nationalparkfans2018
Jul 2018
Our family of four (2 adults, 2 children...11yoa & 8yoa) went whitewater rafting for the first time (in Moab) while we were visiting the national parks in UT. Since we weren't on a schedule, we called Mild to Wild the day before we wanted to go and, surprisingly, they had availability for the next day for their afternoon 1/2 day whitewater rafting trip from 12:30pm till about 4-5pm! However, shortly after making our reservations, we realized that because we were flying out the next day from Salt Lake City four hours away, it would be better if we could change our reservations to their morning 1/2 day trip instead so we could head out of Moab earlier and not be driving through the mountains to SLC at night. Again, surprisingly, they had availability and, luckily, we were able to change our reservations without any hassle!
We ate breakfast before we arrived at their main office at 8:00am since no lunch is served for their 1/2 day trips and because we weren't supposed to be back until 12:30pm. Since they do not have lockers, we arrived already wearing bathing suits/quick-drying clothes to get wet in, left our valuables in our car but parked right in front of their building. They did offer to hold on to our car keys so we didn't lose them while we were on our trip, which definitely helped! Not knowing what to expect, the only thing we brought was a backpack filled with our water bottles since it was going to be a hot day but, as it turned out, none of that was needed since they provided a cooler filled with water on the raft!
There were only 6 of us scheduled for the trip so, after we were briefed on what their safety rules were, we were then given our life vests (which was repeatedly checked to ensure it was on properly) and then got on their mini-bus for a 20-minute ride to where we got on the raft that was already on the river. Everyone from Mild to Wild that we encountered from the girl who booked our reservations to the crew that went on our trip, which included Sean, (our guide), Elena, Zack, Ann, and the guy who drove the bus (didn't catch his name) to the lady who handled our t-shirt purchases when we got back, they were all friendly, helpful and made us feel that we were in good hands, which we were!
Sean was the only guide on our raft for our trip but he kept us informed about what we were seeing along the way and handled the raft with ease the entire time. Whenever he needed us to help row the raft, especially near/in the whitewater waves, he'd let us know with enough time so we knew what to expect and be prepared.
We really enjoyed having him as our guide and thought his entire crew was great, too!
The ONLY drawback from the whole experience was, unfortunately, since it hadn't rained in a while in that area, the river level was very low and the whitewater waves were only at a Level 1 or Level 2. Of course, this was out of Mild to Wild's control but we were still able to experience what whitewater rafting was like and loved it! In fact, we plan to go whitewater rafting again through them when we visit Durango, CO next year!
Thanks, Mild to Wild, for a great first-time experience as it will always be one of our family's greatest memories! It also helps that your company hooked up with Moab Action Shots to get the perfect picture of us in action just as we were going through some of those Level 2 whitewater waves! A snapshot that we would NEVER have been able to get so thanks to them too for a great picture!