Adventures a couple years ago. AFAIK they don't split the boats up by weight, they just put people into the boats. I believe the rafts hold up to 7-- 3 on each side and one tiller, but you can do it with less. On my boat we had 4, and since I was an "experienced rafter" i.e. done it before, I doubled as a paddler and tiller.

Don't expect too much, especially at this time of year. Class 2, maybe 3 if it rains a few days (Class 1 being flat water, 2 being slight rapids, 3 being actual rapids and maybe some rocks sticking out of the water, ranging up to 6 being impassable). The Lehigh was closer to canoeing than the rafting I had previously experienced on the Ocoee river in TN. When I was suiting up at Lehigh, I was like "Ok, where's my helmet?" They don't give you one. Because you don't need one. On the Ocoee, they taught us a few rescue techniques and some paddling techniques and some bracing techniques. On the Lehigh they were like "Don't hit people with paddles. Let's ride!"

Pros: Kayak-mounted guides. I guess the Lehigh is calm enough that you don't need an experienced guide to pilot your boat, which means other people can take a shot and working the tiller.
Calm water means a nice day out on the river. While you won't have much fast water to ride through, there are plenty of opportunities for water fights, swimming, and riding small rapids on your back.

Cons: Not as exciting as you're used to seeing on OLN.
Very hot this time of year.
Lunch buckets aren't insulated and your lunch will get pretty warm by the time you get to eat it.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Raft size is often dependent on water size. Really hairy rivers will often have 10-12 person rafts for stability. Less exciting water will make the rafts smaller. I've seen the Lehigh done with 4 man rafts quite easily, it's a pretty placid river. For heavy sping run offs and dam release weekends it's more like 5-7 in a raft. But it's not by weight, a 7 man raft can handle 7 linebackers, but it's also quite capable of being steered somewhat acceptably by 7 teenage girls.

Don't really worry about "safely" on the Lehigh, it's a beginners river. They might call it "whitewater", but it's more like "fastwater". There are no big waves or powerful hydraulics to cause problems. It's not the type of river that flip over boats, traps you in holes or steers you towards a waterfall if you pick the wrong line. If you've got 20 people you'll be split into 3 or perhaps 4 boats depending on water levels and the trip is just fine for children as long as there are a couple of adults in each boat. It's really not much different than a rapids ride at an amusement park. You'll just get wet, do some paddling and have fun. There's one section where the guides will pull you over to give you a stern warning about the upcoming rapids (snaggletooth? or maybe battleship rock? it's been a while) that you will need to steer around, but for the most part you could fall asleep in the boat and still make it safely. Don't stay up nights worrying about things, if you've never been rafting before the Lehigh is a perfect place to start.

 

[notfred]

I did 4 or 5 days on the San Juan river in Utah a couple years back. It was mostly flat water, but it was fun. We usually had 6-8 people on a boat I belive, and we had 3 boats.