Women’s Expedition Packrafting Course, with Jule Harle of Alaska Packraft School
Due to numerous requests, we’ve added a Level 2 component to this course. All students will spend the first two days together at the kayak play park in Durango, Colorado, with Jule Harle, Krista Beyer, Lizzy Scully and Annie Bussell. For our two-day backcountry portion of the course, Level 2+ students will head to either the San Miguel (Class III) or sections of the Upper Animas (Class III+) with Jule and TBA guide, while Level 2 students will run a section of the Dolores River (Class II-III-) with Krista and TBA guide. You need all your own gear for this course, including a throw bag, whistle, knife and whitewater packraft, PFD, helmet and paddle.
Take a Course With Women, Taught by Women!
Course Description
Turn the blue lines on maps into trails on this women’s expedition packrafting course. Acquire the packrafting skills you need to embark on bigger and better adventures on your own! And do all this one of Colorado’s most stunning rivers with a big group of badass women!
The scenery on the different sections of this river range widely from mountain forests to desert canyons. And the quality of the boating matches the scenery, with everything from wide and languorous Class I paddles to rowdy Class III+ and harder excitement (we only paddle up to Class III+ at FCG, and that depends on which sections we run and the abilities of our clients).
You’ll very likely see bald eagles, otters, bears and other wildlife, and generally not so many human beings. Sometimes, when the sections below McPhee Reservoir flow (which only happens when we have a big snowpack), you’ll have more company on the river. But the River of Sorrows never disappoints.
Four Days of Heaven
Join us for this 4-day, Level 2/2+ Expedition Planning and Paddling Course! We’ll spend one to two days training in the kayak play park and on various sections of on the Animas River, followed by two to three days in the backcountry on the Dolores River.
To do this course, you should be comfortable in Class II at a minimum. As well, you should be able to self rescue (aka “wet re-entry”) most of the time. You’ll be paddling a lot of Class III in this course.
Due to the likely low snowpack, we’ll be running the following sections of river:
Rico to Big Rock (West Fork): 27.6 miles, Class II-III- West Fork to McPhee Reservoir: 14.6 miles, Class II-III
Regardless of which section we do, you must be a novice (Level 2) or intermediate (Level 3) boater to take this course. This is NOT a course for beginner boaters or people on the cusp of Level 2.
If you’re not sure you are experienced enough for this course, please visit our blog post, “What Level Packrafter Are You?“
Price: $1495
A 50% deposit is required to secure your space. If you are registering inside of the 30 day window, the remaining balance is due immediately.
Please review our cancellation policy, which you will find on our Terms, Conditions & Cancellation Policy Page.
Why Take a Course w/ Women, Taught By Women?
Women learn differently from men. “Whether you call it ‘girl power’ or ‘feminine energy,'” says Jule Harle of Alaska Packrafting School, ladies have a different learning style. And women’s packrafting courses can offer a distinct environment where they can talk through concepts and issues more thoroughly than might happen in a mixed class or class with just men.
“There’s a part of the brain that’s twice as big in a female that processes new experiences or manages fear through talking,” Jule says.
Who knew? Well, we women did, of course 
So, here you go–four women’s bikerafting and packrafting courses. We hope to bring Jule back year after year to teach Level 2 and beyond courses. And owner, Lizzy Scully, and our newest guide, Krista Beyer, will teach Level 1-2 courses. Lizzy acquired her Level 2 Packraft Instructor Training Certification April 2024 and will be working to get her Level 4 training in 2025.
Want to read/listen more about how women learn differently from men? Check out our, “A Beginner’s Guide to Packrafting & Bikerafting” podcast with Jule. You’ll find it on our website or on Spotify.
Email us if you want to schedule a bikerafting course for you and your lady friends. Lizzy loves bikerafting! Also ask about our full-ride scholarships for BIPOC, queer and transgender folks through the Armida Huerta Adventure Fund.
What's Included
Includes backcountry food starting with lunch on day 1 of the backcountry portion of the trip and ending with lunch on the last day of the backcountry portion of the trip.
Please make sure you have a whitewater-capable packraft (either a self bailing or decked packraft), plus a whitewater helmet, PFD and paddle.
what's not included
Food and lodging, though you may reserve a glamping tent, the cabin or trailer at Scullbinder Ranch and hang out with Jule and Krista. Your stay includes breakfast and dinner.
A whitewater boat and whitewater equipment. Transportation. We do not have a shuttle. So you must have a car and/or carpool with other participants.
Instructors
Jule Harle
Jule is the founder, owner & a primary instructor for the Alaska Packraft School. She’s an ACA certified Packraft & also Whitewater Kayak Instructor and Level 4 American Canoe Association Instructor and instructor trainer. She’s invested in the development of river sports and supporting the water community. She serves as a board member for the ACA Safety, Education & Instruction Council’s Packrafting endorsement and also the American Packrafting Association’s AK Regional Chapter. She and the board are advocating for APA & requiting new members to help support its core values: an organization invested in its community, supports packraft education, river access & stewardship.
Krista Beyer
Krista spends most of her days thinking about water. This lifetime curiosity was cultivated as a child in the wet climate of the Pacific Northwest. At an early age, she would pull on a pair of muck boots and some trusty foul-weather gear to explore the tidepools of the Puget Sound. Krista’s curiosity has since taken her to the study and exploration of the aquifers of northeast Arizona, the river corridors and fisheries of the Colorado River Watershed, the snowpack of the San Juan Mountains, and the glaciers of Alaska. To this day, muck boots are her favorite shoe, and her favorite days involve a dry suit or a durable rain jacket. Krista is certified in Swiftwater Rescue and is a Wilderness First Responder. She’ll be working toward her Level 2 American Canoe Association Packraft Instructor Certification spring 2025.
Check out a quick Facebook clip from our women’s trips in 2024.
