Helfrich McKenzie Rafting

🎥 Welcome to the raft shop

You’ve seen little glimpses of this place in a few of my videos, but I figured it was finally time for a proper introduction.

Before it became the home of Helfrich McKenzie Rafting, this building had a very different life. Since taking ownership, we’ve slowly transformed it into a functional space for our operation. We created four bays for our raft vans, trailers, and boats, and turned the old back room into our gear shed, packed with life jackets, paddles, helmets, rain gear, fleece jackets, dry bags, and everything else that keeps our guests comfortable on the river.

Today’s project wasn’t glamorous. I attached a heavy-duty magnet to the handle of an old paddle and swept one bay of the shop floor.

The result? Nearly a full measuring cup of old metal—bits of wire, nails, screws, and who knows what else.

If that means even one less flat tire on the way to the river this season, I’d call it time well spent.

Running a rafting company isn’t just about the days on the water. It’s all the little jobs behind the scenes that keep everything rolling.

Welcome to the raft shop.