Tag: Green River

Day 25: At the Confluence

We were able to leave camp at River Mile 7 while it was still in shade and make the short float to the confluence in the relative cool of the morning. We’d reached the Colorado! We stopped at the register to check river conditions and campsite availability. Here Lars was able to determine that we could have Lower Brown Betty and Lower Ten Cent as our camps, which were his preferences. We bounced around Rapid 1 and pulled in to the beach at Betty. Although sandy beaches are common at lower water, Brown Betty was the first (and only) time on this trip that we were able to camp on such a beach. It was a joy not to have to hack our way through tamarisk or scramble up a slope to reach camp. We were laying over here so those who wanted to could hike up to The Doll House – a unique collection of rock spires on the plateau above – the next day.

Day 26: In the Doll House

We were fortunate to have some cloud cover as we made the steep, 1,200-foot climb up to the Doll House. Once there, we took in the views, visited a granary, and had lunch in “The Refrigerator” – a cave under a huge sandstone block. Afterwards, some of the group continued on to the Beehive Arch while we descended back to camp for a cool-off in the river. That afternoon OARS sent a large motorboat down from Moab to serve as a safety boat for our plunge through the rapids in Cataract Canyon the next day.

Day 28: Cataract Canyon

Today we ran the biggest rapids on this trip (and some of the biggest rapids on any river in the western U.S.). In anticipation of a possible raft flip or passenger swim due to the high water conditions (about 45,000 ft³/s on this day), we got another safety talk and a PFD check, Then with anxiety a little higher than usual, we shot off into Rapid 2. Rapids 2 through 20 went by in a blur but they were FUN! Then we pulled over so our guides could scout the Big Drops (Rapids 21-23). And then we were off again – plunging up, over, around, and down huge waves that were coming at our raft from all directions. And then, almost before it began, we were in flat water across from Lower Ten Cent camp. We made it through Cataract’s rapids with no flips and no swimmers and it was just plain FUN the whole way. That this ride was just FUN and not an adventure with upside down boats and thrashing swimmers is simply a testament to the consummate skill and experience of our OARS guides. Some celebrations ensued in camp this night. 😀

Day 28: Lake Powell

When Lake Powell is at full pool (something that hasn’t happened in years), its slack water starts right at Lower Tent Cent Camp. But the reservoir is down, so we got a few more fun rapids in before we had to barge-up and start motoring to the take-out at Hite. At the take-out we said good-bye 😥 to all our wonderful guides (except for Lars) and then got shuttled over to the airstrip near Highway 95. There we were met by three planes operated by Redtail Aviation. They gave us a very scenic flight back to Vernal – covering in just over an hour what it had taken us 28 days to float. Once back in Vernal, we recovered Wayne’s car from the OARS boat house, said a round of good-byes to our fellow floaters, and gave Lars a BIG thanks for an AMAZING trip. Then it was good-bye 😥 to him too as he headed back to Moab and we went to our hotel for a sand-free wash-up.

And thus what has to be the rafting trip of a lifetime came to a successful and happy (OK, a little bittersweet too) end. 🙂

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Day 19: Past the Crystal Geyser

The pleasures of Green River were delightful, but we had a river to run, so first thing in the morning it was back to the boats. Our first stop below Green River was at Crystal Geyser where a failed 1930s attempt at an oil well resulted in an on-going eruption of mineral and carbon dioxide rich water. After an day on flat water, we pulled into a campsite at Anvil Bottom. The site itself was good but we had to cut a path through the tamarisk (an invasive shrub) to reach it. We were camped below a feature known locally as The Anvil (or Inkwell). Despite these existing local appellations, Powell went ahead and named it Dellenbaugh’s Butte in 1871.

Day 20: In to the Labyrinth

From our camp at Anvil Bottom, we passed the mouth of the San Rafael River and formally entered Labyrinth Canyon at Trin-Alcove Bend. A planned hike in Three Canyon was cancelled when we found the high water had flooded the start of the trail. So we continued on to a partially shaded campsite at the mouth of “F” Canyon (a local name) and called it a day.

Day 21: Hot at the Bowknot

On the river again, we passed the river register, a 70+ year-old inscription now defaced in places by vandals, and the Launch Marguerite inscription, left by the crew of a stern-wheeler river boat which traveled on the Green and Colorado Rivers between the towns of Green River and Moab during the early 1900’s. We found a shadeless campsite on the north side of Bowknot Bend which put us in place for a hike to the views and inscriptions on the bend’s saddle. By now we’d noticed that our interlude in Green River had marked a change in the weather – it was getting increasingly hot and the sun now seemed to press down on us like a hot iron. Bowknot Bend is where we all began to appreciate shade – a lot.

Day 22: To Fort Bottom

Our goal for the day was a nice campsite (with trees!) that Lars knew about at Fort Bottom. We stopped for a short hike to see the inscription left by fur trapper Denis Julien in 1836. Sadly, contemporary douchebags felt the need to immortalize their stupidity by scratching 👿 their initials in this historic feature. Continuing on, we passed Mineral Bottom and entered Canyonlands National Park and Stillwater Canyon. We stopped at Fort Bottom for a hike up to the stone “fort” on the butte. Constructed roughly 1,000 years ago, Fort Bottom Ruin remains one of the more dramatic reminders of Ancestral Puebloan culture along the Green River. After a swing by the old (c1880s) log cabin at the base of the butte, we made the short float over to our campsite across from Fort Bottom. The shade under the cottonwoods there was most welcome.

Day 23: A Return to Anderson Bottom

At Mineral Bottom, we had entered a section of the Green that The LovedOne, Wayne, Diane, and I had floated during a private trip back in 1992. Our recollections varied but one thing that seemed to stand out was how much the riverside vegetation (namely invasive tamarisk and Russian olive) had expanded in 27 years. When we’d camped at Anderson Bottom back then, we’d just walked ashore. Today we had to hack our way through tamarisk to reach a shaded camp. Once camp was set, we did a short, hot hike to view some petroglyphs on a rock outcropping (actually the remains of a meander) in the bottom.

Day 24: Stillwater Canyon

In the morning, David and I wandered across the bottom to visit a storage cave that the National Park Service had blasted (ah, those were the days) in the cliff to store gear for the Friendship Cruises. These are (when river levels permit) a several-day trip in which motorized boats descend the Green River from Green River, Utah, to the confluence with the Colorado, and then ascend the Colorado to Moab, Utah. We’d visited the cave in 1992 when it still had stuff in it but it’s no longer in use. Then we motored on down the river, seeing a cliff dwelling at Valentine Bottom and stopping to see a ruin at Jasper Canyon. We finally made camp at a nearly shadeless bend at river mile 7 in anticipation of reaching the Green’s confluence with the Colorado River the next day.

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Day 13: Into Desolation Canyon

We left the cucumber beetles at Hydes Bottom (except for those that had stowed away on the rafts) and motored down to Sand Wash. Once there, we exchanged passengers (six off / six on) and continued on (now rowing) into Desolation Canyon. The east side of the canyon is Ute tribal land. A recent decision by the tribe to close all access to their land cut the campsites available in the canyon in half. As Desolation is a popular rafting destination, this meant increased competition for campsites suitable for our large group. This is something that concerned Lars the whole way through the canyon. Today we were able to find a nice tree-rich campsite across from Peters Point. A short walk from there took us to a clear impression of a fossilized turtle shell in a large rock. It wouldn’t have been a sharper impression if it had been intentionally cast.

Day 14: Desolation Canyon

Today we pushed deeper into the canyon, passing Lighthouse Rock which E. O. Beaman had photographed during the second Powell Expedition in 1871. We began to encounter other rafting parties on the river and found that one of our preferred campsites was already occupied. With rain threatening, we were able to find a suitable campsite just below Steer Ridge Rapid. Getting to camp involved skirting the rapid on river right and then pulling super hard into the eddy in front of the camp. We were hardly ashore when a tentative rain started; it gave up and went away by dinnertime.

Days 15: Rock Creek Ranch

From our camp at Steer Ridge Rapid, we went a short ways downriver to Rock Creek Canyon where we hiked up-canyon to see a large panel of petroglyphs. After lunch at Rock Creek, we made a dash for another large campsite below Three Canyon Rapid – arriving just 30 minutes ahead of another large party (they took a smaller site above us). Since we were going to layover the next day, it was nice to have a large, sandy site for our camp.

Day 16: Chicken Rock

Our camp was located where the river had pinched-off a meander, leaving a semi-circular ring of cliffs, the high point of which is the improbably balanced Chicken Rock (an actual USGS named point). To me, it looked more like a chicken McNugget. Just saying. Anyway, Lars abhors any activity vacuum, so he organized a hike up the creek – either looping around the meander or up to the Chicken. The hike around the meander was abandoned when it became too painful to keep plowing through the endless swaths of sticky, sharp-pointed cheatgrass – the latest scourge of the West. Getting its tenacious seeds out of our socks and shoes would consume much of the afternoon. After our defeat by the cheatgrass, some folks headed back to camp while a few of us climbed up to Chicken Rock. Along the way we stumbled on a beautifully preserved Fremont Culture granary hidden under an alcove. After taking in the big views from near the Chicken, we returned to camp for a pleasant afternoon of cheatgrass plucking. 😈 I had been trying to charge some camera batteries with a solar panel only to discover that it had become a hang-out for lizards. For the record, having lizards sunning themselves on a solar panel serious degrades its performance (i.e., the batteries didn’t get charged). 🙄

Day 17: Gray Canyon

After a delightfully sunny day on Chicken Rock, it came as a surprise to wake-up in a rainstorm (fortunately, the only one that would hit us at such an inopportune time of the day during this trip). Despite having to pack wet tents and other gear, we got away from camp early and made a non-stop run to a camp at Range Creek in Gray Canyon. Despite repeated attempts over the years, this was the first time Lars had found this site available. Judging from the dry spots where the tents had been, it had only been unoccupied for a short time. And we arrived only minutes ahead of other rafting parties looking for a campsite. Score! After setting-up camp and getting our tents dried-out, we did a short hike to the summit of Three Golden Stairs, a long ridge behind the camp. 🙂 Then the cheatgrass plucking continued. 😦

Day 18: Green River, Utah

Our morning was enlivened (so to speak) when a Wandering Garter snake decided to have a Woodhouse’s toad for breakfast just outside our tent. Big toad, small snake, so the swallowing took awhile. Then the now slightly lumpy racer slithered off to continue digesting in private. Just like a nature show on PBS. I had cereal for breakfast. Today we’d be going into Green River, Utah for re-supply, a night in a hotel, and dinner at the iconic Ray’s Tavern. Much anticipation among the group. But first we had to leave Gray Canyon and get over the Tusher Diversion Dam. The dam had been recently modified to include a flume for rafts but no one had any idea what that would be like at high water (27,000 ft³/s the day we went over it). Turned out to be a quick, steep plunge to quieter water. Soon we were pulling in to the boat ramp at Green River State Park and heading over to the River Terrace Hotel for our first sand-free wash in over two weeks. 🙂

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Day 8: To Horseshoe Bend

As noted, the Green River in Uinta Basin is flat water, with few opportunities to go ashore. We pushed-off from Placer Point and rowed down to where the Highway 40 bridge crosses the Green. The only place we could find to pull in for lunch was under that bridge! At that, the river was high enough to make it a bit of a tight fit. After lunch, we continued rowing and rowing and rowing along looking for a place to camp. Finally, late in the day, we found a marginal, mosquito-infested site on the north side of Horseshoe Bend. Not one of the great campsites but at least we were off the river for the night.

Day 9: To Baeser Bend

We started the day with a short hike to the views from atop Horseshoe Bend. After dodging an abandoned oil well (not uncommon out here) we had a great view of the snowy Uinta Mountains to the west. Then it was back in the boats for more floating and rowing. The day had started clear but clouds soon began to build and, by late afternoon, a light rain was falling. It stopped just long enough to allow us to set up our tents and eat dinner. Then it returned with a vengeance, propelled horizontally with strong wind gusts much like those we’d experienced at Crook Campground. More tent pole holding ensued. Fortunately, the storm, which lashed us on and off throughout the night, dissipated at sunrise.

Day 10: The Bridge at Ouray

We spent a little time in the morning finding gear that had been blown hither and yon by the wind and then got back on the water. We started out rowing but soon Lars determined that we weren’t making sufficient progress manually. So out with the motor! Lash the boats into a barge! We motored on through the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge. Lars had scouted this section of the trip in October at low water and none of our guidebooks mentioned river level issues with the Highway 88 bridge at Ouray. So when we came around the bend above the bridge there was shock and awe when it looked like the river was too high for us go under it. But with no support for a portage, we just went river right and ducked. Cleared it by 6 inches! Let me tell ya, we scared the poop out of a few swallows as we passed. 🙄 After adjusting our pace makers, we motored on down to a campsite some 30 feet above the river at Wild Horse Bench.

Days 11 & 12: Hydes Bottom

From Wild Horse Bench, we put the motor aside and rowed down to a make-shift campsite at the south end of Hydes Bottom. We had a layover day here. We had to clear the undergrowth from beneath a nice stand of cottonwood trees for our kitchen and dining area. We soon discovered that the trees were infested with cucumber beetles. They’re cute and harmless and don’t bite or sting but they fly badly and crash into stuff – like you and your food. They also poop a lot. We quickly learned to move them off ourselves on to a nearby leaf (and keep our food covered).

On our layover day, we found a well-defined wild horse trail which we followed to a point overlooking Hydes and Kings Canyon Bottoms. This trail had obviously been created by the passage of generations of wild horses. In terms of grade and tread clarity, it was superior to many human-built trails.

The next day, we’d make the short run to Sand Wash which marks the end of the Uinta Basin and the start of Desolation Canyon. Six of our group would be leaving us 😥 there and we’d pick-up six new rafters (in addition to the full 28 days, the trip had also been offered in two parts). A small end-of-trip celebration ensued for those who would soon be experiencing hot showers, cold beverages, and clean sheets. Those of us staying each removed a cucumber beetle from our food in their honor!

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On May 24, 1869, nine men, lead by John Wesley Powell, left Green River, Wyoming for the purpose of exploring the Green and Colorado Rivers.  On August 30, 1869, ninety-nine days later, Powell and five of his remaining men reached the confluence of the Colorado and Virgin Rivers in southern Utah.  Thus ended arguably one of the most epic explorations of the American West, perhaps second only to that of Lewis and Clark some six decades earlier.

Writings about Powell and this expedition are extensive and I don’t propose to add to them here.  Recognizing that Powell couldn’t have, and didn’t, accomplish this feat alone, I would recommend a read of Michael P. Ghiglieri’s “First Through the Grand Canyon” (Puma Press, Flagstaff, Arizona; Third Edition, 2015).  This work, based on journals and letters written by the men themselves, sheds new light on their critical contributions to the expedition, how they felt about it, and what they thought of Powell as a leader.  After reading various Powell biographies, and experiencing these rivers for myself, it seems to me that Powell and his men were a very lucky bunch of guys who repeatedly escaped potentially fatal situations as they grappled with the then unknown art of whitewater boating.  Although heroic and epic, this expedition often seems to have succeeded in spite of itself.

Still, Powell’s expedition marked the first descent of the Green and Colorado Rivers.  To celebrate the 150^th anniversary of this historic event, OARS (Angels Camp, California) organized a 28-day (June 5^th to July 2^nd) rafting trip to retrace more than 450 miles of Powell’s route between Flaming Gorge Dam and Lake Powell.

Having rafted the Grand Canyon before, this trip seemed like our best opportunity to finally trace almost all of Powell’s original route that has not now been lost to reservoirs.  So, along with our long-time friends Wayne and Diane and 16 other guests, plus six guides, we embarked on a journey with more rafting than we’d ever done before.  Starting in the very cold, clear waters of the Green River at the base of Flaming Gorge Dam, we made our way through ever changing and always impressive scenery, to an end in the warm, turbid waters of Lake Powell.  Along the way we experienced chilly days and nights, rain, scorching heat, lightning, cheatgrass, pesky mosquitoes, gnats, and black flies, high water, fierce winds, low bridges, big rapids, and uncertainty. Unlike Powell, whose expedition was near starvation for much of the time, our rations were both ample and excellent. However, like Powell, we always had plenty of coffee available for those who wanted it.

Accomplishing this trip had long been a goal for our AMAZING trip leader, Lars Haarr, who has taken people on rafting trips for over 20 years.  The depth of experience, positive attitude, professionalism, and extremely hard work of Lars and our other guides (Michael, Emily, Elyse, Russell, and Garth) are what made this journey a success.  Credit also has to be given to the logistical support provided by OARS staffers from the Vernal, Moab, and Flagstaff operations and to the pilots of Redtail Aviation (Moab, Utah).  It takes a village to float a raft.

And that, along with a very congenial group of fellow rafters, all of whom pitched in as needed without compliant, made this a wonderful, unforgettable, and truly once-in-a-lifetime experience.

For easier access to the details of this excellent adventure, we spaced it out from put-in to take-out over six posts keyed to sections of the two rivers:

• Overview
• DAYS 1-4: Flaming Gorge to Lodore Canyon
• DAYS 5-7: Lodore, Whirlpool, & Split Mountain Canyons
• DAYS 8-12: Uinta Basin (North & South)
• DAYS 13-18: Desolation & Gray Canyons
• DAYS 19-24: Labyrinth & Stillwater Canyons
• DAYS 25-28: Cataract Canyon & Home

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