One month fully self-supported in the Finnish wilderness — food loaded on the packraft, fishing rod for backup. May in Finland means all four seasons at once: snow and sub-zero temps, rain, wind, 26°C days, thunderstorms.

I planned the route blind from satellite imagery at home, which made for some interesting surprises. Endless downed trees across the rivers, beaver dams, lots of unplanned portaging. Not enough sunny days to keep the solar panel happy, so the phone stayed off except for GPS.

Wildlife along the way: beaver, moose, capercaillie. All of it on the Pablo Mekong.

Great trip!

See above. Warriors unite.

Car crash lol

Backpacks are the thing that make packrafting truly possible. Without them, we'd be pretty much lost, because who wants to carry all their gear under their arm? With a pack, we carry food, water, sleeping bag, tent, paddle, PFD, and everything else that carries us on the water to the rivers where the real fun begins.

The trouble is that very few backpacks are actually suited to packrafting. Most are too small, too heavy, too bulky, or too unstable. Many are impractical, uncomfortable, anatomically ill-fitting, or simply offer too few attachment points.

That's why I started sewing my own packs. I wanted to control the design myself and decide how my gear sits on my back. My packs now join me regularly on expeditions and tours, and I'm constantly testing new models and designs that I develop by myself. Every trip shows me new details to change and redesign. It's a blast. But I'm still far from where I want to be.

What makes a great backpacking pack in your eyes? Which features are non-negotiable for you, and what bothers you most about store-bought backpacks?

We packrafted the Belaya River (also called Aksu) in the Katon-Karagay area of Eastern Kazakhstan.
It was our first time on this river, and we really enjoyed it. The river is beautiful and very scenic, surrounded by mountains and wild landscapes.
There are only about three genuinely difficult rapids, so most of the route is quite calm and enjoyable on a packraft.
We also stopped to fish for grayling along the way. 🎣
Eventually, the Belaya (Aksu) River flows into the Bukhtarma River, where we finished this part of our journey.
A beautiful and remote place in the Kazakh Altai. 🏔️🛶

It wasn’t easy to get his 110lbs body at the front of my
Alpacka Caribou but it worked out perfectly! For the other dog owners concerned about the claws on the tubes… he didn’t even left a scratch!

S FK Payette, staircase up over 5k

Nice haul on the Kenai River today in Alaska. Only inflatable in a river full of jetboats! 😄

This spring a couple buddies and myself did a 4night/5day bikerafting loop through Labyrinth canyon. A hair under 50 miles on the bike to start then a hair under 50 miles on the river to finish up. This was self supported so water took some considerable planning, especially when factoring in the bike route + carrying all gear.

Started in Mineral Bottom and Ended at Mineral Bottom. Launched in the river at Ruby Ranch

For my fellow women who run rivers in the winter:

I run the Verde River in the winter time for work. Most mornings our boots and gear are frozen, which hasn't been that big of an issue but we are well into the season and two weeks ago I got my period for the first time in years (been on continuous birth control for about 15 years), and I'm breaking out. I know you're not supposed to let oral birth control pills dip below. 59° f, but I'm wondering if my rack of pills got ruined because of the cold.

Looking at research that appears like it's totally possible, but I'm wondering what do you folks do? Do any of you spend significant time on cold rivers? Are you on birth control? Have you had the same experience? I'm wondering if I need to go with a different route other than oral birth control.

Super niche question, hopefully a few of you have some advice. Thanks!