No Coolers

CAMP WITHOUT COOLERS ~ Kick the Cooler Habit!

River – General

Ben Web the director of Paddling with Purpose did an interview and turned it into an article – he did a pretty good job of explaining what a fit and healthy female river runner of over 25 years can do, including first descents, read on: Lacey Anderson recounts a lifetime […]

PWP: River Gypsy Mama

August 10, 2024 in River - First Descents / River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Think you can’t travel internationally with your cataraft? Maybe you THINK you can’t but with one of our “International Travel” packages you CAN. We have been transporting our gear internationally for many years now – to Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and Ecuador. Neil brought the one pictured below down to Ecuador […]

International Travel with a Cataraft? You Bet!

July 25, 2020 in River - General by Neil Nikirk

I am updating the original post from January 2020 because EVERYTHING has changed now! I am publishing this now on March 21. In January everything was lining up to be one of the most amazing years yet, full of high adventure and travel. 2020 was going to be good! BUT […]

Post-Pandemic River Schedule, Who Knows?!!

March 21, 2020 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

Have you ever wanted to travel to exotic places like Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, and other boating locations around the globe with your own cataraft? Well, now you can. Go Light Outdoors has put together an “International Travel” cataraft package in both standard and deluxe versions that allow you to […]

You Too Can Do It!

June 12, 2019 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

Last season (2017)I made the work transition from being a whitewater river guide to being a River Ranger in one of our nation’s spectacular National Parks. Working as a river ranger isn’t “a walk in the park” as the saying goes. Many a hot buggy work day was spent at […]

NRS: River Rangers and Kitty Litter?

August 25, 2018 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Far from the crowds that flock to southern Peru, you can get your “Indiana Jones” on in the northern territories where ancient Incan and Pre-Incan archaeological wonders rival the famed citadel of Machu Picchu. The mountains surrounding Chachapoyas in northern Peru contain the lush vegetation of the Andean cloud forests […]

NRS: Five Reasons to Travel to Peru

May 10, 2018 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

This time, last year (or at least this is my side of the story) on the Salt River in the Sonoran desert. Our low-water river trip down the Salt River in Arizona was an expedition with lots of wild life. So much life in the desert. Maybe it was the […]

Duct Tape Butt and other Bear Stories

April 7, 2018 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

2018 – IS THE YEAR of the Rio Marañón! Do not wait another year to sign up, this is the year! So many launch dates and themes to choose from! Each trip has its own unique flare, one is sure to fit your interest. Here are three different themes and […]

Year of the Rio Maranon

March 6, 2018 in River - General tagged international river expedition / Peru / Rio Maranon by Lacey Anderson

2017 kept me so busy that there has been no time to blog. Here is a quick reflection on 2017 (better late than never): started the year with my “International Cataraft” in Ecuador, feel even more in love with the rivers and people of that country. In February came back […]

2017 Hard to Beat!

February 1, 2018 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

For 5 years this has been my work. I am passionate about doing what I can to save this river and to help the locals and Peruvians in their battle to protect the very important free flowing Upper Amazon. Please read my article about the conservation effort and learn what […]

AW: The Fight to Save the Rio Maranon

May 18, 2017 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

If I told you it’s possible to go boating in paradise for as little as $46 dollars a day would you believe me? It seems crazy, yes, but in Ecuador, it’s completely attainable. That $46 a day included traveling to Ecuador with my personal cataraft, frame and oars, round-trip taxi […]

NRS: Traveling to Ecuador with Cats

March 19, 2017 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Join us on a self-support trip to Ecuador this winter. You make all the flight arrangements and get your boating equipment down to Tena or Baeza. Not sure that you can travel with your equipment? Rental is available or purchase one of Neil’s “International Travel” cataraft packages. These are the […]

Join Us in Ecuador – winter 2017

January 2, 2017 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

On a trip during Mexico’s monsoon season a flash flood threatens to sweep NRS Ambassador, Lacey Anderson, and her companion down the river. Faced with the option to run a flooded IV+ canyon or hunker down within reach of a Mexican pot farm, Lacey outweighs the potential risk of […]

NRS: Lacey’s Choice: Canyons or Cartels

April 16, 2016 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

There’s a Ben Harper song that continued to run through my head as I rowed the Rio Marañón in Peru last summer. The chorus, I am blessed, I am blessed, I am blessed to be a witness, played over and over again, through countless rapids and lulls of flat stretches. […]

NRS: Blessed

March 24, 2016 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

ONE TIME DEAL – LOW SPECIAL PRICE OFFER! This will be a true cultural experience; best if you are fluent in Spanish and love traveling in Peru. The trip was organized for the Peruvian NGO Conservamos por Naturaleza and the Peruvian Rio Marañón conservation campaign. The majority of participants will […]

Peruvian River Conservation Trip

February 8, 2016 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

A Floater’s Guide to the Rivers of the Yaqui Watershed; Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico is the title to the new guidebook. Here is an Excerpt: Just south of the US/Mexico border (Arizona) lies an expansive and impressive watershed that offers a variety of rivers to be run – the watershed […]

Northern Mexico River Guidebook

January 6, 2016 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

“I’m a native of Tupen Grande. We have to face a problem caused by the company Odebrecht. It’s a mega-dam project which they are trying to do in the Maranon River Basin,” states Emer Chavez. “It will flood hundreds of square kilometers. Thousands of families will be displaced” continues Emer. […]

Serpent of Gold – Trailer II

September 21, 2015 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

Check out the trailer to our documentary! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj5q4gB5HZc Please give it a like or share from our facebook page, and share with any paddling/ environmental / social groups you might think will be interested. https://www.facebook.com/paddlingwithpurpose?ref=hl After all this time planning, fundraising, organizing and paddling it is awesome to see what […]

The Serpent of Gold – Trailer

September 7, 2015 in River - General by Administrator

Deep in rural Guatemala, expedition rafter Lacey Anderson employs a whiteboard and the common language of rivers to bridge the communication divide and train a group of indigenous Mayans to be river guides. With a marker and small whiteboard in hand, I began illustrating hydrology to a group of Mayan […]

NRS: Mayan Guide School

May 10, 2015 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Neil and I were about to embark on the first raft descent of the upper Rio Bavispe in northern Mexico, a tributary of the Rio Yaqui north of the infamous Copper Canyon. As far as we knew, the river had been run only once, by a solo kayaker. This is […]

NRS: Exploring Mexico´s Rio Bavispe

April 7, 2015 in River - First Descents / River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Peru and Mexico are the destination countries for 2015! In May through July I will be in Peru running the Upper Amazon. In July I will return home to start preparing for river trips in Mexico. In August and September you will find Neil and I on rivers together; we […]

Join a River Trip!

March 15, 2015 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

The 30 pounder on the SelwayNo, you don’t have to go on a diet, just downsize your raft or cataraft and frame! We own four 12.5 and 13 foot catarafts and here are the weights on the sets of tubes: 30, 38, 43, and 45 pounds for each set. These […]

New Year’s Resolution? Lose Weight!

January 4, 2015 in River - General by Administrator

Do you ever dream of doing an international boating expedition? Say in Guatemala, Nepal, Mexico, or Peru? Stop dreaming and join me in 2015! See the new Facebook group for information on upcoming river adventures! The FB group is called “Womens Water Expeditions”. I just completed running some rivers in […]

Seriously, Do It In 2015!

December 31, 2014 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

Having done both tributaries of the Rio Aros, the Rio Mulatos (2010 and 2011) and the Verde/Upper Sirupa (2013), we were keen to complete the “trilogy” and run the remaining headwater stream, the Rio Tutuaca. In 2013, we had scouted access to the Rio Tutuaca and the area around Rancho […]

Rio Tutuaca, Mexico – First Cataraft Descent

August 17, 2014 in River - First Descents / River - General by Neil Nikirk

“Thank you for expressing an interest in the Women´s Peru Expedition happening in 2015, this is the 1st update.” So began my letter to interested participants in an all-women river expedition planned for 2015. I was about to take-off to Peru for my second trip down the Rio Marañon (the […]

Really? All-women trip on the Amazon!

July 31, 2014 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

This is how I packed all my whitewater catarafting equipment for a month long expedition on the Rio Marañon in Peru. I did this excursion in 2013. It was really surprising to me how well the packing and transportation of all this equipment onto an airplane went! It was […]

Everything Fit Within the Airlines Weight Limits!

May 1, 2014 in River - General by Lacey Anderson

When the angry mob in the highlands of Guatemala got out ropes, gasoline, and then made the hand gesture of slicing necks, I did not have to speak Mayan to understand what they had in store for us. I came to the shocking realization that this could truly be my […]

NRS: Fun was the Point, Enlightenment was the Result

March 30, 2014 in River - General / River - Published Articles by Lacey Anderson

Do you love rivers and rafting but wish you could keep the logistics simple – less gear, easier (but still tasty) meals, and lighter boats? If so, this trip is for you. Neil and I have teamed with the great folks at Rogue River Journeys (RRJ) to offer a special-theme […]

“Go Light” Rogue River Trip – August 7-10

February 7, 2014 in River - General by Administrator