River flows by text — from a Garmin InReach or any phone

LateBoof Text a run name to 866-284-5181 from an InReach or phone
Resources
Oracle come-in forecasts Guide river guide pages
GaugeDirectory Support + Contact

Why this exists

Whitewater kayakers headed to remote put-ins often have no cell signal, but many already carry a satellite messenger (Garmin InReach) for safety. LateBoof turns that device into a river-flow lookup: send a run name, get the current flow back over satellite in seconds — no cell signal, and nothing to install. Text a run name to 866-284-5181 from the InReach or from any phone.

Set it up once

  1. From an InReach or any phone: text a run name to 866-284-5181. That's it — no app, no sign-up. Save it as a contact from the + CONTACT button (on an InReach, add it in the Garmin Explore app or MapShare so it's quick to reach).
  2. Send yourself a test message now — e.g. mf salmon — while you're still in cell range, so you know it works before you need it out on the river.

Use it on the river

Text any run name to 866-284-5181 from an InReach or phone — e.g. mf salmon, grand canyon, stikine. Case doesn't matter, but spelling does: it matches against a curated list of run names, or a raw USGS/WSC station ID. See the exact names to use under "Text this" on the gauge directory.

One reply comes back the way your message went out — SMS to a phone, satellite to an InReach:

Example replySalmon / Middle Fork, At MF Lodge, ID USGS 13309220 2,800 cfs / 4.21 ft 16:45 Jun 27

If something goes wrong

Every message gets a reply — never silence, so you're never left wondering if it went through:

  1. Not found — the name didn't match anything. Check spelling, or browse the exact names on the gauge directory.
  2. Couldn't reach gauge data — the upstream source (USGS, WSC, Dreamflows) is temporarily down. Try again in a few minutes.

Coverage

US rivers via USGS, plus Dreamflows for the California Class V runs, Canadian rivers via Water Survey of Canada, and a couple of New Zealand gauges. See the status page for source details.

SMS from any phone

Text a river name to +1 (866) 284-5181 from an InReach or any US or Canadian phone — no app, no account, one bar of signal and no data needed. iPhone satellite messaging works too where your carrier supports SMS over satellite. You get exactly one reply per text and nothing else, ever; reply STOP to stop or HELP for help. Toll-free, so it costs you nothing beyond your plan's standard message rates. Full SMS program terms.