Paddle or Portage? - River Gauge Data by Text

What is Paddle or Portage?

A free service that lets you check river levels by satellite text from the backcountry. No account, app, or internet required. Send a supported river gauge or station number and get current conditions back by SMS at the speed of ... satellite.

Tested to work with satellite-capable iPhones, Android phones, and Garmin inReach. Not yet tested: Zoleo, SPOT, Bivy Stick, and Somewear Global Hotspot.

How Does It Work?

🏠 At home

1

Find your gauge or station number. Paddle or Portage supports USGS site numbers in the United States and Water Survey of Canada station numbers in Canada. Save the ones you need before your trip.

🏕️ In the field

2

Text your desired gauge number to +1 (507) 728-3569. You can send one or two gauge numbers in a single message, separated by a space or comma.

3

Receive a single SMS reply with flow, stage/level when available, and the latest reading time in the gauge's local time zone.

Examples

Send a single gauge:

You send

12359800

You receive

12359800 S.F.Flathead@TwinC nr HungryHorse
10100cfs 10.44ft 6/4/26 12:45pm MT

Send up to two gauges in one message:

You send

12359800 12358500

You receive

12359800 S.F.Flathead@TwinC nr HungryHorse
10100cfs 10.44ft 6/4/26 12:45pm MT

12358500 M.F.Flathead@WestGlacier
12300cfs 6.30ft 6/4/26 12:45pm MT

Finding Gauge Numbers

USA: use an 8-digit USGS site number

Go to dashboard.waterdata.usgs.gov and search by river name or location.
The 8-digit site number appears in the gauge listing and in the URL when you click a gauge.
All 8 digits are necessary.
Example: 03410210

USGS monitoring location page for South FK Cumberland River showing site number 03410210

Test First

This is a side project I vibe coded and pay for myself. It has not been thoroughly tested across satellite providers, so if you plan to depend on it, test it before you leave cell coverage.

1

Save the phone number (or just download this vCard) in your contacts as “Paddle or Portage.” Make sure it's accessible from your satellite messaging device.

2

Save the gauge or station numbers you may need for your trip. Keeping them in the notes section of your Paddle or Portage contact works well.

3

Check them first from your normal phone so you don’t waste satellite messages.

4

Send a test message from your satellite messenger; I haven't been able to test all satellite services yet.

5

Head out and paddle safely!

Useful Information

Data is pulled live when you text - readings are typically 15-60 minutes old depending on the gauge.
If a gauge has old data, the timestamp in the reply will tell you how stale it is.
Not all gauges report both flow and stage/level - you'll receive whichever is available.
A reading of -999999 means the gauge is iced over or malfunctioning.
The bot always replies, either with flow data or a helpful error message. 1 reply per message you send. Over a cell connection, round-trip time is under one second. Satellite messaging will often add delays of several minutes.
Replies are formatted to remain under the 160 character limit of a single SMS message.
By texting this number, you consent only to receive a single SMS reply. No more than that. No marketing messages, no opt-in lists.
Your data will never be shared or used for any other purpose.
Your normal satellite texting charges will apply.

🎒🗺️🤳📡←→🛰️📉🚣‍♂️😎

Feedback Please!

This service is in beta, so I’d appreciate any feedback, bug reports, or suggestions.

Does anything on this page need to be corrected?
If you’ve tested this with a Zoleo, SPOT, Bivy Stick, Somewear Global Hotspot, satellite phone, or another device, please let me know so I can update this page.
Canadians - I can't test from Canada, so let me know how it works for you.

Email James Taylor at jamtastical3@gmail.com.