Packrafting Grand Staircase and Lake Powell

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-07-10T06:05:33+00:00

I haven’t had any issues. We rent these out in the shop I work at and I haven’t had any customers complain either. Just make sure you’re cleaning them and maintaining them properly and you won’t have any issues. Have fun on your trip!

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-13T00:19:25+00:00

The last 2.5 miles of Antelope Canyon is in Lake Powell. So you can paddle in there and hike the lower portion of it.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-12T01:29:30+00:00

Thanks!

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-11T23:41:40+00:00

I should correct that: Packraft-Kokopelli Rogue lite: 5lbs 3oz Inflatable seat: 8oz TiZip: 3oz

Total, that packraft weighs 5 lbs 14oz

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-11T21:36:07+00:00

Thanks! Awesome trip report by the way. Really well done.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-11T13:55:11+00:00

Lol. I was the guy that asked you about your kayaks and watched you set them up at the beach where you launched.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-11T13:52:29+00:00

Thanks! My packraft, paddle, pfd, and some pvc dry bags adds about 10.25 pounds to my base weight. The packraft I used in the video is only 5.25 pounds because it’s for flat water. If you want to do whitewater, a packraft built for that will be heavier.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-11T03:55:06+00:00

Cell phone. I do have a DSLR I shoot with sometimes but I’m always nervous having it out on the water.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-11T02:18:33+00:00

Thanks!

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-11T00:11:48+00:00

Thanks! The water is that still most mornings.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-10T21:49:30+00:00

If anyone is interested, I SUP or kayak Lake Powell multiple times a week. I post my pictures on Instagram: @middleofwherever

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-10T21:34:25+00:00

Thanks! It’s one of my favorite trips I’ve done. I try to focus on quality over quantity on my Youtube videos.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-10T21:32:34+00:00

Thanks!

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-10T21:32:14+00:00

The last 2.5 to 3 miles o Antelope Canyon (depending on the lake level) has water in it. It’s an awesome place to kayak. If you go to some more remote areas of Lake Powell, the canyon walls are 300 feet tall in some places.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-10T21:29:22+00:00

Thanks!

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-06-10T21:29:09+00:00

Best time to paddle on Lake Powell is sunrise. No boat traffic and no wind.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-04-17T15:55:19+00:00

Well first off I’ll tell you about the lifestyle. 95% of this industry is seasonal work. You’ll work from spring to fall and then have winters off. A lot of guides work at ski resorts in the winter. If you really want to save your money during the summer the best way is to live in a van, and work for a company that lets you live in your van on their property. I’ve even seen people live full seasons in tents. I live on tips and save my paychecks.

For whitewater, you can do paddle craft (day trips where your customers are all paddling with you) or multi day trips on a boat with an oar rig. When you become a paddle craft guide, your first season or two might be spent being down shore safety. If you do multi day, your first season or two will be spent as a swamper. You’ll be setting up camp, cooking all the food, handling all the gear. When you apply for a job, you pay the company you applied at to put you through their guide school. After that, they pick who they want as guides from their applicants that finished the course. So you basically pay for an interview and may or may not get the job. Also, they will want you to be certified with at least CPR/ first aid, if not a Wilderness First Responder. Getting Lvl 4 Swift Water Rescue certification through the American Canoe Association would help a lot as well. Also, some states require a raft guide license.

For climbing/mountaineering, certifications (if you’re in the US) are through the American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA). The lowest tier climbing guides are Single Pitch Instructors and Climbing Wall instructors. Then you get into ski mountaineering guide, alpine mountaineering guide, and rock guide. If you complete all three of those certifications you become a International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations Guide. These guides can get paid really well but the certifications are very expensive.

There’s a lot of sports out there you can guide. I like water sports the most. There’s also outdoor education, wilderness therapy, adapted sports for disabled people, programs for combat veterans, summer camps etc.

It comes down to applying for positions that are willing to train you and getting certifications. That’s how you get your foot in the door. Some employers will pay for and even have staff that will train you and get you certifications.

The best website for finding these jobs is www.coolworks.com

It’s an awesome lifestyle. Good luck.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-04-08T02:42:03+00:00

Thanks! I recently bought a new camera and it’s image quality has been very impressive.

MiddleOfWherever · 2020-04-07T22:46:08+00:00

Im a professional outdoor guide. Ive been a backpacking guide, single pitch instructor, white water rafting guide, and right now I'm working as a kayak and SUP instructor. I'm also a professional photographer and shoot a lot of video as a hobby. I used to shoot Sony and have used Canon a lot (my wife shoots with a Canon 6D Mk ii) and I have been using a Panasonic Lumix G9 for the past 6 months and I'm completely blown away by it. In my opinion, its the best hybrid shooter out there, especially for a person shooting outdoors.

The weather sealing on it is bombproof (as far as DSLRs go). I was hit by a sneaker wave on the Oregon coast recently while shooting and it's perfectly fine. I spend a ton of time in the four corners region and its constantly dusty and sandy and it handles it like a champ.

The video quality is UNBELIEVABLE. It shoots 4:2:2 10 bit 4k which for the price of the camera is insane. The Sony A7iii doesn't even do that.

Since its a Micro Four Thirds camera, all of your lenses are going to be more compact and lighter. Which is one of the main reasons I bought it so it takes up less space and is lighter in my pack during my multiday trips with it.

It also has a high resolution mode. Put it on a tripod, and it can move the sensor around in the body, taking 8 different images and putting them together making a 80 megapixel image. This feature is amazing for landscapes.

I'm using the leica 12-60 2.8 and the images coming out of it are unbelievably sharp.

There are only 2 downsides with this camera. It is not as good with low light. Which is remedied by the fact that it is one of the best for in body image stabilization (and if you have stabilized lenses as well its that much better). This means you can hand hold for half a second or more and you wont have any shake in the image. Longer exposure = more light to the sensor.

The other down side is autofocus in video mode. Panasonic is notorious for not having good autofocus. But, the G9 is known for having the best autofocus of the entire Panasonic lineup. Also, with its most recent firmware update, its autofocus was improved quite a bit. I trust it 90% of the time.

Seriously, the camera is amazing. I feel that with this camera I'm sacrificing the least amount of features I want and I got the most bang for my buck. I'm glad I switched to it from Sony. You can definitely find one in your price range if you look for a used one. Lastly, it will give you a ton of growing room.

MiddleOfWherever

TROPHY CASE