Packrafting the Wood River (British Columbia)

I’d be curious what Luke thinks, Eric, but with the set-up we had neither of us got our insulation wet while hiking/camping; it was while our packs were swimming the whitewater without us. Better waterproofing (or not losing two boats/packs down the river in the the first place) would have made the difference. Still, I think we both had no idea how wet the rainforest can be. The wetness came from all sides and was relentless. We didn’t even know there would be a rainforest at all (because the gorges largely created it and we didn’t know the extent of the gorges) or we would have prepared better for it. With lots of shelter space though (we each had our own 2 person shelters) I’d still use a (treated) down quilt again in those conditions. My 10 degree EE quilt weighs so much less than any comparable synthetic, it’s still warmer operating at 20% less efficiency while damp. With bulky packrafting gear, space is at a premium. That’s said, I’ve picked up a Patagonia Nanopuff pullover and a Rab Strata hoody and at least one of those will be on our next expedition. The weight penalty of a synthetic mid layer or puffy is much less, and it’s more likely to get wet, so worth trying for me. Quick dry base layers are the way to go for sure though, and I wear fleece rather than down pants for many reasons.

ben and luke thanks for your responses

did you have any moisture or condensation in the down in that environment (gradual loft degradation), or were you able to dry things out pretty well during the day?

i do apologize if youve covered it before, but im going off the comments and intro … i actually am too cheap to buy a subscription!!!

;)

My down stayed dry, as far I I remember Eric. In conditions like that (just above freezing with very moist air), using any bivy will result in condensation. I think I had one along but didn’t use it when it was damp out as it was much to cold at night for bugs anyways. I pitched the BT-2 high (canopy style) in the rain forest and it worked great. It rained pretty much every day at some point, but there was a couple times we could dry stuff out. I was careful to always have one dry base layer and insulation layer at all times. My Gore-Tex drysuit also breathed better than Luke’s and I’m not much of a sweater.

I used to be cheap, but have a subscription now. I think it’s worth it. To get the rest of the story you can also read it on my Facebook Albums (Wood River Expedition, Part 1 and 2) or watch it here: http://youtube.com/c/MountainSpringsBen. I’m uploading a couple hours of footage from the trip in episodes and am on Episode 6 now. There will also be a short film out soon.

Thanks for the replies, Luke and Ben. I don’t know the Kokopelli rafts. Just seems strange that two would go down on one trip.

On another note, the cargo storage is definitely the way to go. I was stunned at how much easier it was to maneuver my Alpacka once the bag was off the front. I just hope the Kokopelli version has more storage. I can’t get everything in the cargo of my raft.

luke … thanks for the update

bivies in BC IMO are just asking for condensation … for climbers out for a day or two at most it makes sense …. for folks out longer its just asking for it especially if you cant dry out the bag

DWR down is interesting … i havent used it in a bag so i cant venture too much about it

ben

theres a reason why BC and much of canada was explored through the waterways first … and even then much of BC is still quite rugged

;)