Meals on Crab Apple Whitewater’s Rafting Trips
Everyone knows whitewater rafting creates a big appetite! After paddling big whitewater all day in the sun or even just floating in tranquility taking in the scenery, stomachs always rumble in anticipation of what is to come. Food is always included in some form on all of Crab Apple Whitewater’s rafting trips.
In Massachusetts, Crab Apple Whitewater offers both half and full day whitewater trips. The half-day whitewater trips such as Deerfield River Funyaks and the Half-Day Family Raft Trip run on spring, summer and fall afternoons. We recommend eating lunch prior to arriving at Crab Apple Whitewater to ensure you have plenty of energy to paddle the whitewater rapids. At the mid-point of these trips we provide a snack to help you regain some energy. Granola bars, lemonade and ice tea are served on the side of the river and allow the guests time to get out of their boat and stretch their legs and back.
The full day whitewater trips in Massachusetts with Crab Apple Whitewater have a delicious lunch included. On the milder Deerfield River Fife Brook trip, Crab Apple provides a picnic buffet about half way down the river prepared by the guides the morning of your rafting trip. Each day, river guides come in early to prepare deli trays complete with meats and vegetables, bake the famous Crab Apple brownies and fill coolers while the guests prepare for their day of whitewater rafting. Different breads, potato chips, cheeses, vegetarian options and diet specific options are always available. Cold drinks such as iced tea, lemonade, and water are also provided to quench the rafters’ thirst and help rehydrate in the middle of a hot summer trip. If the weather is cool, whitewater rafters love a hot cup of hot chocolate with their lunch to warm them from the inside and add a little sugar.
The more difficult Monroe Bridge stretch of the Deerfield is a wild ride in a deep gorge and lunch is served back at the Crab Apple Whitewater base after the trip concludes. A delicious cookout includes a main course of steak, chicken, salmon or vegetarian option cooked on a huge outdoor grill by a couple of multi-talented river rafting guides. While the guests change into dry clothes after the rafting trip, the guides fire up the grill and the delicious aroma of fresh grilled meats fills the air. The cookout is complete with homemade salads, hot rolls, chips and salsa and plenty of cold lemonade and iced tea. Crab Apple Whitewater also hosts an “adult” Snack Bar that serves a nice selection of beer and wine for those looking to put the cap on a perfect day.
In Maine, on both The Kennebec and Dead River rafting trips, Crab Apple Whitewater provides a full BBQ cookout after rafters get off the river back at our base. Most rafting outfitters choose to stop on the side of the river to provide lunch. This is ok on the few days when the temperature is not too cold or too hot, the mosquitoes or black flies are not swarming and biting, it is not raining, etc. Cutting a steak with a plate on your lap while sitting in the sand is also no easy feat! When most outfits end their trip, they have long shuttle bus rides back to their base camps and so they choose to eat on the river so that lunch is not delayed until after the long shuttle ride.
At Crab Apple Whitewater, we float right to our base camp on the Kennebec River or have just a one mile shuttle from the Dead River take-out point so we choose to eat back at our comfortable base camp. Guests have time to shower, change into dry clothes, have a soak in the hot tub or dip in the pool while steaks, chicken, salmon or veggie burgers are cooked to order. Comfortable tables and sun drenched space or covered deck overlooking the Kennebec river is the setting for chips and salsa, corn bread, rice, baked beans, different salads, blueberry cake and cold drinks that complete the homemade buffet. In addition, a full service pub is adjacent to the deck and many adult guests take advantage with a cold beer or drink special. Best way to eat after a raft trip? – dry and warm with delicious food and the beverage of your choice!