Growing up, I loved the story of how Huck Finn convinces Tom to build a raft and float down the river for multiple days. I built my first water-craft with my dad probably around the age of 9 (it’s maiden, and only voyage was in our pool, but hey, it floated!). After a few other attempts of similarly successful water crafts, I built a 16 foot wood strip kayak in highschool. I have forded rivers by paddling logs found on the side of the river. So you could say, I have a thing for unconventional means of water travel. This is why, when I found out what packrafts were, I could hardly contain my excitement.
I’m sure you have questions.
So… what is a packraft? It is an inflatable boat, able to host about one person and their gear (some models even allow you to store your gear inside the tubes!), that can fit into your backpack (SO COOL!). Depending on what kind of water adventure you anticipate (alpine lakes, whitewater… etc.), this adds about 10-20 lbs to your backpack. So definitely a commitment, but not out of the question.
So… how do you inflate it? Good news! Not by mouth. Watch this.
So… where would you use one? Well, I’m sure you have been looking at google earth sometime and have thought, “Hey that river/lake out there looks really cool. Oh, man! It’s like 10 miles from any road… how am I supposed to thoroughly explore that area? If only there was a lightweight alternative to a typical watercraft.” You see, very practical.
So… can you bring a tarp and sleep on it instead of bring the extra weight of a tent? See cover photo, cred: Nat.
So… how much do they cost? Well, lets just say when I was buying mine I was like, “hmmm… this is a pretty big commitment. I bet you this is how people feel when they try and buy a house.”
So.. most importantly, do they open up unlimited options for adventures? Ok, maybe I would ask that question…
So now that we are on the same page, expect to hear more about packrafts in the near future.
Also, I apologize for the hiatus. Here’s what was keeping me a little too busy the past month.
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services (DVSAS) Advocacy Training: As many of may know, I am pretty passionate about ending abuse and advocating for people’s healing from abuse. As many of you also know, I am an engineer and by default am not really equipped to be an advocate. Over the course of October I did some training to help fix that gap.
And I made this table and benches.
for my friends who are moms 