Retro river rafting? Is this just some kind of alliterative joke? Does that mean we’re going to be running rapids with bucket boats and cooking over fire? Just how retro are we going? Back to the days of John Wesley Powell’s heavy oak boats? Or way back to the time when mountain men were trapping beavers in buffalo boats?
Okay, well, we probably won’t be going quite that retro. But this trip will be a bit of an homage to the founders of this crazy river rafting thing that we all love. We’ll probably lace up our Chuck Taylors, hike up our cut-off jean shorts, dust off the Sierra cups and drink a toast to the people like Dee Holladay, who made a trip like this possible. And we’re bringing along Roy Webb, renowned river historian, to teach us all a thing or two about those who came before us.
To top it all off, we’re doing this retro river rafting thing on the Yampa River, the one river that still behaves much as it did back in the “golden era” of rafting. Still unregulated by dams, still free-flowing, the Yampa in June is as wild as they come. Join us for this very special trip back in time.
Learn more about the WILD Yampa River: read our Insider’s Guide here.
Vernal, Utah: Things to Do and Places to Explore
Featured Review:
” I appreciate the guides’ enthusiasm for sharing this experience with us and teaching about the Yampa. They were always eager to answer questions and lead hikes despite all of their hard work manning the rafts and wrangling us guests. We were treated to multiple wildlife sightings as well–more bighorn sheep than I have ever seen, bald eagles, a golden eagle, mule deer, song birds, humming birds. The geology of the Yampa, Whirlpool canyon, and Split Mountain are fascinating. And don’t forget the stars! Our trip was made so much richer by river historian Roy Webb who joined us. Each evening, Roy would give us the history of the river section we had just completed and cover a topic such as the Powell Expeditions or the Echo Park dam project. I highly recommend adventuring with Holiday, especially on one of their “special interest” departures with a life-long historian and passionate river runner like Roy.” (Diantha Williamson)