We already covered how to run your own vehicle shuttle or arrange with a commercial service to shuttle your vehicles for you.
But one of the most convenient ways to shuttle is to have a commercial service drop you off at the put-in and pick you up at the take-out.
This might be the best option for people who are flying in and lack a four wheel drive vehicle or a way to carry boats on top of their cars, but it’s also convenient for people who don’t want to leave cars at the put-in.
Generally, it works like this. You show up at the commercial outfitters headquarters. There, you either rig up your own personal gear, or gear supplied by them if that is your plan.
At the outfitters parking lot, you will completely rig your boats to make sure that you have everything that you need for the trip. This can be extremely confusing as there is generally a lot of gear floating around, much of it in small bags to fit in odd-shaped compartments. It can be really easy to overlook bits and baubles of gear that you might need during this process.
Next, the outfitter will load everybody up in a van and throw all the gear in a truck or trailer and drive you up to the Ruby Ranch put-in. At the put-in, everything will again be unloaded. You’ll have a chance to leave behind gear that you don’t need. It’s good if this can be corralled into a single stuff sack to keep it from getting misplaced.
There is generally only a single put-in scheduled per-day, so book early to ensure there is space.
Days later, when you land at the take-out, you will de-rig all of your gear so that the outfitter can get in, load up all the gear, boats, and people, and drive you back to the outfitters headquarters.