Students planning outdoor adventures can rent equipment at discounted rates from the Outdoor Recreation Program.
Today is the last day U students can get equipment for Memorial Day weekend adventures.
“By Friday almost all of these will be gone,” said program manager Brian Wilkinson, pointing to stacks of large coolers and rows of bright orange life jackets.
During U holidays, the recreation program doesn’t charge students for equipment, so students who rent equipment on Friday will only have to pay for Saturday and Sunday, not Monday, Wilkinson said.
For students renting rafts, this can mean a savings of up to $60.
This weekend, U students Adam Dern and James West are going with friends on a rafting and kayaking trip down the Green River.
Dern, a biology major, and West, a pre-parks, recreation and tourism major, prepare for their trip by choosing proper equipment from the recreation center’s boating storage shed. They looked through the necessary equipment, including paddles, helmets, life vests, kayaks and spray skirts-waterproof pieces of material designed to fit around the top of the kayak so water can’t get in.
“It’s the only kind of skirt I wear,” Dern said.
The Outdoor Recreation Program does more than just rent out equipment. Students can come in for help planning a trip anywhere in Utah.
The program also offers students a checklist of recommended equipment as well as maps and tips about the area.
In addition, the center doubles as a ski shop during the winter, stocked with rows of ski boots and other winter gear.
To rent equipment, students can bring their student ID cards to the program’s office in the old Fort Douglas Bath House at the mouth of Red Butte Canyon-just east of the Sage Point Residence Halls-anytime between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The program office is open during Spring Break and breaks between semesters.