Whether you believe it's fair or not, the reality is that we have a weighted lottery now. The highlights: Waiting list abolished / Annual weighted lottery to be implemented / N-C annual launches increase from 240 to 503 / Not more than one trip per person, per year, N-C or Commercial / New launch category of 8-person trips / Max daily launches reduced from 9 to 6 / Provides mixed motor/non-motor use for 5.5 months April 1 thru Sept. 15 / Winter N-C launches increase by 428% / Max trip length LF to DC in summer = 16 days / Max trip length in shoulder season = 18 days / Max length in Fall/Winter/Spring = 21 days. GOOD LUCK!
View the NPS River Trip Orientation DVD On-line (39 minutes)
NPS - River Permits Home Page / NPS - Colorado River N/C Permits - Applying Thru Weighed Lottery
NPS - NonCommercial River Trip Regulations (PDF) / Colorado River Management Plan
You may be confused now but someday you will get that special letter and packet of documents. You'll know when you get it... it starts out, "Dear 'Trip Leader': We are pleased to inform you that your efforts toward obtaining a launch date for a river trip in Grand Canyon National Park have been successful. As requested, the River Permits Office has scheduled your trip to launch from Lee's Ferry on __/__/__...."
Until then, you can dream, plan and run other rivers. But it's not too soon to think about how to outfit your long-awaited private trip in the Canyon. Unless you regularly raft on overnight river camping trips, you may not have all the gear needed for two weeks or more in the Canyon. Even then, you may still not have all the gear you need. This trip is unlike any other, in many ways. Many TLs (that's you, the Trip Leader) choose to outfit their own trips but many opt to let one of the private trip support outfitters provide some or all of the gear, boats and food. In order to help you make your own best decision ahead of the advance notice that GCNP gives you, I have assembled some check lists.
SYOTR,
webmaster@rivergeek.com
http://www.rivergeek.com
Checklist for Camp Inventory
Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association (GCPBA)
Last updated: November 27, 2007 |
(You'll love the new Whitis/Martin maps!)