Skagit River in my PVC Rodeo - Packrafting WA - 3000cfs - Class II-III

Decided to upgrade my packraft after almost five years of ripping around the Kokopelli Recon. The Recon is a great boat, stable and stiffer than any other nylon or kevlar packrafts, but they do lack agility, especially compared to whitewater kayaks. The new PVC Rodeo by Kokopelli bridges the gap, its not going to taco on you in a big wave or get popped by a little stick like the Valkyries (similar design by another leading packraft brand) will. Its stiff, its sporty, its everything you would really want in a whitewater packraft. Onto the run, The rapids below the Newhalem put in are always a great addition to the run, if you put in at Goodell Creek, you essentially miss HALF of the rapids on the entire run. The first several rapids above the bridge to the visitor center all have many different lines depending on flows and there are often some great hidden surf waves in here. Goodell Creek Rapid actually feels pretty tame after these upper rapids, but still has some fun lines river right. After this, the flatwater drags on a bit but there are some good eddylines and overall good scenery especially if you look upriver. Eventually a couple easier class II rapids pop up close to the highway and this means the S Bends are close. The first S Bends rapid is fun, but still lacks the V-wave that it used to have pre 2021 floods. The second rapid still has a great crashing wave after the current swings up against the right side. The Skagitator is not what it used to be but is still fun to try to flip yourself in and has little to no consequence. The last S Bends rapid has some fun lines river middle and right but a much easier line left to middle. We decided to just take out here instead of adding a bunch of flatwater to the formal takeout. Fun run, especially in the new boat. I was able to catch so many more waves, especially on the fly than I used to be able to in the Recon. I honestly forgot the date this was recorded but it was in August sometime when all the other PNW rivers were too low and I really just wanted to get out on something I knew for my new boat, and since I'd literally swim this whole river it was the perfect candidate. This run took us roughly 2 hours with one quick stop to surf for a few minutes at the corner wave.