In 2005, a few of us set out on a punk rafting adventure, building a raft out of found and scavenged materials and floating for a week, Huck Finn-style, on one of the largest fastest rivers on the continent, the Missouri.
Driving across county to float the Missouri River 
Driving across county to float the Missouri River 
Driving across county to float the Missouri River 
Building our first raft ever to float the Missouri River 
Building our first raft ever to float the Missouri River 
Building our first raft ever to float the Missouri River 
Building our first raft ever to float the Missouri River 
Building our first raft ever to float the Missouri River 
First raft we ever built on the Missouri River 
We lived to tell the tale (barely), and so year after year, we’ve taken longer and longer adventures, floating many major American rivers on completely ridiculous homemade rafts. After that first single raft trip, we invited others, launching with whole punk raft flotillas. The experience has been life changing.
Building the raft in Red Bluff, California to float on the Sacramento River 
Building the raft in Red Bluff, California to float on the Sacramento River 
Building the raft in Red Bluff, California to float on the Sacramento River 
Building the raft in Red Bluff, California to float on the Sacramento River 
Building the raft in Red Bluff, California to float on the Sacramento River 
Building the raft in Red Bluff, California to float on the Sacramento River 
Building the raft in Red Bluff, California to float on the Sacramento River 
Occasional fishing 
We built a ramshackle cabin to shade us from the sun and occasional rain. 
Snags made our passage difficult and exciting 
We brought jugs of fresh water with us and occasionally refilled. 
I won’t drown. Our motto. 
On the Willamette River 
The Willamette River 
Raft on the Willamette River 
On the Willamette River 
We occasionally fished (seldom successfully) off the raft 
Salem, Oregon docks on the Willamette River where we launched with a flotilla of 12 rafts, 20 people, and 3 dogs 
Jasper the dog 
On the Willamette River we launched with a flotilla of 12 rafts, 20 people, and 3 dogs 
On the Sacramento River 
On the Sacramento River 
We often had to hitchhike back to our vehicles.
Below are two ‘zines created by the author:
The Good Ship Abandon
the story so far
A graphic adaption of an adventure building a raft out of trash and floating more than a hundred miles on the perilous Missouri River, one of the fastest flowing rivers in North America.
Punk Rafting Adventure
yours for the taking
A ‘zine in preparation for a journey with friends on the Willamette River based on a half decade of DIY river rafting.
