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Step 1
Determine whether the river is young, middle-aged or old. "Young" rivers have steep drops, cataracts, waterfalls and extreme gradients, while "old" rivers generally run through flatlands and are relatively easy to navigate, even with larger boats. "Middle-aged" rivers have just enough qualities of both to make them the most popular for river runners.
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Step 2
Scout the river for any debris or obstacles, like fallen trees, rocks or man-made objects. You may not be able to remove them, but by looking at your route ahead of time, you'll at least avoid being taken by surprise.
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Step 3
Take note of the landmarks around major features. Knowing there are Class V rapids on a river is one thing, but knowing that there's a large boulder shaped like a camel on the left-hand bank about 50 yards from the rapids can help you be prepared to take them on confidently.
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Step 4
Lift your eyes as you paddle after you get on the water. Much like driving a car, you need time to anticipate and react to obstacles and challenges in front of you. Seeing these challenges in enough time to execute a plan, or even to choose to paddle ashore and walk around the obstacle, is key to the safety of all the rafters.
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Step 5
Eddy-hop your way down a river that is difficult to see. Pull the boat to one side of the river and stop the raft in an eddy in order to get a better view. The eddy stabilizes the raft and buys you precious time to make a decision about the obstacle ahead.
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Step 6
Read the weather and environmental features of the river to determine whether it is safe to begin or continue a river run. Elements like wind and air temperature are important to know before rafting, since they can all have a tremendous impact on the safety of the rafters and equipment.
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Step 7
Observe the formations in the water. A V-shaped ripple formation inevitably indicates that there is something in the water. Even if you can't see what that something is, the ripple will never lie to you, so avoid that area if at all possible.
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Step 8
Notice the color of the water. The darker the water, the deeper it is, so if the color of water lightens, be on the lookout for shallow water that may beach your raft or send you face to face with an angry animal trying to eat his lunch.
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Step 9
Talk to other rafters who have experienced the river ahead of you. If you find yourself lucky enough to see a group just pulling out of the river, then go and find out if they encountered anything unusual or if there are sections about which you should be especially concerned.
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Step 10
Analyze the maps that are readily available. Most flatwater rivers have been assessed thoroughly by FEMA because of their floodplain locations. These maps are readily available on the FEMA website (see Resources below).
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Step 11
Know your riverside orientation in case of emergency. Emergency river rescue personnel will orient themselves facing downstream, so regardless of the location or way you may actually be facing, "river left" is always the shore to the left-hand side if you were facing downstream, and the same goes for "river right." In other words, river left is still river left when you are facing upstream and it's actually to your right.
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Step 12
Check with the local waterway commission authority for the current speed, volume, rating and forces of the river. You can check real-time flow data for any river in the US online using the National Water Information System Web Interface (see Resources below).
