You are visitor no.
since Jan. 1, 2015
Thank you for turning in your form(s) and paying your money on time, now it's time to have a memorable week-end on the river.
Please get a copy of the Packing List and Directions to our camp.
Upon arrival at Hauli Huvila, find a place to pitch your tent, (ask Grant or Bill if you need any assistance). Find the Caper (Job Assignments) Chart to see which meals or jobs you will be assisting with, also sign up for which float(s) you would like to go on. You may want to talk with some of your friends to determine whether you want to sign up for the first or second long or short float.
There are only 10 signup lines per float, please don't try to sign up on a full float OR add more lines. The cooler captains have to take just enough stuff for their dozen or so floaters.
Caper Chart and Float/Game Signups are outside the kitchen. Yes all rookies start off on KP!
If you are assigned to either Breakfast clean up (KP) of Lunch Prep, you must go on the second float, which leaves camp at about noon.
If you are in camp Thursday night we will be offering a light dinner or snacks. Beer, etc., etc. is no host Thursday.
If you arrive after dark, either eat on the road, or bring some munchies and set up quietly we are asleep!
Friday/Saturday morning we get things rolling at about 7:00 am, when the cooks start making the coffee, then the tube prep team starts, (if you have a personal flotation device (PFD), please bring it to the inflation area before you eat) and avoid the long lines after breakfast.
Breakfast is served at 8:00. Breakfast K.P. report to "KT†" at 9:00. Lunch preparation report to "Terry†" at the breakfast tables at 9:30. Tube/truck packers report to "Adam†" to load the truck. With luck we can get the first float bus and truck out of camp at about 10:30 am, with the second float leaving camp at about noon, to enjoy a most unusual King's River phenomenon: peace and quiet.
New: Short floats of about 1 hr leave whenever the bus leaves for the long float and the bus will pick you up at Reedley Beach.
Saturday morning is about the same as Friday except before breakfast we hand out Tee shirts, and take the famous group picture. After the picture, we pack the truck with tubes and head up stream once again.
Again, short floats between the long floats.
If you are fast you can do a short float and then the second long float!
Be sure your safety forms are signed for each child and adult before you enter the river.
The launching process needs some explanation.
First, everyone should put on their thongs, or sandals, or flip flops, or a pair of well worn shoes, because of the glass and the hot ground in the unloading area.
Second, grab a tube (or PFD) from the truck, and all of your personal gear, and carry it down to the river. Since there is a lot of glass along the road and on the river bank, please hold your tube up after unloading, and watch out for the barbed wire, wear your foot wear until you launch. Cooler Captains: You will need some one of your group to help carry a cooler as well to avoid extra trips.
Third, we try to launch in groups of 8-12, so that we can all be close to a cooler. So get your floating group together. Since you will be with this person or group for several hours of relaxation it may be wise to get those folks together now.
Fourth, you will need some assistance launching. The river is both cold and moving, neither of which your body is used to. So get some help while you get adjusted and comfortable. There will be a reliable veteran there to assist you and to get you settled.
A word about river safety. We are here to have fun, but we must keep in mind that some people drown in this river every year. So far we have been extremely lucky, perhaps because we are careful and follow these guidelines.
Rookies must start float with an experienced person, use buddy system.
Tieing your tube to another person can be dangerous, it is much safer to put your feet on your partners tube or boat or flotation devise.
Keep your eyes down stream, look for bushes and turns in the river, paddle towards the middle of the river.
If you make a large float group, someone needs to keep their eyes downstream
For each cooler team of 10, their should be one spare emergency tube
Launch and stay with a cooler, you need the liquids in the hot sun.
A few tips on river tubing may be helpful to the novice. If you find yourself heading toward the bushes, turn your tube so that your feet are facing the nearest bank. Start to kick and paddle toward the middle of the river (always the safest place).
Once you are in the water relax and enjoy yourself, don't get too sun burned, and stay out of the bushes.
Thongs, sandals etc. make great paddles while in your tube on the river. Most full beer cans float but soft drinks don't, so if you need a soft drink you will have to paddle to your nearest cooler, as opposed to beer throwers.
The lunch stop on the river is about an hour down stream, so keep an eye and an ear open for those familiar sights and sounds, and start to paddle to the right. The float after lunch is about 3-5 hours, depending on the water level, a good time to sit and relax and talk with a friend. We usually make at least one rope swing stop (not mandatory, but a lot of fun to do, or watch).
If you get lost or separated from the group don't panic because our camp is on the right side of the river just before the first bridge.
If you are on the dinner cook group you should report to "Cliff†" at 5:00, dinner will be served from 6:00 to 7:00, dinner KP report to "KT†" at 7:00.
Saturday night is a big part of our social existence, when we must uphold many of our sacred traditions, as part of our annual initiation of new floaters. Many strange and wonderful experiences have, and will yet, happen after the sun fades into the west. Some of which you may be able to remember and relate to those near and dear to you, others you may want to forget. Talk to the right people and you may get invited on the midnight float.
Sunday will once again come!
If you are sober and able, a short floats down stream may be in the best plan. Lunch will be served in camp, with camp clean up and break down to follow. Packing the truck is always easier "with a little help from our friends." Don't forget the post party. You get the famous group photo, claim all of your lost goods, plus the opportunity to relive all the good old times.
† Names like Terry, Cliff, KT, and Adam are historical in nature. Ask a seasoned floater, they will tell you who to really ask for.
Grant, Doug and Bill will always be Grant, Doug and Bill.
You are visitor no.
since Jan. 1, 2015