In The Shadow of Longs Peak
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Today’s paddle is longer that the last 2 days, about 12 miles. We are blessed with no wind.
We are up and on the water by 8:30 or so.
We go by a very cool 2-story granary structure on river right.
We keep an eye out for campsites as there simply are not that many. There is a large group of canoes camped on a sandbar south of Turk’s Head. I recognize Karen’s tent and wonder if it’s the canoe club’s Crystal Geyser to Spanish Bottom event.
We paddle hard to get ahead of a group if canoeists. Then John and Tim go on ahead to investigate camp sites as they come up. Patrick tries to keep pace. It seems like they are out of site for a while though we do catch up with Patrick The remaining 4 of us take a break then paddle together at a slower rate.
After a bit more paddling, we see boats pulled off ahead. I fear it is another group but as we get closer, we recognize John’s voice. Tim and John have claimed a campsite on an island, between river mile 15 & 16.
On the way, I see a wad of orange on river right and paddle over to investigate. It’s a tent and sleeping bag on the first tier out of the water; too high to climb up and retrieve it.
So I continue, recross the river, and join the others. It’s is a really nice camp. Three tents are setup on a high sandy area. Gary and I setup on the tier below, near a row of tamarisk.
After supper, I pack everything I can. I sleep well.
Friday, September 22, 2023
I was up about 7:15. It’s a good thing I always need to use the bathroom early as it gets me up and going. I did sleep well.
I am not anxious to get up, but once up I was able to get going. Our agreed upon start time was 8:30. I would have missed that by we were ready by 9 AM.
The others were delayed until 10:30. Had I known that I would have rested for another hour or so.
Paddling was better today; it’s still windy with some good gusts but overall, it did not blow as hard nor for as long. We stopped for a bite to eat just after 12. The wind died down and I perked up quite a bit.
Today, Tim’s goal for camping is Anderson Bottom but it already occupied. Just past that is Bonita Bend but the wash is pretty chewed up. It does not have a good place to tie up the boats and it would be a steep haul carrying camping gear up the bank.
We continue down the river. 100 yards or so further downstream is a buildup of sand and grass on river right. It does not seem promising for starters, but we pull into a double cove. The fact that the landing is not excessively muddy is promising. We get out to investigate. It’s a large, flat area with lots of places for tents.
We back out of the cove and pull around to the front of the spit and pull the boats up.
This is home for the night. It’s much more pleasant that yesterday’s. We are in the shade. And, it’s a short walk from the boat to the tent. We set up the kitchen nearer to the boats, cutting down on the number of trips from boat to tent.
We stopped about 2 or so, so approximately 3 hours of paddling. Paddling distance is 10 miles.
I write in my journal.
It’s taken me 1 ½ days to embrace this outing that I have wanted to do for a long time. This morning I was ready to give up and quit paddling.
But why? First, preparation takes time. It’s not a hard packing exercise, but it is time consuming. Second, there’s an eight-hour drive to Moab, UT. It’s a pleasant drive but still long. And the early wake up time to be at Tex’s at 7. Also, I simply often do not sleep well.
Green River
Mineral Bottom to Spanish Bottom
September 20, 2023 to September 26, 2023
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
We are on our way to Moab and another adventure, this time a paddle down the Green River with acquaintance from the Rocky Mountain Sea Kayak Club. It’s an eight-hour drive to Moab, UT, pleasant drive but long.
We had reserved a spot at the Pack Creek Campground which turned out to be quite pleasant. The upper part was barren and discouraging but near the bathroom. But down a beaten path was a wide road along a tree-lined creek. We set up our bivy there. It was pleasant, though not to the degree that our remote bivy’s at Flaming Gorge have been. We would be protected from the wind which was predicted to come up overnight.
Thursday, September 21, 2023
We were up early and at Tex’s at the appointed time of 7 AM with a quick stop at McDonald’s for breakfast. Tim, Patrick, Annabel and John soon arrive.
At Tex’s, boats and gears were loaded. And we were off to Mineral Bottom. I am glad we hired Tex’s to shuttle us as this is about the most hair-raising road I have ever been on! Its basically a dirt track dug into the side of the escarpment with a dozen hairpin turns easing us to the bottom. I went between closing my eyes shut and peering over the side. I am sure glad the driver did not have his eyes shut!
On the way, the driver talked about the wind on the Green: “it could be simply mischievous to darn-right ferocious!”. I should have paid closer attention. This reminds me of the time Gary and I went to the swell in October right after Dave Cooper told us they just had enough rain to amount to a 500 year flood.
We finally reached the bottom and travel another half mile or so to the put-in where we unloaded boats and gear. There are a couple if parties ahead of us but soon it is our turn and we move into position. The put-in is nominal and steep so we set our boats as close to the edge as reasonable and load then carry and drag our boats into the water.
We were paddling away around 1 PM, but into a wind and probably as strong as any on Flaming Gorge but gusty which I found very tiring. And, it was too windy for me to pull out snacks to eat along the way which turned out to be a bit mistake.
We did stop at one spot as a possible camp but it was not optimal. Tim’s goal was Fort Bottom but by the time we got there, another party had already claimed the best sandbar so we continued on a bit further. At 4:30, the group stopped to check out a camp but the landing seemed pretty marginal, so Gary and I paddled down a bit further into a shallow cove. John has come down to check out the far side of the river but nothing other there pans out. He is able to paddle back up stream to the others but I cannot, so I head back to the cove where Gary is.
He has not returned to the boat, so I go up to see what he has found. But first I just sit on the bank and rest for a good 10 minutes or so.
There is a huge sand bank forming a ring around the terminus of a wash. Gary found a nice spot up and out of the far side of the wash, underneath a skinny cottonwood tree. I though the rim of the sandbank would be fine, it is up out of the wash, and has a flat spot, big enough for our tent and it’s in the shade. Gary is concerned about a flash flood, and rightfully so. But I refuse to carry stuff any further. Or to walk any further for that matter.
We settle on the sandbank. While setting the gear up inside the tent, the wind kicks up a bit of sand. If it turns out to be a windy night, we’d get lots of sand in the tent and I will be in the sand house for insisting on camping on a sand back. Turns out it was not windy overnight.
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
We need to be ready by 9 for the shuttle ride back, so we are up early again, having breakfast, packing up and hauling the gear down. As well as emptying the boats of all gear and packing it back in the storage bags. And getting any remaining mud and sand off the boats.
The jet boat does swing by around 9 but heads down river first to pick up other parties. They are back soon and we get loaded up. We are the first group on board. Then back up river to pick up other parties. Seems like there is one group unaccounted for but we soon see them on river right, heading back upstream.
All loaded and accounted for. We head upstream, a leisurely end to what at times felt like a grueling trip.
Would I do this again? Absolutely! But would build in rest days for hiking.
Sunday, September 24, 2023
We are up at 6:30 and paddling away by 8:30 or so.
Tim has his sights set on a sandbar across from the Stove Canyon high water camp. And the early time is to be ahead of other, upstream groups. The sandbar is free and we stop for a look. We could continue but decide to stay, making it a shorter day, maybe 2 ½ hours. I am happy with this, as I am feeling a bit worn.
We find a nice (though muddy) landing, but there are lots of tent spaces. Unload and setup the tent and sleeping stuff. A snack, then breakfast, then socializing.
A couple with their young son (maybe 3 or so) are camped across the way that the Stove Site. They paddle over and say hello. She put in with her son at Ruby Ranch and paddle with him to Mineral Bottom where her husband joined them. I am impressed! She was a river guide for 10 years and they often raft with other families. Even so, I am still impressed!
I continue to write in my journal and put the last two beers in the river to cool off.
Nice to have a partial down day!
Monday, September 25, 2023
Our last day on the river. Tomorrow morning we will get a jet boat ride up the Colorado River to the Potash Access near Moab, then back to Tex’s.
We are up early again around 6:30 and are on the water by 8:15. I slept well and it was not hard to get up and get going; or maybe I am energized by the fact that the end is in sight. It was a bit chilly but not bad.
The paddle is uneventful. Before long, we are at the confluence of the Colorado River. I was expect a large influx of water but It is flowing as slowly as the Green.
Again, Tim and John sprint ahead to find a campsite. They stop at the signup register on river left and pick upper Spanish Bottom for us then continue on to check it out and are waving us over.
Its now pretty warm and feels like a haul to get our tent up to the camping area.
But it’s a nice spot and finally there is time to simply sit and enjoy the scenery. The top-most cliffs here on the west side of the river are a combination of spires and hoodoos. These are supported by layers of red, mostly square, some undercut, and these, in turn, are supported by a grey and softer layer.
On the east side, there are not as many hoo-doos on top but there are layers of softer, grayer rock, supported by rounded bulges pushing up , fracturing the layers above.
A constant wearing down, a constant pushing up.
Another good night’s sleep.