Guest Letters & Trip Feedback

Feedback from a Wisconsin family of 3 who joined a Middle Fork 1-Day Trip back in early May.

Hi Diana,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. It seems life has jumped onto the fast track for me with both feet!

Our trip in May on the Middle Fork was awesome! We had beautiful weather, great raft-mates, a fantastic guide (yay, Louis!), a lot of laughs, an exhilarating trip down the river, saw beautiful scenery - including waterfalls, learned a great deal about the area’s history, and got a great physical and mental workout. I’d do it again with you guys in a heartbeat! Everything, and I mean everything, was taken care of, and at all times we felt we were in very capable hands. Our 14 yr old son enjoyed it fully. Does he realize what a lucky kid he is?? I DO know he is now very prepared to take on another rafting trip. I was impressed at the range of ages of the rafters and how all the guides made everyone feel included and special. I can’t say enough good things about our experience and would definitely recommend you to anyone considering rafting in California. I was especially impressed of how ecologically sensitive the staff was. If I could think of something negative to share with you, I would, but I can’t!!

Diana, you were extremely helpful in helping me plan our first major rafting trip. Everything was just as you said it would be. Our rafting trip really put the crowning touch on a fantastic weekend. Thanks a million.

Best Regards,
Mary Jo

South Fork 2-Day trip feedback from the Vasquez Family of Pleasanton, CA

Roxanne,

We had a fantastic time! I can’t say enough great things about our rafting weekend.  Thank you so much for all the hard work that went into making our trip truly unforgettable!

From the minute we arrived at the AO center (which by the way is a very nice facility!) we felt welcome and felt well informed at all times.  We were a little unsure how things were going to go that day but after a few minutes we were completely confident and excited.  Instructions were always clear and complete.

I think the key to our great trip was our wonderful guide Kyle Connally.  He was so patient with our kids that he deserved a halo after our trip!  He made it so fun for them and really incorporated them into the trip which I think made them confident in Kyle’s abilities and their own.   I couldn’t believe that my son Joey jumped right into the swim rapids without hesitating.  That was because he trusted himself and what Kyle was teaching him. I love that he encouraged us to experience the river inside and outside the boat so that we could get the most out of our trip.  Many thanks Kyle…one…two…skip a few…99, 100!

Kyle was also very knowledgeable about the river and the environment and willingly shared his expertise with us. There wasn’t a question he couldn’t answer.

The food was great!  Things always taste better when you don’t have to cook or clean but Saturday night’s pasta and tri tip was fantastic.  Thank you also to Anna and Erika and Ryan who let our kids hang out in the kitchen!

We really appreciated all the clean and well maintained equipment and facilities.  We felt safe at all times and loved all the AO resting sites along the river.

Thank you so much for a wonderful trip! We have already recommended you over and over and will definitely come back!

See you again!
The Vasquez Family

Guest feedback from a group out of San Francisco. Kumar and his group joined us on a Middle Fork 2-Day rafting trip.

Hi Roxanne,

We had a fantastic time on the 2-day Middle Fork trip! All of the guides were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Our guide Laura, in particular, was awesome. In addition to being a skilled guide, she shared many details about the river, history, and local wildlife that added color to the trip.

The food was excellent! Especially considering everything came along with us in the gear boats. All in all it was a great experience. I highly recommend AO and this trip to friends.

Regards,
Kumar D.

South Fork American trip feedback from a family from Israel. They joined a 2-Day trip on June 13-14, 2009.

Hello Gregg,

Pursuant to our short discussion I’d like to send you and the crew a thank you note.

My two children and I enjoyed our two days rafting with AO Rafting very much.

The crew was great. Helpful information was delivered at all time. The food was great and we felt tat we were well taken care of.

A special thanks to Kyle (did I spell it right?) that managed the boat and the kids superbly.

It is going to be a great memory of a world class outfitter that we will take with us back home to Israel.

Regards,

Moshe Dalman

Merced River feedback from a group of 7 from Thousand Oaks, CA

HI Lenka!

Thanks for your email. I planned to send an email to AO to let you know what a FANTASTIC trip we enjoyed with our guide, Dan.

The entire experience was “top shelf”. We were thrilled when Dan choose to be our guide. He is knowledgeable, personable and really worked hard to make sure that we all had a great experience. Everyone loved the trip. We’re ready to go again!!!

Yes, one of our group went on a quick trip (along with Dan). The pre-trip safety briefing was very useful. She was OK (still smiling, feet pointing downriver) and got picked up about 20 yards downstream
by one of the other rafts.

The lunch was again: top shelf. You guys didn’t scrimp one bit. The quality of the food was SUPER. So good, that the following day, we went searching for the baker in Mariposa that provides you with your
bread.

If all that wasn’t enough: geeze, that bus ride back was impressive. That old railroad road is pretty narrow, especially when you meet someone coming in the opposite direction. Your driver did a great job.

So…all in all: it was a FABULOUS EXPERIENCE. The classy touch was a postcard from “Diesel Dan” yesterday. You guys run a great outfit.

Thanks so much for making this a most memorable trip for our group. We just got to see the photos. They’re great!

Please send a an enormous THANKS to Dan. He’s the best.

Best,

Louise M
Thousand Oaks, CA

Feedback from a Bachelor Party group on a 2-Day Middle Fork American rafting trip.

Diana,

The rafting trip was absolutely epic. I have only gone on 1 day trips but after doing that 2 day I will never go back. I’m not a big camping-sleeping-on-dirt kind of guy but the hikes, cliffs, and waterfalls more than made up for it. The food was unbelievable. I thought it tasted like moms home cooking, just a regular night at home. I couldn’t believe it was all cooked with portable equipment. I thought we would be eating sandwiches and power bars for 2 days. I was completely shocked to taste how delicious every meal was. All my friends agreed too.

The guides on the trip were my favorite part. I feel like I have formed a lifetime companionship with our guide. We had Kyle Connolly as the main guide on our boat and he was absolutely perfect. We are already planning another trip in a few months and we want to go to whatever river he is the guide. He was like one of our best friends after 5 minutes. He just clicked exactly with us from the clowning around to the stories. Kyle exceeded his guide duties and made us feel welcome. The other guides that we saw on the campsites (Anna, Tom, Dane, and Kelly) were all extremely nice and friendly too. I couldn’t have picked a better group of people than them. I hope you corporate people pay the guides well and they all deserve a platinum star for the way that we were treated.

The river, food, hikes, and guides were all A++++. I couldn’t have imagined having a better time. The guides were the ones that made us all feel so at home and comfortable. The only negative thing I could think about would be the price for the trip ($299). That is extremely expensive per person. I would think $199 would be more fair, BUT if the guides are getting paid a percentage then I would gladly pay more for that type of companionship and bond.

Overall I would highly HIGHLY recommend AO Rafting and especially those guides to all my friends and family and I will be planning another trip hopefully soon.

Thanks again,

Paul G.
Concord, CA

Feedback from a of group of 2 out of Los Angeles on the Kaweah River.

Hey Lenka,

Yea my friend took a couple swims on the trip haha. I was able to hold on for dear life surfing Suicide Falls though my friend lost his shoe on that one but he was fine.  It was a really fun river with some unexpected holes that tossed a few more people as well. Kevin our guide was pretty humorous and good spirited that we were all probably horrible paddlers. Our group definitely developed a sense of camaraderie and had us laughing and having fun the entire time. Surfing the rapid was probably one of the most exhiliarting things and I’m glad we messed up the approach b/c how many people can say they surfed a waterfall successfully lol. It’s a surprising river that even caught our guide off guard at one point. I think those little things really make the trip because if you navigate the rapids perfectly every time it just seems too easy. We definitely were able to finese some of the river and that was pretty cool as well.

I liked that the rafts all stuck together and looked out for each other. Knowing that our raft had help all around us if we needed it provided a layer of comfort. The restaurant stop was nice along the river. The variety of choices was excellent and the service pretty quick considering there were so many of us.

I’d definitely take another trip with ao again, I just wish there were more rapids closer to where I live.

Jen

Feedback from a group of 4 out of North Carolina who stopped in for a rafting trip on the Merced River while vacationing in California.

Roxanne,

The trip was excellent! Our guide, Laura, was first rate. The weather was perfect. The river was very enjoyable, especially with the higher flows. I think a couple of the rapids were pushing Class V, so that was very cool. I have been on many, many rafting trips and I will say that was the best lunch I have had on the river. Y’all did good! Maybe you can move into W. Va and NC and show some of these companies how to do rafting right.

Unfortunately, we won’t be coming back to California anytime soon, but if we do and decide to raft, I will definitely be calling you.

Thanks!

Dennis K.
Charlotte, NC

Feedback from a party of 4 on the South Fork American from Fremont, CA

Hi Roxanne!
I am very glad you asked for my feedback, because I definitely have some…

We had an EXCELLENT time. Everyone we interacted with was friendly and knowledgeable and very approachable.

In particular Brandon Bloodsaw was our guide and he was FABULOUS. He made the entire trip enjoyable and our entire group had so much fun, we would like to come back for the 2 day trip in August! So no need to wait until spring to contact us! Brandon informed us we could request him and we definitely will do that as he made the trip.

Another pleasant surprise was the food provided on the trip. It was great. We had little expectations around lunch thinking it would be a soggy sandwich or something of the like. The food was actually delicious! It was the perfect amount and it was great to see the guides break out fresh fruit and vegetables, cut it up and serve us.

Again all in all everything about the trip was excellent and we truly had a great experience and look forward to booking our Middle Fork trip for August!!

Thanks in advance!

Angela C.
Freemont, CA

Feedback from a Tuolumne River 1-Day Trip over Memorial Day Weekend.

Hi Roxanne,

The trip was great! Everybody really enjoyed themselves. At one point the guides let us go down a rapid while swimming which was by far the highlight of the trip. (Especially since I got caught in an eddy for a little bit, an eye opening experience about just how powerful the river is even in a class II rapid). The guides were Noah and Lindsay. Both of them were extremely knowledgeable, professional and motivated to give us a great experience. Every trip I’ve gone on the guides have been the reason why I keep coming back with your company. We literally put our lives in their hands and because of their knowledge and professionalism they put everybody at ease. The food was once again very good (Doug even approved of the lemonade ). The river was great and it lived up to all of our expectations. It was challenging yet fun and the scenery was beautiful. We’re already talking about next year’s trip! I’m thinking of the Kaweah, its closer to Vegas and it seems pretty challenging with more drops (which is an added bonus). A couple of the guys were talking about doing Cherry Creek (which I’m not ready to do just yet), maybe in a couple of years. So hopefully we’ll see you guys again next year.

Thanks,
Mike Calarco