TL;DR
Another canoe trip in the books! 6 days, about 104 miles, with one of my oldest friends.
9/25
Put in at 7:30AM at Ruby Ranch
Stopped 91.6, mudhole at lower water levels, small camp. Explored side canyon north of 87.3 camp. Current was moving well. Great blue herons, ravens, ducks, two bucks immediately after launching from Ruby, turkeys, dragonflies. Most camps taken by other paddlers. Put in 25.9 mile day from Ruby to 71.8
9/27
Hiked up to Bowknot Saddle, and Post Office River Register, marveled at the timespan of old carvings from past river runners. Stayed at “Terry camp” (61.5). Dinner of steak, potatoes, Caesar salad. Hiked connector trail to Twomile Canyon for our planned hike to 5 hole arch on our layover day.
Excellent camp with built in eddy swimming hole and about the only sandy beach we saw until we reached the Colorado.
9/28
Layover day with lovely breakfast burritos. Hiked near Five hole arch which was a steep scramble of a trail that required route finding. We scrapped the arch due to ominous and incoming weather. Had lunch atop the canyon with commanding views stretching into Colorado that didn’t feel like a consolation prize. Descent went quick and was very pleasant with sun battering Navajo sandstone on one side of the canyon while we hiked under shade.
9/29
5:30 wake up that ended up in a 10 hour and 32 mile day. Couldn’t drop off trash at Mineral Bottom, no bin. Take out was an absolute mud bog and when we went looking for a bin, we had to scramble up a recently made crude access path which we noticed a rafting company using to get it’s passengers onboard. Paddle into Stillwater was a noticeable and extremely enjoyable sight to behold. Canyon widened, red pinnacles appeared, the white rim. Got buzzed by a Blackhawk helicopter low flying down the canyon. The rain flushed debris from side canyons into the river. This made finding the fastest-moving water in the river quite easy and certainly sped things up for us. Muddy and/or precarious climbs into camps prevented us from camping earlier. I may have turned down Fort Bottom camp because I didn’t want take out next to the same large rafting group. Didn’t want to see humans, even if they left after their hike to the Stone Tower. Pushed on and any camp that looked acceptable was already take up by paddlers until we reached Upper Anderson Bottom. It wasn’t the prettiest camp, but after 30 miles of paddling, we took it. Pancakes with bacon and eggs for dinner. Millard Riffle was an enjoyable run prior to entering camp with a picturesque view of Buttes of the Cross from afar.
9/30
6:15 Woke up to a drizzle that persisted until about 11am if I had to guess. Paddling in the rain with full gear for the first few miles wasn’t that bad. Small rivulets streamed down canyons high and low. My paddle buddy and I both agreed that Turks Head general area is a spectacular part of the river, if not our favorite. Outstanding views of Turk’s Head, the river, the white rim, and far off crimson red buttes and pinnacles. Late breakfast was prepped with bagels, cream cheese and a fancy tinned fish. Best view in the canyon I have ever seen. Staying at Dead Horse Camp. Had a great day hike to Newspaper Rock for an amazing display of indigenous art.
10/1
7 AM on the water from Dead Horse, past pre-horse camp, looks like excellent spot at low water with no mud and amazing canyon views. Good for exploring. Water from last few days rains came pouring through Horse Canyon, creating a riffle. Shot a riffle through two boulders in an exhilarating run.
Entered the confluence of the Green and. Colorado and felt stupefied. Beautiful to see such two large and critical South West rivers merge in complete silence. The river scenery of the Green altered significantly when we slipped into the Colorado’s currents. Registered at Middle Spanish Bottom for camp. Despite the long hike up to camp, it was beautiful, shaded with trees and in ear shot of the first set of rapid down Cataract Canyon. We were called to across the river by a guy with a large backpack and pack raft. He asked for a ride across. I hopped in my canoe and ferried this gentleman back to the other side. He claimed to be University of Utah’s canoeing instructor and invited my paddle buddy and I to run a section of the San Juan River next year. As it turned out we all recognized each other from paddling the the Black Canyon River Trail in NV/AZ last February! Dinner was carnitas tacos with cabbage, onions, hot sauce, black beans and cotija cheese.
10/2
Jet boat pick up day at Middle Spanish bottom. We unloaded, compacted and organized gear, clean and pulled the canoes ashore. Jet boat had a huge front deck on the bow that allowed the jet drive boat nuzzle up to shore for loading. River guide Zach/Zack was an absolute haus and slung about 12 canoes on top of the boat awning. Other parties picked up and along we went along the Colorado/Meander Canyon that looked like an easy and fun paddle. Arrived back at Tex’s and said goodbye to another friendly paddler. An Alaska born, Idaho living adventurer who canoed down the Green for 33 days above Nefertiti down to the Confluence.
Back to Ruby Ranch to arrive to a flat tire. After some bottle jack negotiation, the chore was done. Rays Tavern for dinner; bacon cheeseburger with two Coors lights. Tastes better than last year. Old timers started filing in were in town for the John Wesley Powell legends event. Even got a picture of a dory in the water ready to launch named Diablo Canyon; such a beautiful boat to marvel at.
We hit the hot tub of the Green River Terrace Inn adjacent to the Tamarisk restaurant. Spoke to a number of very cool guests.
10/3
Left Utah around 10 after getting some provisions at the Melon Vine supermarket in Green River. Pushed to Afton Canyon, CA campground that put me a few hours from home.
The trip will take time as always to process. About 104 miles in 6 days, two rivers, four states driven through, and about dozen campouts and the gift of being outside for over a week. Forever grateful for trips like these. less
by Few-Win8613