Tips for surviving tubing the Truckee

What you need:

1. Get a tube that fits your size. If you’re small make sure you won’t easily slip out of the tube, but can still reach over the sides of the tube. Be able to sit comfortably in the tube. It also needs to be strong enough to withstand running into river rocks.You can buy tire inner-tubes from Les Schwab for $33 plus tax or from Sierra Adventures near Wingfield Park for $24.99 plus tax. Sierra Adventures also rents them for $8 per hour or $25 for the day.
2. Wear sandals that fasten securely, have textured souls and drain water easily. You will need something to protect your feet from rocks and broken bottles in the water. Shoes that don’t drain quickly can be a hazard because they can bog down the wearer, making it more difficult to swim.
3. To be as safe as possible, wear a helmet and lifejacket.
4. Get a butt pad. Some use a plastic-covered foam knelling pad and put it into the inner-tube hole beneath their butt. It may not take out all of the sting when a rock hits your fanny, but it may prevent a collision from creating a bruising, blinding moment of pain.
5. Get plastic bags for anything that may not survive being wet. A durable backpack may hold all these items for you.
6. If you’re bringing a beverage, make sure the container seals shut, unless you like the taste of river water.
7. Wear waterproof sunblock.

Plan your trip:

8. Plan how you’re going to get home. Either sign up for a shuttle that will pick you up and drop you off with all your gear, or have two vehicles. First drive to where you expect to end your river voyage. Park one car there, and take everything you’re going to need with you into the other car. Drive to where you want to start your river ride. Hop in. Float down the end. Then use the car at the end to take you back to the other car upriver.
9. Make you have the keys to both cars with you. If you have an electronic door-opener, put it in a sealable plastic bag and keep it in a pocket that will be secure as you travel down the stream.

Now that you’re on the river:

10. Travel in a group. If someone hits their head on a rock and is knocked unconscious a helping hand may save someone’s life.
11. Try not to drift too far apart from your group. You can’t help each other if you’re a mile apart. If someone is drifting too far ahead, they should try to pull off to the side and wait for the others.
12. Some people tie their tubes together for stability and to socialize.
13. Turn the inner-tube’s inflation spout downward so it’s not stabbing you in the back. Trust me, you’ll end up with bloody scrape marks up and down your back if you ignore where you place a tire inner-tube air spout.
14. Be careful of broken bottles, concrete shards, and shafts of rebar. All these are scattered throughout the river and are hazards to people and inner-tubes.
15. You can also become entangled in tree branches and brush and be held underwater. So be careful.

Truckee specific hazards

16. According to Sierra Adventure river guide Tim Kegermann there are hazards the whole length of the river, but there are two in particular that you should watch out for. Luckily, there are signs with each hazard. He said the Chalk Bluff rapids are announced by the sign, “Danger, exit river now.” He said you can either exit the river or ride it on the left. Hang onto your tube and lift your butt!
17. The other hazard is the Chalk Bluff dam. The sign reading “Drowning hazard, exit river now” is on top of the hazard, so it seems like too little too late. Watch for suddenly smooth water being drained into a strainer on the left side of the river. Once again, either get out or glide cautiously along the grate on the left. Stay all the way to the left!
18. I don’t recommend tubing this river for small children. The Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield Park has been cleaned of hazards such a rebar so people can play in relative safety. With supervision that’s probably a better place to swim.

My last tip is to enjoy yourself and the wild nature of the river. Do you have any ideas to add? I’ll be posting a blog about my crazy adventure on the river later. Feel free to share yours.