just hear me out: swimpacking.

OVERVIEW

Hey you. You’ve heard of backpacking. You’ve probably heard of swimming too. But… have you ever considered combining the two?

A while ago I was doing my usual “research” on combining random outdoor sports, and I discovered that there are people who put all their backpacking stuff in a dry bag, tie it to themselves, and swim long distances. I proposed it to Mitch, and now we are proposing it to you to join us!!! Of course, it’s our first rodeo, so we’re only aiming for a few miles. We also might resort to treating it like lazy river tubing, except it’ll probably end up looking like we’re ominously floating like jellyfish down a river.

This is certainly a gander of a trip, so we’re looking for people who have some backpacking experience, and are comfortable with swimming/generally being in natural bodies of water for an extended period of time. Additionally, there are some class 2 & 3 rapids along this section, which will require some comfort drifting/scrambling/bumbling through wet rocks & moving water. You can also get out of the water and walk around them, so as long as you can swim and/or can get up the bank to walk around the rapids, you’ll be set.

*There may be an option for someone to canoe-pack instead, but we still aren’t sure. For this to be an option you have to be able to paddle class 2 (and one 3) rapids. If you sign up and want to canoe, please reach out!
*We are going to enforce cowboy camping (sleeping w/o tents) because the dry bags probably can’t fit tents (unless it’s small and/or shared between people).

Here’s the float we’re doing!: https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/1949/main

The schedule:
9/24, 3:15 pm – meet at echols and drive on over to shuttle cars (creekathon might get back later than this. I personally will be returning a little early from creekathon to get on with the swimpacking so you can drive back with me if that’s a conflict!)
5 pm – arrive at our put in & get in the water!!!
7 pm – stop when we find a good island, eat some dinner, & camp out on some river rocks

9/25, 8 am – get up, eat breakfast, & pack up camp
9 am – resume rodeo down the river
12 pm – reach the end of our section, maybe do some cliff/bridge jumping?? 0_0
1 pm – shuttle cars & drive back to cville
2:30 pm – return!!!

To bring:
– sleeping bag
– sleeping pad (foam)
– food (dinner, breakfast, and probably a lunch)
– stove if your food requires it
– water! Probably at least 2-3 liters (maybe a water filter too – not sure)
– clothes you can get wet
– clothes to keep dry/sleep in
– a towel

We supply:
– pfds
– big dry bags for your things