1st Annual American Packrafting Association Round Up

Kristy and I just returned from the 1st annual American Packrafting Association "Packraft Round up" in Montana. We didn't know what to expect from the event but it blew those would be expectations away. 

We drove 10 hours over to Montana from Seattle and it was a gorgeous drive. We saw desserts, mountains, lakes, rivers, moose, and deer. All the different climate zones are amazing to drive through.

As soon as we go there, Kristy and I got on the river. We packrafted around the first two bends in the N. Fork of the Flathead river and then hiked back to camp for the evening. It was nice little jaunt and got us even more excited for Saturday. 

That night Moe from the American Packrafting Association spoke and kicked off the weekend. It was so cool to see all these packrafters together. People came from all over the world, the Canary Islands, England, and Australia. The people that this event brought together was amazing. One guy biked into the event and another floated down from Canada for 3 days to the campsite. Some of the pioneers of packrafting, whose videos we had all watched a 1,000 times on YouTube, were there. It was such an inspiring and incredible group of people to camp with. That night we were split into groups based on experience and made our packrafting plans for the next day. 

The next day our group, the "Aquapaddlefiles",  packrafted together down the N. fork of the Flat head river. It was an amazing day on the river with some amazing people. It was great to be able to push ourselves packrafting. We took more difficult lines, practiced self-rescues, and surfed waves. There was no serious consequences on the river and we were surrounded by some of the best packrafters in the world. We all learned so much. Below is a video of the day on the river.

That night John McLain and Matt Brain gave a speech about the beginnings of packrafting in Tasmania Australia and showed some amazing footage of some really cool rivers. As he was preparing for this talk he discovered his old videos and was able to show it to us all. The trips he was doing at 15, in the 80's, were incredible. He is a true pioneer and has some amazing stories to share! Check out some of their material below.

Irenabyss Gallery
YouTube

We had to get back early on Sunday and decided to take our time and fish on the drive back. I caught a cut throat trout and kristy caught two bull trout. We didn't get the chance to fish from the river with The Fishing Table, as that was not the main focus of the trip, but we were extremely please to wet our lines and catch some Montana trout.

The sport of packrafting is growing a lot and I am excited to be a part of the growth. It is amazing to see and hear about how people are using these boats for all sorts of things and are taking them to some amazing places. Make sure to join the APA, its free! They are great people and we cant wait until the 2nd Annual APA Round Up!