Me, Nathan & Tom spent 2 days camping and floating a river with about 20 class II and one class III rapid on an inflatable dock. On our way we did a little fishing and caught, clean and cooked fall fish.
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00:00🎵
00:28I've been pumping at this for two hours and eight minutes.
00:32There's something wrong. It's not holding air.
00:36Look at that. What did that? That's not a clean cut. That's like an abrasion tear.
00:41Well, I just got off the phone with customer support.
00:44They're going to send me a new one starting tomorrow.
00:47I'm going to ship back that old one and we're going to try this again in a few days.
00:51All right, Bo just sent me a replacement dock.
00:53Let's go give this another try.
00:55Back to the river!
00:58🎵
01:03All right, we're back and this time our raft doesn't have a hole in it. At least not yet.
01:12One lesson I learned last time is that the electric pump is worth every penny.
01:19All right, while the raft is inflating, me and the boys are looking for helgamites and crawdads
01:24and we're just having a ball and check this out. I found the biggest helgamite ever.
01:28It is so creepy!
01:30Look at that.
01:33That thing is massive. Look at the size of him.
01:37Oh, it's like the critter from Wrath of Khan.
01:42Oh, there's a dead one. Look at that.
01:45I just found that.
01:47He's big enough to eat.
01:49Daddy, do you know this helgamite must have ate that.
01:52Hey, Jake, are you having fun?
01:55I'm already seeing bass and some really big sucker fish.
02:00We got some bait.
02:02We might be doing a catch and cook video here a little bit later.
02:08This push is easy.
02:25All right, guys, you ready to do this?
02:28All right, we're gonna go spend the next two days on this river and I am excited.
02:36All right, you guys ready for this?
02:38All aboard.
02:43All right, we're doing this.
02:45This thing handles like a dream.
02:47It is so easy to maneuver.
02:48It bends a little bit, but this thing is rock solid.
02:51Is this fun?
02:52Yeah, this is so cool.
02:54Are you gonna paddle us?
02:57We got Hucknate and Tom Nickel.
02:59So this pole I'm using to push is 16 feet long.
03:02It's just a couple two by twos where I've taken a table saw and I've ripped the corners off them
03:07to make it kind of like an octagon or whatever.
03:10And we just couple them together with a piece of two inch PVC pipe,
03:14screw right through the middle to keep it together.
03:16And this is my push pole.
03:18And just in case it breaks, I've got another one right there as a backup.
03:22I floated this river a couple of times without the boys on storage bin rafts that I made.
03:28They're really similar in design to the floating fishing cabin we made a couple months ago.
03:33That's an awesome video if you haven't seen that, by the way.
03:35I'm going to pull out the fishing rod real quick.
03:38Whenever I get a little downtime between steering, I'm trying to do some fishing.
03:42If we catch something decent, we'll do a little catch and cook tonight.
03:48The wind's blowing it.
03:51A little breeze kicked up and it actually blew us upstream about 15 feet.
03:56This thing is so light on the water.
03:57It just gets pushed around really easy.
03:59Well, the wind's pushing against the current a little bit,
04:01but if I sit down, it seems to cut our profile enough where we head back downstream.
04:09Nathan, you're getting good at that.
04:11That's because I was practicing.
04:13That would be awesome.
04:16This raft is only eight inches thick and we're not even halfway submerged.
04:21So we got less than four inches of draft on this thing.
04:24We can go shallow.
04:27There we go.
04:28We got some rapids.
04:29My handle!
04:30Grab the handles.
04:43That was wicked.
04:45Hey Thomas, what do you think about going over your first waterfall?
04:48Awesome!
04:50When I saw that waterfall, I was like second thought.
04:53I don't want to come on this trip.
04:55I made a huge mistake.
04:56Well guys, I hope you like that because we're going to be going down some even bigger rapids
05:01here in a little bit.
05:02We're going to go through the squeeze.
05:04A little class three action for us.
05:07Well, it is a beautiful 85 degrees today and Nathan wants to go swimming.
05:12So off he goes.
05:19Here, here.
05:20Is the water cold?
05:21Yeah.
05:23Here, why don't you just jump in?
05:25No!
05:26Oh, no, no.
05:39One of the things I've learned from experience is that you don't ever put the pole downstream.
05:45Okay, because you shove it into the rocks and it gets stuck or you don't move it quick
05:48enough.
05:49The raft runs it over.
05:50It'll pull the pole out of your hands or it'll snap the pole.
05:54You always push to the side or upstream.
06:03Oh, we ran over it.
06:18Here we go.
06:19Hold on tight.
06:25This is so fun!
06:31It turns out if you just lay down on the ground and do nothing, then the wind can't push the
06:37boat as much.
06:45All right, you ready?
06:46Yeah!
06:48Yeah!
06:49Wow, this is so cool!
06:52Look how fast we're going!
06:54Calm down, breathe!
06:58Hey, look!
06:59You caught a fish?
07:00Yes!
07:01Hooray!
07:03It's a fall fish!
07:07We caught dinner!
07:14Oh, I got him!
07:19Another fall fish!
07:20They could have popped this!
07:23Well, we put in some good miles, but we need to start thinking about camping and so we
07:27need to look for a campsite someplace that's flat and has a lot of wood because we want
07:33to build a fire.
07:34Oh, look at that!
07:42All right, let's check this place out!
07:43Well, this looks pretty good.
07:44It's not super flat, but I think it's flat enough.
07:47And we got piles of wood up in the trees and we can burn that, so let's start gathering
07:53some wood for fires.
07:54All right, guys, where are we going to build our fire?
07:56Yeah, right there looks pretty good, doesn't it?
07:59All right.
08:17Oh, boy, I turn my back for one second and he falls out of a tree!
08:37Geez!
08:39You okay?
08:45Real simple trick here.
08:46I've got cotton balls soaked in Vaseline.
08:48I put one underneath there, put one on the end of a stick, and then I use my flint and
08:53steel to go and ignite the one and then get it under there.
09:09We got a decent little fire going.
09:10We'll let that mature and we'll be cooking a little bit.
09:16Well, the biggest whitewater on this whole trip is a set of class three rapids called
09:21the Squeeze.
09:23And I was a little vague on where it was, but as I'm sitting here, there it is.
09:29That's the entrance to the Squeeze.
09:30So it looks like first thing in the morning, we're going to be taking this raft down some
09:36class three rapids.
09:37That's going to be fun.
09:38I'm excited!
09:39Yeah, you want to go to the Squeeze?
09:40Yeah!
09:44All right, we're going to boil some water.
09:46Get dinner going here.
09:48What's wrong with you guys?
09:50All right boys, why don't you come over here and show me what you want to eat for dinner
09:53tonight.
09:54We have Italian style pepper steak and noodles and chicken.
10:11Time to eat our meager catch.
10:17All right, we're going to try eating fall fish tonight.
10:24Is that chicken?
10:32Here.
10:42Nathan, you like your chicken noodles?
10:46There you go.
10:49Fixed it for you.
10:51All right, there we go.
10:52Italian pepper steak.
10:56Our little fall fish is coming along nicely.
10:59All right, who wants to eat some fish?
11:01Me!
11:01You can take a little bit of skin off.
11:05Is that a lot of bone?
11:06You grabbed a piece with a lot of bones in it.
11:07What do you think though?
11:08Does it taste any good?
11:10Pretty nondescript.
11:11Tastes like many other white fish I've eaten.
11:13Could just as easily be a grayling.
11:15The skin's pretty good.
11:22Would you guys like some hot chocolate?
11:24Yeah.
11:25There's yours.
11:28All right, you guys like that hot chocolate?
11:34All right.
11:37You guys are going to be so warm.
11:39You guys are dressing for winter camping.
11:41You want to watch a movie?
11:43All right, let's watch a movie.
11:46Cold, wet shoes.
12:01Tommy, you want to stay there until I get the fire going?
12:08We're going to mix it up a little bit.
12:10I got a package of birthday candles here.
12:12And we're going to use that to start the fire.
12:17Happy birthday to me.
12:23There you go, a little birthday candle fire.
12:31Tommy, are you having a good time?
12:33Yeah.
12:34Are you glad you came?
12:35Yeah.
12:43Oh.
12:50We got chorizo-flavored Spam today.
12:52We're going to give that a try for breakfast.
13:03Who wants to try the chorizo Spam?
13:06You know, it tastes like if you mix chili with Spam.
13:10Yeah, that's what it tastes like.
13:11It smells like chili, too.
13:13I know, that's what...
13:17Do you like it, Tom?
13:19Yeah, it's kind of spicy.
13:20Let's see your fork and knife.
13:22Look at this.
13:23Nothing screams America like a folding fork and spoon set.
13:26Look at that.
13:27Here's the cool part about it.
13:29Go like this and boom, it comes apart.
13:32Then your utensils come apart.
13:34Dinner transformer.
13:37Yeah, look at that.
13:37There's Nathan's folding fork and spoon set.
13:41Look at that.
14:03All right, guys, you ready to go down the squeeze?
14:05Yeah.
14:12I'm gonna cry.
14:19Yeah, hold on, boys.
14:23Here we go, Tom.
14:24Use your feet.
14:35What'd you think of that, Nathan?
14:36Love it.
14:37I love it.
14:39Well, maybe we'll have to do some more whitewater rafting in this thing, okay?
14:43Yeah.
14:44But this raft is so big, it just kind of...
14:46And it doesn't matter which direction you go down, you just...
14:50You just go down and hold on.
14:51And the only thing you have to worry about is hitting the trees
14:54and having sweepers knock your gear off.
14:57Yeah, this is perfect, but...
14:59I thought it was a rail bend.
15:02Oh, today is lovely.
15:04It's sunny, it's warm and no wind.
15:07That wind was killing us yesterday.
15:10Oh, this is going to be great.
15:11I see a big rock.
15:12You see that thing?
15:14It's just so cool seeing that big...
15:19Dom, are you swimming?
15:21I'm just holding on.
15:23Yeah, kick and be my boat motor.
15:35That was fun.
15:37I love this thing.
15:52The draft on this is so shallow.
15:55Did you like that?
15:59I think the boys just discovered their new favorite thing, whitewater rafting.
16:03Guys, you want me to go swimming?
16:05Yeah, go!
16:19Oh, check this out, guys.
16:21Look, it's a leech.
16:25Look at that.
16:26It's a leech.
16:27Here you go.
16:28So, one of the key techniques is putting your feet in the dead center.
16:36When the feet are in the center and you push any direction, the raft moves in that direction.
16:41If you stand on the edge, the raft will spin.
16:44The more centered you are, the less of your energy gets put into spinning and more into
16:49steering.
16:50Right now, it's too deep to use the pole, so you can just kind of use it like a kayak.
16:56It actually works really well.
16:58Caught a lot of smallmouth bass last time I went here, but this is...
17:05Good cast, buddy.
17:05You're getting better at that.
17:06Ready?
17:07Here we go.
17:28What a heck of a way to travel.
17:33This is so nice.
17:35I gotta tell you what, I am really pleased with this inflatable dock so far, and I definitely
17:39think we're going to be doing some more trips like this.
17:42This is just too much fun.
17:44If you guys want to learn more about this thing, I'll put a link in the description
17:47to their website.
17:48You guys can check it out.
17:53You ready, Tom?
17:54Ready.
17:59Water's all over the deck.
18:02Let's go here and we'll make lunch here.
18:04All right, guys.
18:05This looks like a good spot as any to make lunch.
18:07You guys find a nice little swimming hole?
18:11All right.
18:11While the boys are swimming and playing, I am going to prepare Nathan's favorite meal,
18:16cup of noodle.
18:22There we go.
18:23While that water's boiling, let me show you something cool.
18:26See all these rocks?
18:27Down here amongst the trees?
18:29This is a big bend in the river, and when the river floods, the water and current come
18:33straight through these trees.
18:35And it acts like a sieve, so all the debris and stuff that gets washed into the river
18:40gets stuck up in here.
18:43Look at all this stuff.
18:44Yeah, there's a soccer ball.
18:49Yeah, baby.
18:50Look at this.
18:50This is just a mountain of flotsam.
18:53And there's like another soccer ball or something over there.
18:55Look at this, how far it goes.
18:59Last week, the water was 16 feet deep, and so where you were standing was underwater.
19:05The river was flowing right where you're standing, and all this stuff hit up against
19:09the trees and got stuck here.
19:11That's how it ended up in this big pile.
19:13Look at this.
19:13Look at the size of that stump, man.
19:15That thing's huge.
19:17This is why you cannot be on the river when it's flooding.
19:20You'll end up getting washed into these forests, and then you get stuck in there, you never
19:25come out.
19:28Ah, nothing keeps these boys more entertained than playing in the water.
19:32You guys like your swimming hole?
19:33Yeah.
19:41Well, the boys are really complaining about being hungry, so I pulled over and I made
19:45them their favorite thing.
19:46Best part is just getting along and having a good time together as brothers.
19:50It's the best.
19:52They need a little bro time.
19:53I'm just going to sit here and eat my food and let them do their thing.
20:00All right, guys, you ready to go?
20:02Yeah.
20:02All right.
20:05We're going to go outside.
20:07We're going to go outside.
20:09We're going to go outside.
20:11We're going to go outside.
20:13We're going outside.
20:15We're going outside.
20:17Whoa.
20:19Watch your head.
20:21Whoa.
20:23Watch your head.
20:25Whoa.
20:39Yay.
20:42Oh, this has been fun.
20:44Sure hope our good weather holds out.
20:45We may or may not get some rainstorms here in a few hours, so we'll see.
21:05Look at those haunted trees, guys.
21:07Look at those.
21:07Those things are creepy looking.
21:10Look at that one.
21:10You can hide inside.
21:11You can take a bath inside that tree.
21:13Look at that tree.
21:14That is hollow.
21:15Yeah, look at that.
21:16Look at that huge thing.
21:18I wonder how high you can climb up inside that thing.
21:21Oh, I think over there to the left looks good.
21:23Yeah.
21:25Yeah.
21:27Oh, there's another one.
21:29Oh.
21:31Oh.
21:33That was so cool.
21:35Did you see that?
21:37Let's get past it.
21:40Oh, that's so much fun, and it takes zero skill in this thing.
21:44Just...
21:48Do we got to jump out of that tree?
21:50Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:52Nathan, you excited to try that?
21:54You want to try that, Tom?
21:56All right, you want to get in my back?
21:58Okay.
22:00Okay, you got to hold on.
22:06Is this high enough, or you want to go higher, Nate?
22:09You want to jump?
22:11Just jump right off of there.
22:17There you go, buddy.
22:19Nathan, was that fun?
22:21That's your turn.
22:23It's my turn?
22:25Oh, I thought I was just carrying Nathan up.
22:27Don't follow me.
22:35Woo.
22:37Did you like that?
22:39Yeah.
22:41You want to swing on the swing?
22:45Woo.
22:47Okay, go, Tom.
22:49Oh, you're over the water.
22:51Woo.
22:53Oh, better let go, Tom.
22:59I think I see it.
23:01That's her pull-out spot.
23:04Go, Warren.
23:08Well, guys, did you have a good time?
23:10Yeah.
23:12I hope you guys enjoyed watching this
23:14as much as we enjoyed making this video.
23:16Don't forget to check out our other videos,
23:18including our floating fishing cabin video,
23:20our abandoned island camping video,
23:22and a lot of other stuff.
23:24I'll put links in the description.
23:26Don't forget to click subscribe.
23:28We put out new videos every Saturday morning.
23:30Thanks for watching, guys.
23:33Nailed it.
23:35If you like this video,
23:37don't forget to check out the Outdoor Boys YouTube channel
23:39where we have hundreds of videos just like this.
23:41And don't forget to click subscribe
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23:45And hit that bell button
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23:49Thanks for watching.
23:51Woo.
23:53We got off the river just in time, boys.