My husband and 2 boys took this trip this summer in august and had a great time. Having only rafted a mild river in jasper previously, we were not expecting the intense prep prior to departure. The dry suits were a new experience for us and the second hand barely there sneakers and helmets were quite the accessories. We were transported to the launch site in a shuttle and then received a stern tutorial as to how to survive falling overboard. We then had to demonstrate our skills by swimming across the river, floating downstream on our back, swimming to the raft, getting pulled in by a fellow rafter and then pulling in the next swimmer. After that we were divided into our groups and set off following the guides paddle instructions. Took us a few minutes to get coordinated but it was fun to work together and feel that we were contributing to the control of the raft. Was happy for the helmet after smacking into my sons head on the first rapid and very grateful for his quick thinking when he saved me from going over on the next rapid. (Damn that lack of core strength 😊). We opted out Of the last canyon since that was a class 5 and I felt sure I would be going for a swim. It was great fun overall and an exciting way to start our Alaska trip.