Local rafting industry booming despite rain
The usual mountain snowmelt combined with runoff from constant rain have made the Arkansas River especially attractive to whitewater rafters this season.
“Much like the ski crowd, you know when we have big powder days and everybody heads to the slopes?” said Will Colon, part owner of Raft Masters in Caon City. “Same kind of thing is happening here. Big water? The locals are coming out to go rafting.”
Colon said area rafting companies are seeing a slight increase in business.
The near-record level of water in the river makes safety more challenging, he said, but that very challenge makes rafting more thrilling to many.
“We offer trips with different skill levels,” Colon said. “We’ve also moved the activity 10 miles farther west to avoid having people raft in Royal Gorge. Everyone is focusing on safety and being prepared. We have trained guides.”
Some would-be rafters, like Doug Wilson, of Caon City, are more cautious.
“The locals around here, our feelings are we’re going to wait until the river dies down a little bit, slows down,” he said.
But Charles Irish, a Boy Scout troop leader, didn’t come all the way from Texas to be scared by the high water.
“There was a little trepidation at first,” he said. “But the boys took it, and we had a great time. Nobody went into the water, the boat didn’t turn over.”
Nor did Michael Wright, of Colorado Springs, mind getting into a raft on the day before his wedding.
“My fiance’ was a little bit concerned,” he said. “We saw on the news that there were a handful of injuries in the past, on the river. Obviously, a little bit concerned about that. But it’s just amazing. The level of water is out of this world.”
Colon said he expects the river level to remain high for next week’s Whitewater Festival in town, and through the busy July 4 weekend.
The high river level, however, has led to some changes at this weekend’s First in Boating on the Arkansas Festival in Salida. One race is cancelled and another will be moved to a safer location.
