Planning a rafting trip with teenagers this summer. Anyone ever use the company Oars and if so, good or bad? Any other company you'd strongly recommend or advise against?? Thanks everyone!

phewww! Thought you were going white water rafting WITHOUT oars! LOL!

LOL Easytraveler - I was thinking the same thing - as if it were an option. Rafting without oars?? Kinda complicated, I would imagine!

Sorry Joniellen - no info on the company Oars.

Friends of mine took a trip with them about five years ago. They said it was great and recommended them highly (what they actually said was that we should book a trip and they would join us!) Sorry I don't have better information, as we wound up not taking the trip after all.

Which trip are you planning on taking? We raft the Salmon and Middle Fork of the Salmon on our own and frequently see the Oars groups.

Wow-thanks for the reponses! We're looking at Hells Canyon on the snake river for 5 days. I guess we take a small plane in to the site and go from there. Any news will help. And yes, we will use oars!!

It should be a fun trip. When are you going? It'll be very hot in July and August.

You'll have big rapids earlier in the summer but more fishing later in the summer. The company will row you down, set up your tents, cook your meals, etc. It's pretty relaxing.

We go on our own without guides, etc. but we do run into the outfitter groups daily. There's a little bit of animosity between independent floaters and outfitters (regarding who gets the best beaches for camping, etc.). It should be a very fun trip.

If you want more whitewater in Idaho then you should look at the Middlefork of the Salmon.

Have fun!

haven't been but i've read good reviews about this company

Well, we just got back from the Snake River and Hells CAnyon and it was a terrific trip! Anyone considering OARS should feel very comfortable doing so. We always felt safe and well taken care of and they did all of the work. They were clean and well prepared. They tried to accomodate all of our needs but the very best thing they did is who they assigned as guides to our trip. We had lots of teens in our group and lots of boys. The guides were mostly early 20's guys and totally connected with our kids whether goofing off or giving directions or telling us geological info. They were very playful and helpful and a real asset to the week. Weather in Idaho is very iffy, so be prepared but it was beautiful! HIghly recommended! Thanks for your input. Anyone need more info I'll be glad to answer.

I'm glad you had a good trip! My parents and some of my siblings are floating the Main Salmon this week.

That sounds like it was a great trip! We will be rafting this week in central Oregon, with a company we have used often. It makes such a difference to find guides that you trust and click with. Thanks for letting us know how it went

kureiff--How was the climb last week?

The climb went well. They summited both Washington and Hood. It was very warm on Hood, so they were up at midnight, on top by 6 am and back off again. And they managed to snowboard both mountains without any accidents. But they didn't find your sunglasses.

Glad they had a great time! You meant Adams though, right? Yeah, for Hood I know DH usually starts around midnight. One time they had planned to do Baker and got there, conditions were bad, so drove all the way down to Hood, took a 1 hour nap, and started up the mountain around midnight. Summited, came down, and drove back to Seattle. They were SO tired after that trip!

LOL. Yes, I meant Adams.