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  1. #1
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    Packrafting Big South Fork

    I have been looking at the Big South Fork map for a couple years. There is a stretch of river between Big Island and Devils Jump/Blue Heron that is only accessible by boat. On top of that, a lot of the trails that parallel the river for other sections don't actually have views of the river with all of the trees getting in the way. I have also been reading trip reports of packrafting out west that sound like a lot of fun.

    With the idea of packrafting the Big South Fork in mind, I got a Klymit LWD off Massdrop last fall. I'm not a whitewater paddler and I did not want to freeze, so I have been waiting for the temperature to warm a bit and for a reasonable water level. The stars finally aligned, the kids were in camp, the water level had fallen after a bunch of rain and because it was the beginning of July, it definitely was not cold.

    I planned on putting in at Station Camp and paddling approximately 10 miles, camping somewhere near where the KY trail parallels the river and then hiking back to Station Camp by way of the KY Trail and No Business Creek. This would also allow me to see a part of the area that I had not seen before.

    A couple photos, more details and photos here http://backpackandbeer.blogspot.com/...outh-fork.html

    All ready to go


    Just floating along


    Home for the night


    Kentucky Trail, nice hiking, but hot and humid


    I like this better then the two angry snakes I saw earlier

  2. #2
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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    Good times! I still haven't really used my Klymit yet. It's hard to find the right venue for it (wish I lived out west). I remember you taking this out earlier...glad you got some good use out of it!

  3. #3
    Senior Member TrailSlug's Avatar
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    Are these PackRafts durable? I'd be afraid I'd hit a snag and that would be that.

  4. #4
    Senior Member stowe18's Avatar
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    Nice report -- I've been dreaming of a trip like this for the last year


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #5
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    Just read your blog with the extra pictures and story. Thanks for posting. My fiancee and I are just getting into kayaking and late summer we're planning on taking them down that way for an overnight. Most likely around Laurel Lake at first.

  6. #6
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TrailSlug View Post
    Are these PackRafts durable? I'd be afraid I'd hit a snag and that would be that.
    Have you ever felt an MSR Dromedary bag? Or their lighter Dromlite bags? It's very close to that. Not something to bang up against rocks or submerged branches, but I feel comfortable running it over somewhat smooth stones when pulling up to shore.

    It's almost impossible to keep dry in these, but for $125 vs. a $900 legit pack raft, that's to be expected. Also the tracking sucks.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by TrailSlug View Post
    Are these PackRafts durable? I'd be afraid I'd hit a snag and that would be that.
    I scrapped bottom a number of times and bounced off some rocks in the bigger rapids, no problems at all. The comparison to a MSR Dromedary bag is pretty good. I'd be leery of sharp rocks, but most river rocks are worn smooth.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by bradym77 View Post
    Just read your blog with the extra pictures and story. Thanks for posting. My fiancee and I are just getting into kayaking and late summer we're planning on taking them down that way for an overnight. Most likely around Laurel Lake at first.
    For an intro kayaking trip, I would use one of the boat-in campgrounds on Laurel River Lake. I was just car camping there a couple of weeks ago and all of the boating traffic disappeared on Sunday evening, Monday was very quiet. In fact for a kayaking trip, I would avoid the weekend all together. It is not a busy lake, but if the weather is nice, there are lots of noisy powerboats pulling skiers all day long.

  9. #9
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    Ive never been down to BSF. Would love to camp there some time. Thanks for the trip report.

  10. #10
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    I've thought about doing this trip a few times but shied away from the whitewater for an overnight trip. it sounds like it's relatively tame --is that right? if you're looking for another idea, I did a trip on the Green River (Mammoth Cave NP) several years ago. it's totally flat, but was a really enjoyable trip.

    how did your pack ride in that little dinghy? Did you keep it behind you?

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