C-Forum

Planning an overnighter in the next week or so. I'd love to do Rio Chama if there is enough water, otherwise i'll be doing ruby horsethief and westwater soon.

Packing tips? Not what to bring, but how to pack my boat. Dry bags / boxes obviously. Should I put gear under the float bags so I have a low center of gravity?

I did the lower Chama, from near the monastery to below Big Eddy, a few years ago. Paradoxically, the water was "on" because it was such a dry period, the Rio Grande was low, and Albuquerque needed the water.

I've read that the rapids above the monastery are milder, although you're in a more remote area up there. Below the Monastery, there are some long, strong class 2s, but nothing that would fill you up unless you don't see a rock and broach.

When I did the San Juan and later the Dolores' Slickrock Canyon, I not only kept heavier stuff low, but I tried to keep it as close to the center of the boat as possible. For the Dolores, I was fortunate enough to have several storage/floatation bags designed for kayaks, and I tied these in with the larger, heavier ends along the ends of the Synergy triple saddle, and the narrow ends under my floatation bags. You'll probably need to bring along a couple of gallons of water, and you may need to have a groover or poop tube, and a fire pan and strainer, even though you may not need them for an overnight. Do you need to secure a permit?

oopsiflipped wrote:Planning an overnighter in the next week or so. I'd love to do Rio Chama if there is enough water, otherwise i'll be doing ruby horsethief and westwater soon.

Packing tips? Not what to bring, but how to pack my boat. Dry bags / boxes obviously. Should I put gear under the float bags so I have a low center of gravity?

Recently we did a 4 day trip on the Batiscan with my Zephyr. Used small (8" dia.) olive barrels. 2 under the front bag and 2 under the rear lengthways along the centerline of the boat. Adjusted the weight to keep them as even as possibly as food etc. was used up. Worked great.
Some of the other guys did the same but with dry bags. Worked well also but it seemed like they had more work packing up each morning.

I would suggest keeping your gear as close to the center of the boat as possible. This will keep the ends of the boat as light as possible for maximum maneuverability. I usually put the lighter gear in front of my saddle and the heavier gear right behind my saddle.

Jim

Jim Michaud wrote:I would suggest keeping your gear as close to the center of the boat as possible. This will keep the ends of the boat as light as possible for maximum maneuverability. I usually put the lighter gear in front of my saddle and the heavier gear right behind my saddle.

Jim

I agree Jim, and I did that first day out but since I'm finding the Zephyr tends to ride a bit stern heavy, even empty (maybe my fat a$$ ) I had to adjust some weight fwd. Don't you think the trimming of the boat is a gonna vary boat to boat and paddler to paddler?
I did try one day with the barrels sideways to keep the weight even more to center and that didn't feel very good at all. It felt much better with the weight on the center line.

Yes, keep it as close to the center as possible.
I like those orange mountain equipment bags that you can inflate. They come in 25 an 50 l. 50 is pretty big, I like 25 best.
Keep it light if the water is difficult.

Cheers, Jan