From: rcte4@jetson.uh.edu (Carpenter, Scot M.)
Subject: Re: Defense of Whitewater Rafting, was Canoeing
Summary: Room for the groom, et. al. 
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Organization: University of Houston
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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 10:29:00 GMT

In article <JON.92Apr8094914@zeus.med.utah.edu>, jon@zeus.med.utah.edu (Jonathan Byrd) writes...
>In article <1992Apr7.222228.2057@solbourne.com> broome@solbourne.com (Bob Broome) writes:
> 
> 
>    You can also be a support boat on extended trips for those crazy
>   Kayakers who drink all your beer and eat all your steaks.
> 
>on a westwater trip a couple of years back, one rafter was seriously
>ragging on kayakers.  we let him swirl around with the garbage in the
>room o' doom for a little while before we hauled his sorry carcass out.
> 
>;->
> 
>--
>jonathan byrd
>jon@apollo.med.utah.edu

 	Well. there are incompetents (and arrogant incompetents) in charge
      of most everything now a days....

      Rafts: 	Volume and "environment."  How many Kayakers REALLY pack out
      all their shit on an 8 to 15 day Grand Canyon trip?  I know, your 
      shit doesn't stink, because you're a vegetarian, and one more well
      buried "latrine" way up a canyon doesn't REALLY hurt the environment;
      after all, how much more crap will just another anal-retentive 
      kayaker produce than a healthy Canynon burro? 8-)......

      Rafts:	Mom and Pop in the wild water.  Ever the elitist, I sneered
      at the idea of (shudder) GASOLINE OUTBOARD MOTORS on the grand canyon,
      but then I thought about it this way...if we had no mechanism for 
      out of shape (or handicapped) people to experience the canyon in 3 
      to 5 days (their alloted/affordable vacation), they would never 
      experience it except as the hordes that stare over the edge from 
      Bright Angel lodge, with cocktail in hand.

      From B.A. lodge, especially after a couple of Fred Harvey's martinis,
      everything looks just fine.  You don't know that you can't see more
      than 35 miles because of the navajo coal farting power plant because
      you've never beeen there before, and 35 miles is farther than you could
      hope to see in NewJersey, anyway.  

      Rafts, and don't forget the other big-water rigs like the snouts and
      Georgie's 3 raft gonzo rigs, open up the river for a lot of folks that
      what otherwise sit at home watching Wheel of Fortune and think "Why
      should I worry about the X River or Canyon?"

      I firmly believe that for many people, especially people who have
      spent their lives in an urban environment, spending a few days to 
      a couple of weeks on a wild river can change their perception of rivers
      and wilderness.  These changes are usually good for those of us 
      interested in preserving our waterways.  I think this metamorphasis
      can often best be accomplished via a raft trip, where the "essentials"
      like private poopy places, "good" food and ice can most easily be
      accomodated.

      We (recreational boaters, professional guides, and white water
      	adrenalin junkies) need all the friends we can get.  Rafts, and 
      raft trips, fit into that plan.  Anything that can get more people
      to learn to love rivers, lakes and white water is a GOOD THING.


|	 Visualize a Piece 		|	My Inner Child		|
|	   of the Action		|	     was a 		|
|					|	  miscarriage		|
|	Scot Carpenter RCTE4@Jetson.uh.edu  Ma Bell lies.....		|
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