Provo River condition?

[Alex]

Does anyone live or have been to Provo river lately? Do you know the condition of the river? Can it be rafted in a 16 foot raft? I want to take my family down it. Thanks

[rock_ski_cowboy]

A 16 foot raft wouldn't be great for most sections of the provo, but would work for the upper lower section (from a bridge just a few hundred yards below Deer Creek dam down to Vivian Park). This is a class I+ section. Watch the 2 train bridges-- 1 right at the put in and another a ways down. I don't know if that big of a raft would fit past the lower one-- its at a rough angle to the current and there are a lot of pylons, I would recommend carrying around it to avoid a pin; or at least scouting this. There is also a low bridge or two that a big raft might not easily fit under (I've never had a problem in a tube, kayak, or small raft). Most people tube this section and freeze in the process except on the hottest days. I've tubed it, kayaked it, and once did it in a 10 foot raft. I like it best as a nice flatwater kayak run with a few fun eddys.

Flows are at:
http://www.cuwcd.com/operations/provoriversystem.htm

I'm not sure which one the flows are for that section. Should be whatever is coming out of Deer Creek. I would guess you'd need at least 350 cfs for a raft, 250 for a tube or kayak.

I ran the Bridal Veil section (Olmstead to Murdoch) on Tuesday at 200 cfs (in a kayak) for the first time. Definitely not raftable or tubable, and challenging in a kayak, even at the low flows we had. I'd say it has 2 class IV (the first rapid, and the hard left turn below Bridal Veil) with a bunch of class II-III-III+. I flipped in the first rapid (currently class 4 and full of wood), and gave up on setting up my roll after bouncing my helmet of a couple rocks-- bailed and swam. A few rapids down (a III+/IV-) i flipped and took a pretty good hit to the eyebrow in the process of rolling. Nice little cut, but no stitches :) This is an awesome run for a hardshell kayak. There are some definite strainers and wood hazards (we boofed up and over one tree that was across the whole river), and a lot of places to pin or broach on rocks or wood. Swimming this section (especially the fast, narrow section around BV falls) could mean a lot of bangs and bruises. It was probably one of my best whitewater experiences ever though, considering this is the start of my second season in a kayak.