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Oregon outfitters design rafting trip for the COVID-19 age, as experts deem outdoors safe

By Zach Urness, The Register-Guard
Published: May 31, 2020, 2:45pm
2 Photos
Oregon outfitters are planning to offer smaller and more family-focused rafting trips in the COVID-19 age.
Oregon outfitters are planning to offer smaller and more family-focused rafting trips in the COVID-19 age. [Zach Collier / Northwest Rafting Company] Photo Gallery

EUGENE, Ore. — For the past six weeks, Will Volpert and Zach Collier have been working to design a rafting trip for the COVID-19 age.

The vans packed with people headed to the river are out, and family-style dinners with mixed groups camping together have to change, they said.

But a raft is a self-contained vehicle that naturally keeps social distance, travels into remote places and keeps people outdoors, the least-likely place for virus transmission.

Designed right, said the two outfitters, a family can stay isolated from almost the entire world and still have an amazing time on the river.

“If you want to take a family vacation, this is by far the most responsible way to do it,” said Collier, owner of Northwest Rafting Company, based in Hood River. “You’re outdoors, with only your family or a small group, in a remote setting. That’s unbeatable.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, rafting outfitters were looking at a possible lost summer. Oregon’s outfitting industry depends on just a few months to make money, and with the outdoors basically shut down and fears about how COVID-19 could spread between people, guided trips seemed a tough sell.

While some of those concerns remain, outfitters are now more optimistic about a path forward — one centered on smaller groups, screening and testing, and new methods.

Rafting and fishing guides already have gotten the go-ahead to begin trips in many parts of the state, and the public appears ready to consider guided trips as well.

COVID-19 is least likely to be transmitted between people in an outdoor environment, according to recent studies, because the air quickly dilutes and disperses virus particles.

“I think outdoors is so much better than indoors in almost all cases,” Linsey Marr, an engineering professor and aerosol scientist at Virginia Tech, told the New York Times. “There’s so much dilution that happens outdoors. As long as you’re staying at least 6 feet apart, I think the risk is very low.”

‘Handcrafted trips’

But just because it’s safer to be outside doesn’t mean outfitters can continue business as usual.

Volpert, owner of Indigo Rafting Company in Southern Oregon, said they’re redesigning both day and overnight trips to meet the moment.

“We’re describing them as ‘handcrafted trips,’ ” he said. “The ideal number we’re looking at is four to five people, and probably from a regional location, since international travel appears pretty much out for now.

“It’s not going to be as profitable as before, but that’s our new reality. And honestly, our guests are not going to want to come on a river trip if they think we’re cutting corners or not being safe.”

Screening guests and guides in advance

The process for the new world of outfitted trips starts with advanced screening of guests.

Volpert and Collier said they’ll ask guests to get a test if possible or to carefully screen possible symptoms, including taking their temperature daily beginning 30 days before a trip.

“Everyone knows the symptoms by now,” Collier said. “When in doubt, don’t come. We’ll basically have them sign a sanitation pledge where they agree to wash hands a lot, social distance from other groups as much as possible. It might mean more paperwork, but people have reacted really well so far. They want this.”

The idea in these handcrafted trips is that the only person a family interacts with is the guide, so new training and a very close monitoring of river guides will be critical.

Travel to rafting center

Once a family has been tested or monitored their symptoms for 30 days, the next step is travel. A family that lives regionally is ideal because they can jump in the car and drive to Volpert’s rafting center off Interstate 5 with limited stops and not stay overnight in a hotel.

Once a family arrives, Volpert said, they’ll do one last symptom check, looking at fever and oxygen levels, before starting to plan for getting on the river.

Steps leading up to launch

Volpert said he’s planning to stagger the beginning of trips so each group arrives at different times in the rafting center, limiting any crowding inside a building that will include all employees wearing masks and everything from lifejackets to helmets being sanitized daily.

Instead of a guide giving a safety talk from the boat, Volpert said he might have a video set up for people to watch and strips of tape to keep people distanced.

Less people driving to the river

Normally, a large van might be filled with people all headed to the river to begin multiple trips. Now, it would be only small groups, likely families, with a driver and guide both wearing masks, directly to the put-in.

“Typically, for our day-trips, we had two time slots and two trips to the river each day with as many people as possible,” Volpert said. “This year, we’re looking at going to eight time slots to more evenly distribute smaller numbers of people.”

Rafting setup

The changes don’t stop once the group gets into the raft.

Volpert said he can achieve 6 feet of distancing in a 16-foot boat by having the guide sitting in the back running a stern frame and oars and visitors in two rows in the front.

“Our guests don’t have to interact with guides that much,” Collier said. “They will have to talk with louder voices.”

The people rowing together will be as closely packed in as ever, of course, which is why immediate family will be the best option to start, he said.

“The more locals we take on trips, the less nervous I am going to be,” Volpert said. “I think it’s a great opportunity to emphasize traveling locally. We had a family from Ashland that had their trip to British Columbia canceled. So they called us and said, ‘Let’s do four days on the Rogue River.’ And look, the Rogue is as good as almost any river in the world, and if you live in Oregon and have never done it, this is a great opportunity.”

Smaller camp sizes

One of the biggest changes to the classic Rogue River trip will likely come in camp.

Normally, river camp is a social occasion, where family and friends mix with other rafters around the dinner table and campfire.

This year will look at bit different. Volpert said if they did launch a trip with two groups — which isn’t a given — they’d build separate camps and handle meals in different areas, never sharing cookware or utensils or overlapping.

All of this will cost extra money, and profit margins will be slimmer, both Volpert and Collier said. But this season, that’s not really the point.

“If we can stay open, employ our guides and support the communities where we work, that’s a win,” Collier said. “None of us expect to get rich this year, but we also can’t complain because we have been cleared to operate, to get people outdoors after a really challenging time, and for me that’s the most important thing: just getting people back outside.”

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