Sometimes, you just need to take a lot of people on a rafting trip. For the past five years, Pete and I have taken a whole passel of our friends, most of whom initially had no rafting experience, on an overnight trip. This year, we extended it to twenty people total, with three nights and one layover day. That size of group is difficult to manage when you’re planning a birthday party, let alone orchestrating a multi-day rafting trip, but here are some tips we’ve learned over the past few years for a successful trip with a lot of people. (Also check out our general river trip planning guide.)
- Delegate. As much as possible, each couple or family you invite needs to be responsible for themselves. Have each group rent their own boat, procure their own dry bags, and pack their own lunches. Encourage everyone to carry as much as they can on their own boat—you’d be surprised how much can be carried on one inflatable kayak.
- Divide responsibilities. On a smaller trip, you might assign one cook team per night. On a large trip, we like to have separate teams for cooking and dishes. No matter how easy the meal, cooking for larger parties can take a while; it’s better to ensure that the team who cooked all evening doesn’t also have to spend an hour or two washing dishes. In addition to taking less time from each team, this allows you to assign two teams per night, so some people aren’t unfairly getting more camp chores. In addition to dinner teams, we also like to assign breakfast teams. Even on a short trip with a lot of people, having three teams per day generally ensures that everyone gets a chance to pitch in at camp.
- Have plenty of activities. In addition to our usual song circle and light-up bocce, this year we decided to have a layover day. We chose our layover campsite so that the peak-baggers among us could go for a hike (or a run), while others could fish, swim, nap, or read a book. Giving everyone a chance to do their own thing for a while prevents people from feeling like they are stuck on their boats.
- Pick a section with reserved campsites. Now is not the time to be venturing into the unknown. With a large group, you want to be sure of where your campsites are, so your best bet is to pick a river with reserved campsites. You don’t want to be still on the water as the sun is setting when you’ve got ten or twelve boats in your party and all the likely-looking spots are taken by groups who left camp at dawn. On that note….
- Plan for short days. No matter how efficient you are in the morning, if you have a large group, someone is going to slow you down. On a float style trip, we prefer to plan for single-digit mileage to avoid any feelings of slogging. You’re not going to get out early and beat the wind with a large group, so embrace the mid-morning camp departure and plan for long afternoons in camp. This goes double if you have kids on the trip.
- Know the river. The most dangerous rafting situations I’ve been in have arisen when part of the group was uninformed of some crucial move to avoid the only potential hazard on the trip. You as a trip leader are responsible for ensuring that everyone knows what to expect. It is easiest to make certain that everyone got the memo if you yourself know exactly what is around each corner. If you’re floating an unfamiliar section, make sure you at least have a guidebook and a plan for how you’re going to handle scouting and running rapids.
- Appoint an informal second-in-command. This person should not be riding in your boat. Ideally, if you’re rowing the big raft, your second should be in one of the fastest boats in the party—an inflatable kayak (IK), a stand-up paddle board (SUP), or a hard kayak. They need to know everything you know about what the planned campsites are, how to recognize them, and any big hazards to watch out for. It’s difficult to communicate everything when you’re having to row hard against the wind—or in big rapids—so specifically ask someone in a smaller and more maneuverable craft to help communicate with the whole group.
- Lay down some ground rules. While you want everyone to have fun, you also don’t want people to get in trouble. I only have two major rules for our big trip: wear your PFD, and don’t go in the water at night. People are pretty good about mutually reinforcing these rules because there aren’t many of them, and it’s easy to understand them. On smaller trips I tend to be more relaxed, under the assumption that people can take care of themselves, but on a really large trip the potential for chaos is high enough that it’s important to explicitly state the rules.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Most people will want to help, but won’t know how. If you see someone standing around while you’re getting camp packed up, ask them to do something specific to help. Whether it’s handing you a dry bag while you’re packing your raft, or folding up the kitchen floor to carry down to the boats, specific tasks among the chaos of camp chores can ensure everyone pitches in, even if they’re unsure of what to do at first.
- Have fun! It is so rewarding to pull off a large trip, especially if you can invite people who haven’t boated before. Every year, I am gratified that we make an effort to bring as many people as possible on what we call “Friend Trip,” even if it is daunting logistically. Having a chance to boat with a diverse group of people who aren’t your regular crew can enliven your trip with more than new songs for the song circle and creative new dinners—it is also a great way to get to spend time with old friends and make new ones.
