Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with river

Not just any boat, but at Shel-Ca-yak-atemer-noe

DetonatedManiac — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:11:14 -0800

WaterSportFilter: I want to buy a small versatile Kayak like watercraft. I have different (competing?) things I'd like it to do (Paddle AND Row; single and tandem riders) can I get all of this into one boat? Are there available modifications? What should I get? I got a chance to use "hybrid, open top ocean kayak / canoe" at the coast a few weeks ago. It was amazing. I want to get one but I know very little about kayaks and similar craft.

What I would like to use it for:

1)Exploring various waterways: Lakes, Coastlines, Rivers--NOT whitewater.
2)Fishing.
3)Exercise (see below)
4)Eventually it may be an extra tender when I get a larger Sailboat.

As two added twists I have these additional requirements:

First - I will often use this boat by myself, but it MUST be able to accept a second paddler/passenger,

Second - This is more wishful thinking I believe, but, while I like paddling most of the time just fine, I'd really like to have a modular retrofit or add-on or something (??) so I can use the craft as something like a recreational shell rowing setup as well. Mostly for the exercise (I hear that rowings gives a good full body workout) and because it seems more elegant. But to be clear, I don't intend to race or anything, and it is OK if the "performance" of this aspect of the boat is compromised.

I expect that last requirement forces me to buy a completely separate boat, in which case I can do without it, but if possible I'd like to get all of this in one packager (or maybe with a little custom fabrication on my part?).

Thoughts, recommendations?

kayaking the chicago river

jsmith78 — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:36:44 -0800

Can you bring your own kayak/canoe to the Chicago River? Has anyone tried this before? Are there any city laws prohibiting it?

Swimming in the Ottawa river?

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 09:30:15 -0800

Is the Ottawa river good for swimming in? Specifically around the Westboro beach area. I know there is red / green flag posted on the beach, I assume for E. coli, but I am also nervous about heavy metals, crazy radioactive runoff, or other evil humours.

Will a funnel in a river pump water?

cmchap — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:57:16 -0800

PhysicsFilter: The Setup: a 3 meter hose with a 1 millimeter interior diameter is attached to the small end of a funnel with a 1 meter maximum diameter and a 1 millimeter minimum diameter. This assembly is submerged in a "quick-flowing river" with the large end of the funnel facing into the current (so, "on its side"). The free end of the hose is raised 10 centimeters above the top of the funnel and this happens to be above the water level as well. The Question: Theoretically, will water come out of the raised end of the hose? If so, what is the equation that will let me input the rate of the "quick-flowing river" get the rate of discharge from the free end of the hose? I ran this past my engineer father, and he past some of his engineer friends. We have differing opinions.One of the engineers is pretty sure that Bernoulli's Principle will come into play.

Are there examples of this kind of "pump" in the real world? I'd imagine they're VERY inefficient.

Already too far from Lake Itasca?

vytae — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:34:29 -0800

There are a couple of gorgeous beaches on the west side of the Mississippi river near Lake Street in south Minneapolis. Is it safe to swim or wade at them? Maybe I'm crazy for considering this, or maybe worrying is silly. Swimming in nonchlorinated water has always squicked me out a bit, so the mental alarms yelling "don't swim there!" are often just crying wolf. I need your more rational judgment to prevail.

Now, I don't want to swim across the river or anything, and I know the current out in the middle is swift. I certainly wouldn't go out far enough to get myself hit by a barge. I just want to cool off. If I stayed near the shoreline, would the water currents/pollutants/pathogens/man-eating-fish be too dangerous? What about wading, is that out of the question?

I know there are lots of other (lake) beaches around the city, but this one is close and relatively deserted at most times. I'd love to be able to bask with a book and then take a dip when the heat overwhelms me, as long as I wasn't risking illness or injury. What say you, twin-citians?

What travel company is the best for river rafting on the American River in northern California and when would be the best time to go?

ebness86 — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:41:58 -0800

What travel company is the best for river rafting on the American River in northern California and when would be the best time to go?

Beginner kayaking advice?

mikeo2 — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:17:24 -0800

I want to do some kayaking on the Green River, however I do not know what sort of Kayak I should buy. Recommendations? I have canoeing experience but I have never been in kayak.

The greyhound doesn't go far enough north.

Acari — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:29:47 -0800

YukonFilter: How does one get from Whitehorse to Dawson City? The goal is to try to get to the Dawson City Music Festival.
Greyhound goes only as far as Whitehorse [boo!], and I'm exploring options to get the rest of the way.

Option 1:
I haven't been able to find any rideshare board related to this festival or even for the yukon in general. Is there one?
Pros: cheap, environmentally fuzzy-wuzzyish.
cons: reliability, maybe have to ride with stinky hippies.

Option 2:
Car rental. Seems like it would be somewhere around $350 for a week, plus whatever price gas is at now.
pro: maybe could work in a drive on the top of the world highway trip
con: money!

Option 3 [The coolest option]:
Rent a [canoe/kayak/raft?] in whitehorse and paddle down the river to dawson city.
pros: awesome!
cons: not super experienced at paddling, maybe expensive?, lack of communication in the event of emergencies, no way to get back to whitehorse after the festival.
pros: awesome!

[it's class I almost all the way, and I've seen video/maps/pictures of the two little bits of rapids, and I'd be comfortable running them [and would bring extra warm gear drybagged in the event of a swim]

Um.
Would anyone with experience getting around this area advise me on the logistics involved with any of these options? Money is kind of the primary concern, but hey.
Adventure, as always, awaits.

[Convince me that option 3 is the best option!]

ISO suggestions for Columbia River Gorge trip

Saucy Intruder — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:24:18 -0800

Four days, mid-July, mid-week, in the Columbia River Gorge. We want to take day-hikes in different locales but stay somewhere centrally located. Hood River, I assume? Or someplace on the Washington side? Hit me up, hivemind.

Calling All Ecohydrologists

a_green_man — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:39:45 -0800

What does a river look like from above, over time? If you were to look at a river estuary from a satellite over a period of 100 or 1000+ years, what might it look like? A writhing snake-shape whipping at the lake/ocean? How much will it 'roam'? What might it do? I'm thinking more of flatland deltas where the terrain isn't terribly channeling.

and I would love to see any animations/movies/etc that would illustrate how a river moves over time. Do any of you know of anything like this?

Camping near Austin, TX

Espoo2 — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:00:47 -0800

What are some of the best places to camp around Austin, TX? I'm trying to plan a camping trip with a few friends for the end of June. I would prefer somewhere where we can camp right next to a river.

My favorite place to camp, Little Arkansas in Wimberley, has apparently been shut down for several years now.

I would prefer something small and family owned, but am o.k. with a state park as long as it doesn't feel too crowded.

Any suggestions? My camping hey-days were spent at the university campgrounds for my old college and Little Arkansas, and I feel a bit out of the loop now.

I'm willing to drive an hour or so if need be.

Flooooating down the riveeer

sixcolors — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:18:01 -0800

I'm going on a float trip for the first time. What are some things that I should know to make it a fun and SAFE time? I know nothing about recreational sports in natural bodies of water, especially rivers. It will be on the Meramec River, from Meramec State Park to Meramec Caverns. I have a couple of questions.

1. MOST IMPORTANT. Do I HAVE to get in the water? Can I just stay in my raft the whole time? If I stay in the raft, will I get soaked?

2. If I do get in the water, is it wise to drink alcohol before hand. I was told that there was going to be some alcohol provided. I'm only planning on having a drink or two, I don't know if that is enough to cloud my judgment.

3. Again about getting in the water...I haven't gone swimming since 2002 and I never swam in a river. Which would be better for me, a lifejacket or lifesaver?

4. Is it common for rafts to turn over? The river is supposed to be mostly class I.

5. Are we supposed to paddle the whole time or float the whole time? Both?

6. What if I have to go to the bathroom? Will there be restrooms along the river, or do I just find a bush?

7. Any other tips you have?

Advice on river rafting

Argyle — Sat, 17 May 2008 08:41:08 -0800

Next week, I'm spending four days river rafting with friends in Idaho. I've never done it before. Any suggestions on clothing, gear, keeping a camera safe, etc.? Thanks for your help.

A River Runs Through, Then Runs Backward

skyper — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:49:42 -0800

Is it rare, or just infrequent, to find a river branch whose confluence with a creek or other waterway, causes it to reverse direction? I once visited a former mill-converted-inn around Pendleton County, West Virginia where an old map of the nearby (Potomac?) river was pinned on the wall. The overseer of the inn described how its previous use as a Mill was enabled by the meeting of "South Branch" with (of?) a creek such that it virtually "reversed direction" geographically and thus powered the mill effectively. However, I'm not finding direct references online to this phenomenon. Vaguely recall this person insisting "Only here and not many other places do you find this sort of thing" like a creek/river switching directions or flowing first one way then another.
Anyone have familiarity with what he was talking about? Thanks.

Memphis & Mississippi songs

cainiarb — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:22:13 -0800

I'm trying to put together a playlist of songs with the words Memphis or Mississippi in them. Here are the ones I have so far. Can you help me add to my list. The ones in the titles are easy. I tend to forget the ones where the words are embedded in the lyrics rather than the title.

Can't Stop The Mississippi - Charley Pride
Dixie Chicken - Little Feat
Dixie On My Mind - The Charlie Daniels Band
Don't Mention Memphis - Tim McGraw
Down In Mississippi (Up To No Good) - Sugarland
Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones
Lonesome Boy From Dixie - The Charlie Daniels Band
Memphis - Lonnie Mack
Mississippi - The Charlie Daniels Band
Mississippi Girl - Faith Hill
Mississippi Queen - Mountain
Muddy Mississipi - The Charlie Daniels Band
My Head's In Mississippi - ZZ Top
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - The Band
Night Train To Memphis - Dolly Parton
Ol' Man River - Paul Robeson
Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner
Queen Of Memphis - Confederate Railroad
The South's Gonna Do It Again - The Charlie Daniels Band
Tryin' To Live My Life Without You - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

Avoid frozen death

crapples — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:44:08 -0800

I grew up in the California Central Valley - so I know nothing about ice. Now I'm in the Midwest. My question is: How do I know when it's safe to walk on a frozen river or lake? I would like my margin of error to be small enough that I avoid being sucked into an under-ice river and dying while I claw frantically at an unrelenting ceiling of ice.

Also - are the rules different for rivers and lakes?

river rock for cooking project

Infernarl — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:35:29 -0800

Where in nature can I find a dinner plate sized rounded flattish rock that can be heated to high temperatures without exploding? Ideally one side would be flat, or best, concave. The other side doesn't matter so much as long as it is rounded. Which part of the river should I look in? What land features produce this type of rock? And how do I know it's safe for heating. This is for a cooking project and I live in Japan if that helps.

Shoes in the Yangtze

pithy comment — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 10:43:54 -0800

I recently completed a short cruise down the Yangtze River in China, ending at the new Three Gorges Dam. Along the way we noticed lots of garbage floating in the river, mostly bamboo or other natural material, some Styrofoam, and lots of shoes. Is there some significance to shoes in the river? Is it just that many shoes float and they are being left behind in the villages being flooded by the slowly filling reservoir behind the dam? Doesn't other stuff float? Why are shoes left behind? (We also saw a handful of dead pigs, and maybe even one human corpse, but there can't be that many corpses to go with all these shoes.) Just in case, we threw one shoe in the river ourselves for good luck.

Buying a Versatile Kayak

jimmyjimjim — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:18:27 -0800

Can anyone suggest a kayak that's light, sturdy, AND handles decently in lakes, whitewater, and ocean? I mostly have kayaked rivers and streams, but just moved to western CT, where there's not much of that. Most local kayaking is on ocean, which I've never done. I'm not thrilled with the idea of battling big waves, but there are local clubs for this, so I'll join and try to acquire a taste for it.

The problem is that sea kayaks should be longer and heavier, e.g. fiberglass. But fiberglass kayaks get badly dinged up as they scrape over rocks in the sorts of streams I like to paddle....and plastic kayaks (sturdier for streams) handle like crap on the sea.

Also, I'm going to be loading the kayak by myself onto my car's roof rack, and if doing this is a major ordeal, I'm not going to want to kayak much!

So is there anything fairly light, farily rock-scrape-resistent, and yet decent enough handling that it could imaginably be used in the ocean? I don't mind paying extra to get this rare combination of qualities.

Also, I'm not real serious...at least not yet. So I wouldn't mind buying a more specialized kayak later if I really get into sea kayaking.

Know of any cheap, non-invasive bridges?

jcruden — Wed, 17 May 2006 06:04:11 -0800

Cheap and innovative bridge solution that doesn't interfere with the river, or the banks at all? The span is roughly 125 feet at the best point to cross. Going down the traditional route and setting supports into the river itself costs an absolute fortune in permits and construction costs (I've heard of people paying $100,000 in similar situations), and isn't an affordable solution.

Has anyone seen, or heard of a solution for a problem like this that is, at least, capable of supporting the weight of a golf cart, or similar?

I need to find an out of print cd

Flamingo — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 15:16:01 -0800

I need help finding a rare/out of print album. The album is Okkervil River's "Stars too Small To Use" (2000, The Orchard Records). I've searched Amazon, Ebay, the band's website, and googled the hell out of it. I signed up for the "maybe someone will sell it used" section of Amazon. I learned from the message board that it used to be on iTunes Music Store, but they recently (within the last six months) took it off. I don't know what else to do. What I'm looking for is either a website where I can buy or (legally, preferably) download a copy. As for brick and mortar, I'm in Washington DC-- so if you can think of any stores that *might* carry this, that would be good to know.

--thanks in advance

what direction will the hudson river be flowing on sunday morning?

teddyb109 — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:01:10 -0800

I'm doing the New York City Triathlon on Sunday morning and want to know if I'm swimming with, or against the current. Here's a link to the tide chart I referenced: http://www.columbia.edu/~tedb/tri/tideChart.html and the tool used to construct it: http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow.cgi My guess is that folks starting earlier in the day will have the current against them, but that it will weaken as the tide changes. The swim starts at 99th street and goes to 79th Street. More on the event itself: http://www.nyctri.com/. Thanks for taking a look!

Travelling a river

shannymara — Mon, 30 May 2005 17:54:26 -0800

Has anyone posted an account of boating the full length of a U.S. river? Or barring that, in any other developed nation? I'm thinking that this must be a really bizarre and insightful way of seeing the U.S., while avoiding the tired old roads. I'm not sure how you'd travel near the source, but I figure travelling in wet season and portaging would work. Some guys did it from the very source of the Amazon in the Peru highlands all the way to the Atlantic... why not in the U.S.?

I thought about this while reading the account of the kid who escaped civilization and died in Alaska... a couple of years before that, he sailed from Lake Mead to the mouth of the Colorado River in the Gulf of California, and pretty much found a labyrinthine swamp. I admire him for trying!

(Let's skip the Deliverance jokes!)

Upstream With a Paddle

luser — Tue, 11 May 2004 09:34:52 -0800

Lewis and Clark traveled up the Missouri River from the Mississippi to the Rockies, over 2,000 miles. UPSTREAM. What the hell? If you have to explore the river, why not just get some horses and wagons and walk alongside it? Why kill yourself paddling against the current for 2,000 miles?