Customer Reviews

River Otter, Handbook for Trip Planning: Authoritative Guide for Rafters, Kayakers, Canoeists

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This book is an excellent resource, whether you are an experienced or first time trip leader of a multi-day river trip.

I've been an active trip leader since 1997 .... from weekend trips within a few hours drive from home .... to month long trips deep into wilderness. I purchased this book in 2004 and have found it an indispensible reference. This book provides a very methodical way to plan, organize, and pack for a trip (includes check lists etc) .... I find that using this book means I use my pre-trip time more efficiently and I worry less about whether or not I've fogotten or overlooked something !! So it is worth every cent :-)

Maria Eschen presents what sounds like a dry subject in a very amusing way. The approach she documents for planning a trip is also applicable to many types of group multi-day wilderness trips (e.g. climbing, mountaineering, ski touring) though obviously the river and equipment specific info is not applicable!

I bought this after 3 years as a river trip coordinator with our volunteer (church) run river group. I learned some good things from this book and our trips last summer were just a little smoother as a result. I liked the organizational ideas. I only wish there had been trip games in this book because for some reason I thought I'd read that there was a good section on river games, that I did not find in this book. However, it does help with the planning/packing and that is a lot more important than river games when it comes to survival and enjoyment!