Summer is prime packrafting season. Long days, warm water, swims whenever you like. It also brings its own set of problems: hard sun, dehydration, low rivers, algae and a hull that heats up on the bank. None of it needs to cut a trip short. Plan for the heat and you get the best of the season.
Start early, rest at midday
The simplest heat plan is the oldest one. Be on the water at first light, find shade in the middle of the day, and paddle again in the late afternoon. Early mornings are cooler and usually calmer, so you get the flattest water and the kindest temperatures at the same time.
Check the forecast for heat and fire danger as well as wind. On total fire ban days, the rules on stoves and campfires change, and some parks close access roads or tracks. Check with the land manager before you go.
Sun on the water
On a river or lake you get the sun twice: once from above, and again off the water. Sunburn sneaks up on you because the breeze keeps you cool while your skin cooks.
- Wear a long-sleeved sun shirt and lightweight long pants or a sarong over your legs.
- A broad-brimmed hat with a chin strap stays on in the wind and in a tip.
- Sunglasses on a retainer cut the glare off the water.
- Reapply sunscreen often, including the backs of your hands, your ears and the tops of your feet.
- Lip balm with sunscreen. Your lips take a beating from reflected light.
Your legs sit straight out in front of you in a packraft, facing the sky all day. They burn first. Cover them.
Drink before you are thirsty
Paddling in the heat, you lose water faster than you notice. Sip through the day rather than gulping at stops. Keep a bottle clipped where you can reach it without stopping, and drink with every snack.
On multi-day trips, carry a filter or treatment and plan where you will refill. Low summer flows make water quality worse, so treat everything you drink from a river or lake. Add electrolytes on long, hot days; plain water alone does not replace what you sweat out.
Know the signs of heat illness: headache, dizziness, nausea, cramps, stopping sweating. If someone in the group shows them, get them into shade and water and cool them down. Wet a shirt in the river and put it back on. The evaporation does the work.
Low flows and blue-green algae
Summer rivers run low and warm, and slow, warm water is where blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) blooms. A bloom can turn water green or scummy, or leave a paint-like film at the edges. Some blooms are toxic to people and animals.
State water authorities and local councils issue algae alerts for rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Check the current alerts before you go. If the water looks or smells off, stay out of it, do not drink it even through a filter, and keep dogs out.
Low flows change the paddling too. Riffles turn into gravel scrapes and you spend more time walking. Snags and rocks that sit deep in spring sit at the surface in February. A packraft is light enough to drag through the shallows, but check the floor after a scratchy day.
A hot hull on the bank
Leave a packraft in full sun and the fabric heats up fast. The tubes can get hot enough to be uncomfortable on bare skin, and the seat and backrest heat up with them. Sit on a towel or splash water over the seat before you climb in.
Heat also works on the air inside. Warm air expands, so a packraft inflated firm in the morning shade gets firmer sitting in the midday sun. Overfilling puts extra stress on the seams. On a hot bank, leave the packraft in the shade, or open the valve and let a little air out. When you launch into cool water, the air contracts and the tubes soften. Top them up once you have been on the water a few minutes.
The rule is simple: firm, not rock hard, and check the tubes each time the packraft moves between sun and water.
Care after a hot trip
UV is the slow enemy of any fabric. Store the packraft out of the sun between trips, and do not leave it baking in a hot car for days. Rinse off sand and river grit, dry it in the shade and store it loosely rolled in a cool place.
Heat and UV damage are not covered by our warranty. Shade is free. Use it.
Pick the right water
Summer is the time for lakes, estuaries and gentle rivers with a swimming hole at every bend. Choose water with shade along the banks and a good flow, and time your paddle for the cool of the day. Wear your PFD, even for a lazy float, and leave your trip intentions with someone at home.
Every Seeka self-bails and carries a two-year warranty on materials and welding. Or hire one for a weekend first.