Whitewater rafting at Yosemite?

[ruadisneyfan2]

We'd love to do this on our visit. Probably the half-day. Has anyone else done this and how was your experience? I found this company through another link.

http://www.zrafting.com/

I'm torn between the level IV rapids of the Merced River and the family rafting on the Kings River. While the family rafting looks too flat & boring, I'm concerned that the Merced would require more rafting experience. Our boys will be 15.5 & 12.25 at the time of the trip. Late Aug (20-24) if that matters. Min age is 12 so even though we "could" I'm a little hesitant since ds12 is small/lean for his age & I want him to be safe.
I took a similar trip back in my 20s on the Lehigh in PA and some people were tossed out of their raft. (No injuries though.) I imagine out west it's a wilder ride but I think this would be quite a memorable adventure.
I'd love any tips.

 

[skiingfast]

We'd love to do this on our visit. Probably the half-day. Has anyone else done this and how was your experience? I found this company through another link.

http://www.zrafting.com/

I'm torn between the level IV rapids of the Merced River and the family rafting on the Kings River.
I took a similar trip back in my 20s on the Lehigh in PA and some people were tossed out of their raft. (No injuries though.) I imagine out west it's a wilder ride but I think this would be quite a memorable adventure.
I'd love any tips.

Where do I start. The rapid level rating can be confusing. I, you only get wet if you jump in. II, Feel lucky if you get a splash during the whole trip. III, you are going to get splashed a lot, you may come out soaked or mostly dry depending on where you are in the raft. IV, you are getting drenched. V, you are likely to have an out of raft experience. VI, watch out for that waterfall.

Rivers are not wilder out west by any means. I know a lot of rafting guides, and the wilder stories all come from the east. In the west high caliber rivers are few and far between.

While rafting is dangerous by nature, it's not too risky for commercial enterprises to take part in. On the river I'm most familiar with several hundred thousands people go down it each summer. A couple people die each year, usually because of heart attacks or fishermen that fall in without a life jacket. Death due to commercial rafting accident is extremely rare.

If you ask your kids if they want to spend a few hours on the WDW Railroad or Big Thunder Mountain RR what do you expect the answer would be? That's a good analogy for comparing the Merced to the Kings River.

Go have an adventure.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Where do I start. The rapid level rating can be confusing. I, you only get wet if you jump in. II, Feel lucky if you get a splash during the whole trip. III, you are going to get splashed a lot, you may come out soaked or mostly dry depending on where you are in the raft. IV, you are getting drenched. V, you are likely to have an out of raft experience. VI, watch out for that waterfall.

Rivers are not wilder out west by any means. I know a lot of rafting guides, and the wilder stories all come from the east. In the west high caliber rivers are few and far between.

While rafting is dangerous by nature, it's not too risky for commercial enterprises to take part in. On the river I'm most familiar with several hundred thousands people go down it each summer. A couple people die each year, usually because of heart attacks or fishermen that fall in without a life jacket. Death due to commercial rafting accident is extremely rare.

If you ask your kids if they want to spend a few hours on the WDW Railroad or Big Thunder Mountain RR what do you expect the answer would be? That's a good analogy for comparing the Merced to the Kings River.

Go have an adventure.

Thanks. The analogy is perfect. I asked them if they've ever heard of it and they were so excited about. Really, more excited than when we surprised them with our 1st & only stay at the Poly.