Solo Kayaking Trip through Canyonlands NP

[gorillamel]

This is my first paddling trip report. Edit: Photos now added! (06/04/16)

Background: Solo adventure from Mineral Bottom to Spanish Bottom on the Green/Colorado Rivers thought Canyonlands National Park from 28-31 May 2016. I made this report kind of lengthy, my apologies if it is too wordy for you. I like details. And I am trying to record it all before I forget how awesome it was.

I used this trip report as a resource: http://wildernessvagabond.com/stillwater09/stillwater09.htm and this write up, too: http://www.paddling.net/places/showReport.html?119
With this excellent map as a visual aide:

And by far, this was the most important guide/resource you could ever use: Belknap's waterproof Canyonlands River Guide.
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Where to start? I do not even know where. The beginning? Meh. The end? Boring. How about now. Right. Freakin’ now.

Currently, I would be lying if I told you I was not in withdrawal. I miss my adventure. As I knew I would. But what is more, I miss being a nomad. I miss the simplicity of life I lived while on my water adventure. I miss getting up with the sun. Seeing the beauty of nature throughout the day. Taking down my camp. Packing my kayak. Moving on to the next spot. Exploring. Planning ahead, following maps. Watching the weather and water conditions, knowing my well being is dependent upon it. Where will I take my next poop (and then picking it up)? Setting up my next camp. That was life. Truly living it. None of these frills of the “modern” world. I enjoyed living day to day, working on surviving from one moment to the next. I want it back. That life was so much less complicated. It was stressful. But a totally understandable and “dealable” type. This life now? No. I want the nomad one away from society back.

Ok. Now to the story. The trip. The Adventure!

First of all. When planning a trip kayaking the Green River through Stillwater Canyon in Canyonlands National Park, apply for your permit in as far advance as you can. I think the website says no more than four months. Do that. Apply at the four months. I applied two weeks before my trip. I filled out the PDF form (https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/upload/2013_RiverReservationForm.pdf) and emailed to NPS (canyres@nps.gov). Their directions are as follows from their website (https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/riverpermits.htm):
Email, mail or fax your request no less than two weeks in advance to: National Park Service Reservation Office 2282 Resource Blvd Moab, UT 84532-3406 canyres@nps.gov Fax: (435) 259-4285 Blocks 1 through 4 must be completed. Payment Once your reservation request is approved, you will receive an email with payment instructions. Do not include credit card informtion on this form.

Well. I waited and waited to receive the confirmation email from NPS. I waited until 05.24.16 while I was in Moab. I was at Canyonlands NP to drive Elephant Hill trail with my off road event and I saw a park ranger. He advised me to go to their HQ in Moab and inquire there. So on 05.25.16, after I got off Strike Ravine trail leading it in Area BFE for my off road event, I went to NPS Moab HQ.

The staff was very nice and helpful. I met the man behind canyres@nps.gov. Yes. Just one man. For all those permit requests. And to top it off, their website system for permits had gone down that morning. Which meant that they could not issue any permits from the website, which is how they issue them. The Ranger(?) was extremely apologetic and I could tell he was overwhelmed and overworked. And probably way underappreciated and under paid. I did not mind. He type out my permit for me and used his card machine (first time ever!). He expressed appreciation of the fact that I had already read the information about the permits and river. Good thing he pointed out/re-iterated some of NPS’s river requirements…https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/riverregulations.htm

Required Equipment​

Federal and state regulations outline an assortment of equipment necessary for river trips. The following items are required:
• A metal fire pan that is at least 12 inches in diameter with a 2½-inch lip around the edge.
• A means to securely contain and remove human waste from the backcountry. Systems approved for river use are washable, reusable containers equipped with RV dump fittings, or commercial bag systems (e.g. Wag Bag, Restop II) that render human waste into a non-hazardous material. Bag systems must be stored in hard-sided containers or heavy-duty, waterproof bags labeled "Human Waste."
• One approved, serviceable type I, III, or V personal flotation device (PFD)2 for each trip participant.
• One spare PFD2 for every five people on the trip, or one per boat; whichever is fewer.
• A readily accessible spare means of propulsion capable of maneuvering the vessel (oar, paddle, motor, etc.) for each boat. Low capacity boats designed to carry two or fewer occupants (canoes and kayaks) may carry one spare paddle for every three boats. Commercially made hand paddles are approved for hard-hulled, whitewater kayaks.
• A serviceable, type IV throwable device (throw cushion) for every boat 16 feet or more in length. A commercially made throw bag with at least 40 feet of line is allowed in lieu of a type IV throwable device.
• Repair kit or kits adequate for repairing the number and types of boats on the trip. Hard-hulled boats may carry epoxy and duct tape or an equivalent means of repair.
• If boats with inflatable components are used on the trip, an air pump or pumps.
• A bailing device or bilge pump for boats that are not self-bailing.
• A first aid kit adequate for the number of trip participants and length of trip.

I missed the spare PFD requirement. ****. Balls. I was proud I managed to bring a spare set of paddles and a mini fire/ash pan…even though I did not plan to have a fire. But lo and behold, my ash pan was about 8” diameter, not 12”. Double ****. I guess I’d try to wing that one and just rent a spare PFD from the river guides.
When I arrived in Moab on 05.22.16, I stopped by Tex’s Riverways (http://www.texsriverways.com/; 691 N 500 W, Moab, UT 84532; 435.259.5101). This is where I made my shuttle reservations. They were informative and very responsive to my inquiries. Unfortunately (for me), they do not take debit or credit cards. Cash only. Although, you send them a $50 check deposit to hold your spot on the shuttles. I finished paying my bill ($135) once I got in to Moab. There. All set. (Except for getting my permit, see that **** storm listed above).

Now, let me back up and say that while I was driving to Moab and drove over the Green River on I70 at Green River, UT, I noticed that the river appeared hella high. Like, just below the bridge by less than 10’ high. So I want to emphasize the importance of researching water levels and flow rates before planning a river running trip. The USGS has invaluable information for this. Here is the Utah map of the USGS monitors: http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?m=real&r=ut. The one I want to point out is Mineral Bottom (USGS 09328920 monitor: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ut/nwis/inventory/?site_no=09328920). This is where the put-in is for just north of Canyonlands NP. If you look below, you can see how effing high the water was when I arrived in Moab. According to the NPS staff I spoke to, the area got a **** ton rain (and mountains got snow) on 05.19.16. Thus created the more than double normal flow rate. Shiiiiiit.

Here is the graph of CFS (inc’g historical average). FML when I saw that graph on 05.22.16.

I heard rumor from some of the off road event participants that the White Rim Road (https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/whiterimroad.htm) was closed due to flooding. The NPS staff confirmed that parts of the road were under 2.5’-3’ of water in the Potato and Hardscrabble Bottom sections. Jebus. This trip was beginning to sound even more daunting than it already was. I was having second thoughts.

Prior to leaving for this trip, I borrowed and gathered the gear I would need. I am so very thankful to my friends who helped me get what I needed and shared insight into things that would aid me in my journey. I then packed it all up and put it in my kayak to make sure it would all fit. It did! I was not able to practice float my kayak with all my gear since I ran out of time. So I hoped and prayed it would work out well and stay balanced. I got Mountain House dehydrated meals single serve size from Wal-Mart (cheapest I could find). I opened the packaging, put the food in ziploc baggies and rolled them into smaller sizes. I kept one of the packages, since they are needed to cook the food in boiling water. Instead of getting a hard sided container to store my water, I bought a 5-gal capacity camp shower bag. I also brought 2 2.5-3L-sized water bladder bags.

The list of gear that I brought was as follows:
• 45F down compressable ultralight sleeping bag
• Sea to Summit sleeping bag insert warmer
• REI 2” inflatable sleeping pad
• 4 Mountain House meals (see description above for packing), Cliff/trail bars, ziploc baggies of beef jerky, packets of oatmeal in ziploc bags, bag of craisins, cereal and craisins in ziploc bag, 2 Beef w/BBQ long term storage sammiches in individual sealed pouches
• Snow Peak mini stove
• MSR mini burner stove and 2 small MSR propane tanks
• 2 sets of paddles
• 2 PDFs (1 borrowed from Tex’s Riverways)
• Waterproof solar charger for phone and USB connector
• GoPro and USB charger
• 2 water bladders
• Katyhadan water filer and purifying tabs
• Trekking poles
• REI half dome tent and 2 foot prints (no rain fly, it was too big. Used 2nd foot print to tie to top of tent)
• Mini cutting board
• Hatchet
• Compactable camp eating set
• Matches in water tight canister and lighter
• Mini sized case of pain meds
• Sunscreen
• Shemagh, 2 bandanas, 1 wash cloth, 1 hand towel (stored with clothes)
• Tri shorts, sports bra, swim suit, long/short sleeve merino wool top, merino wool bottom, swim short bottoms, NRS paddle shirt, beanie, NRS long sleeve shirt w/ hoodie, 2 pairs ankle running socks  non-used items stored in compression sack
• Bow line (15’)
• Headlamp and LED Coleman mini camp light
• 5gal camp shower bag
• Hiking shoes, flip flops and NRS water shoes (and mesh cinch top bag to carry them in)
• Mini foldable chair
• Wag Bags, roll of RV toilet paper and collapsible mini shovel/case
• Tooth brush/mini sized paste
• Pelican case with insulin (spare pens of both), tester kit, NPS permit, ID and debit card
• GPS Spot device (forgot to renew it)
• Spare AA and AAA batteries
• Small camelpak
• Bike water bottle
• Electrolyte tabs and Crystal light single serve packets
• Hat with brim and chin/neck strap to keep on in wind
• Spare dry bag to store used Wag Bag/toilet **** in
• Carabiners
• Bug spray
• Sunglasses (should have gotten strap to go around head so they are not lost if you roll, but I didn’t. Oh well.)
• Cell phone (kept on airplane mode), armband case with Velcro to keep phone contained on bungee line in front of me while paddling
• Pen (to write with), spare paper to write on
• First Aid kit and mini survival guide book
• Emergency paddle kit (inc bilge pump, floaty things, etc.)
• Bike gloves
• Leukotape
• Life Staw (never used it)
• Concentrated camp biodegradable liquid soap
• Belknap’s Waterproof Canyonlands River Guide  MY ************* BIBLE of the trip!!!

This all packed into 4 small sized dry bags (plus the spare bag for poop storage). Things that did not fit in the dry bags I made sure would be ok if they got wet. I kept the Camel pack, 2 water bladders, sunscreen, map book and small dry bag holding my pelican case in the cockpit with me. Everything else was stored in the sealed storage compartments in the kayak. The poop bag was stored in the cockpit at my feet. Things in the cock pit were secured using clips or carabiners. I kept the bow line attached from front to back of the kayak the whole time. I also kept the spare paddles under bungees on the front and the spare PDF under bungees in the back. My solar charger was carabinered to the bungees, too.

All my gear

All the gear packed (practice round before heading to Utah)

various misc stuff packed in Jeep pre-departing for Utah

All set to go!

I had a lot of support from friends and people I met for this trip. Many expressed worry for me since I was doing it solo, had little money (most of it went on a credit card) and I am a type 1 diabetic. First, I must say, I will NEVER let having diabetes rule my life. I do not let it cause me to decide not to do something. I am a normal person. I just have to take extra care to pay attention to my body to know when I have a high or low blood sugar and take the required steps to correct the issue. This by no means will prevent me from, say, going on a 4-day solo kayaking trip completely cut off from society with no way to get help and far from any sort of help. I am a self sufficient person. I can do it. Diabetes should never be an excuse not to do something. It is not a hindrance in life. It is a part of who I am, but it is NOT what I am. I cannot change it. So why dwell on it? As long as I am in tune with my body and understand it, then I am fine. I also know that high and low blood sugars will occur. So what? Fix the problem and move on. End of story. So. Those of you who doubted I should go on this trip because I have diabetes- SHAME ON YOU. I have faith in myself. I know I can do it. So please, support me in my confidence. And if you have doubts, keep them to yourself. Those of my friends that did doubt me, I had those thoughts in my head throughout my trip. And I told myself how wrong they were. And I was proud to prove them wrong.

NPS PDF link of the parts of the Green River you can kayak: http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/ut/moab_fo/campgrounds/river_recreation.Par.74694.File.dat/LabyrinthCanyonRiverMap6.pdf

 

[gorillamel]

Moving on.

DAY 1

So. I got my permit. I paid my shuttle bill. I got all packed up from the off road event. Nervous as ****. ****ety **** ****. ****. Balls. Did I mention nervous? Yep. That, too. I got up early. Took my last shower Saturday morning. Got my almond milk latte with hazelnut flavor and light on ice drink at Wicked Brew. Then arrived at Tex's Riverways….40min early. Hahahahaha! I drank my fru-fru coffee and prayed I could **** everything out before I got on the water. In the parking lot, the staff were great. They were highly amusing by the recent magnetic addition to the driver door of my Jeep. And asked “So who the **** is Blueberry?” since there was a decal on my rear window asking it. *Note: this is a goneMOAB Nissan off roader inside joke.* I unloaded everything. Took a few poos at the shop. Last time using a real toilet for a few days, too. Butterflies in my tummy. Lathered self in sun screen. And waited. And waited. And waited. The other group that was to shuttle with me was still trying to organize all their ****. Six adult men. Three canoes (2 rented). Loud boisterous group. But polite and amusing. I was getting annoyed. I told them they owed me beer for waiting on their asses. My gear compared to theirs looked so little. You could carry all of my gear in both hands. You could carry one of many of their bags and/or coolers in both hands. The River runner staff thanked me for being so prepared and lightly packed. 

unpacked and waiting

blueberry decal

The drive to Mineral Bottom was about 1h. It was very pretty. Especially once the road dropped and became a shelf road traversing the canyon wall to the Green River below. (Info here: http://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/791-mineral-bottom-usa.html). The put-in was crowded. Tag-a-Long (http://tagalong.com/) was there, too dropping off and picking up paddlers. The rowdy men gave me 2 beers in apology for making me wait. Then I was off! I was packed and ready to go. The Tex worker and I worked to get unstuck from the hellaciously thick mud at the put in and that was it. I was free. In the water. On my goddamned amazing solo paddle adventure! Mineral Bottom is at River Mile (RM) 52 on the Green River. My goal was to get to The Confluence with the Colorado River (RM 0) and on to Spanish Bottom campground a few miles south of that (~RM 213.5). And do it all in 4 days/3 nights. I did not have an exact plan in mind. On the drive to Mineral Bottom, the Tex staff went over the route, places to camp, things to watch out for, especially with the high water levels and was overall, extremely helpful.

The current was swifter than usual, due to the high CFS and water levels. But nothing surprisingly strong. Just enough to make floating nice. I quickly caught up and passed the other groups that launched ahead of me. I was awe struck by where I was. I was actually doing this! I was on the river! And in such a ************* amazing place on earth. I kept the Belknap guide on the floor of the cockpit between my legs held down by my seat bottom as a constant referral source. I took a slew of photos. I was breathless at the wonders around me. The riverbanks were covered in thick tamarisk. You could see that the water level had gone down in the last week, where the banks were eroded down by the swifter current days ago. On the east riverbank, the White Rim Rd followed the river. I could see mountain bikers along it. At RM 46.5 you enter Canyonlands NP. Prior to that, you are on BLM land. The Belknap guide was extremely detailed and useful to follow. I did not bring anything other than this guide book as a reference material. It was my lifeline to the map of the river. I noticed that almost every sand bar shown in the guide was now covered in water.

I did not have a watch with me. So I had no idea of the exact time. Or how long I was doing things. This was actually quite nice. Eventually, after marveling and paddling for a time, I realized I had eaten a Cliff bar in the shuttle van and never took insulin for it. I stopped on the sand bar at the entrance of Horsethief Canyon (~RM 46), tested my blood sugar. Was disappointed in myself. Took the corrective dosage of insulin. Snapped a few more pics in an attempt to show diabetics are paddling badasses, too. And moved on. The sand bar was too high to go far into Horsethief, so I continued down the river. The guide explained Upheaval Dome's geological significance in it. I wanted to stop and explore it. There was a hike marked off White Rim Rd near RM 44. But the water level was too high and tamarisk too dense to stop anywhere. I soon found out that this would be a frequent occurrence. The dearth of the damned tamarisk and effing high water.

 

[XJINTX]

WOW, CAN'T WAIT FOR THE PICS Did I miss it... what boat do you have?

 

[gorillamel]

Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention that in there. I have a Wilderness Systems Tsunami 13. I'm in the process of uploading pics to photobucket as we speak.

 

[Cummins_expo]

This is awesome! This just fast and tricky water? Rapids?

 

[gorillamel]

Water was quite sluggish. Slow float speed. Most people that were on the river simply floated. I paddled, so I passed most (all) people. There were class 1-2 rapids once I got on the Colorado. I got video of that which I will post.
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Day 1 (cont'd)

I stopped at RM 41-ish at Fort Bottom. No easy spot to stop. I grabbed flora on rocks. Pulled kayak to the side into the by now, well known, mud and got out. Sinking to my ankles in the mud. Which threatened to suck my NRS water shoes off. I tied my bow line. There was a man and woman there along the bank. I saw their kayaks and tent when I approached. We chatted. He was from NYC and she from Las Vegas. They seemed chill. I went hiking exploring the area attempting to figure out how to summit the mesa to get to the ruin atop it. I then went back to my kayak. Put on my hiking shoes. Ate some beef jerky. Warned the campers of the impending large canoe groups behind me on the river and hiked again. I made sure to avoid stepping on the precious cryptobiotic soil. But finding the hiking trails was no easy thing. This area has such little human foot traffic that there are no truly well establish camping and hiking spots as most people would think of them. More like faint animal trails. I found the trail, but was too hot and thirty to want to move on. I then hiked over to “Outlaw cabin” closer to the river. I looked for a decent camp spot, but there was too much overgrowth and no shade. I wished the campers luck since all the groups arrived and one was full of teenage boys who were bickering. Yuck. I booked *** outta there.

I debated whether I wanted to get to RM 31 Anderson Bottom to camp and risk being there with other groups (and also kayaking a further 10 miles) or just find a spot anywhere to camp. The campers mentioned a spot about 1mi downriver across the way that looked promising that they saw from Fort Bottom. I paddled on and saw one of the groups took this spot. I continued on. I then saw a flat rock opening along the river on the west bank and an opening up away from the bank. I stopped there. It was perfect. I could pull my kayak out of the water onto the flat bank. I noted in the guide that I was at RM 38 and directly across from Big Horn Mesa. The view was so ************* fantastic that I spent much of my time just staring at the world around me in awe. I looked to the sky and at Big Horn and thanked anything that would hear me for this moment. I took a nap on the flat rock shore in the shade. I then set up my tent out of the runoff/wash” areas on some loose red rock. The Tex staff mentioned putting at least one two-handed rock inside tents to help prevent them from blowing away. I put one in each corner inside the tent. I then explored the red rock wash/canyon area behind me. I saw ungulate prints. Some type of deer. Lots of lizards. Heard a lot of birds. Bugs were not too bad at this spot. I climbed to the high point, avoiding the edges since the rock was the crumbly loose, overhang/nothing holding it up underneath type. It hit me then. I was alone. Completely alone. This was not a depressing thought. Just a mental notation.

you can see my tent near the bottom left of the photo (white speck)

 

[gorillamel]

Day 1 (cont'd pt III)

The guide mentioned Potato Bottom should be across and down river from me less than a mile. I could briefly see the White Rim Rd up on the cliffs across from me. The red rock wash/canyons behind me are part of Tower Park. I cooked up chili mac Mountain House on my flat rock beach. Whoops, used too much water. Oh well. Waste not, want not. Drank that ****. Then I just sat there, taking in the scenery until the sun set. The Tex staff advised us to pee in the river, not on the ground. If on the ground, a nasty algae grows on it and is bad. So I grabbed a root, one foot on the flat rock, another on a rock on another part of the bank, put my bare *** over the river and peed. It was great. I even got up in the middle of the night and pulled this maneuver in the dark. I could get used to this.

cryptobiotic soil

selfie!

canyon behind my tent area

view atop canyon beh my tent looking across river

Big Horn Mesa

The night sky. Yes. It was glorious. I woke when the moon rose. It was so damned bright that I did not understand what was going on. I lifted my head and saw the gibbous(?) moon bright as ****. It was like someone put on a giant LED nightlight in the sky. Everything was lit up. I watched it come over the cliffs in the distance and rise up in the sky. The night was not too cold. Pretty nice, actually. I used my bag liner and was hot at first. I used the smaller footprint on the top of my tent since it had sprinkled some earlier. But it by no means covered the mesh walls so that I could not see outside.

dawn tent shot

 

[gorillamel]

DAY 2

Poop. First things first. Poop. Got my Wag Bag, shovel and TP out. Pooped on shore. Picked it all up and placed in Wag Bag (sealed and de-aired). I should also mention was in the throws of a nasty sinus issue. I nearly hacked a lung out the night before. Nose was completely plugged and blowing my nose in my hands, clothes and whatever else I could find was becoming a regular occurrence. **** it. I'm isolated alone in nature. I can blow my nose on whatever I damn well please.

dawn/sunrise

I refilled one of my empty cockpit bladders from the camp shower bag (which I did not fill to its full 5gal. I had closer to 3-3.5gal in there). Took down camp and moved on. I woke somewhere around 0500-0530h when the world became light outside. I was on the water probably before 0700h. I did not have a plan. I had debated the night before where I wanted to camp this night. I figured I'd just see where the journey took me.

Powell et al in 1800s originally thought this was one giant mesa rock in the form of an upside down crucifix.

At times, the cliff walls came right up to the river bank

Powell later saw it is 2 separate mesas (one in front of the other)

I should note, there was something comforting in hearing the flow and gurgle of the river all the time. Especially at night. On Day 1 I noticed these “burps” in the river. They scared the **** outta me at first and I was still leary of them on Day 2. Basically the surface of the river suddenly dropped and burped up in a decent sized whitecap and the water forming eddies. Some of these were small. Others were quite large and loud. I did not like them, but was fascinated by them. I assumed there was something under the surface of the water causing the current to alter. One time, I was caught on one. My kayak (and stomach) suddenly dropped. Then spun around a bit. After that, I did not mind them so much.

Sphinx head rock

Turk's Head area

Turk's Head

camp kitchen set up. Mmmm oatmeal...

Tent Camp landing

Tent camp area

Cacti in bloom!

View from breakfasting spot

Tent camp area

I passed the boisterous men at Anderson Bottom (RM31). I did not stick around. There were a few groups camped in the area, including motor boats. I later learned these boats were Fish and Game setting traps for some sort of fish out there. I stopped at RM25 Cabin Bottom/Tower Park. Another flat rock spot. Perfect location. A very good camp location for high water. I set up my camp stove and made some oatmeal while enjoying the pleasant weather and scenery. I explored the area a bit, which had decent shade. I then realized I had my GoPro and thought it would be a good idea to do a video journal. So I started that. The Tex staff said there was a boulder field at RM24 at the end of Tower Park with lots of petroglyphs, but I could not figure out how to get there due to the tamarisk.

 

[XJINTX]

I envy you! I might pick your brain on this... it's a trip I'd like to do

 

[gorillamel]

^Sure! Glad to help in any way.

I'm so anal retentively detail oriented that this write up is taking me a bit. More to come tomorrow probably. Sorry pics are not edited. I prefer the pics to be cleaned up a bit, but I have limited access to internet and stuff.

 

[gorillamel]

Day 2 (cont'd) Pt II

Turk's head in distance

Turk's Head

Walls at Turk's head area

Turk's head close

I paddled around Turk's Head and saw two other kayakers. We chatted. They are my age (younger 30s) from NM. They travel around kayaking. I instantly liked them. They were also getting out on Tues, but put in on Fri at Mineral Bottom. We explored Deadhorse Canyon (RM 19.5). They did their thing. I did mine. I hiked around and explored. So many flowers were in bloom. Especially these giant white flowers on a tall dark green plant. I could see them from the river and they were so bright and pretty. Much of the ground was loose sand. I took pics of all the tracks under a rock ledge. It looked like the insects that dig holes like a funnel were everywhere, too. Fascinating creatures. The couple were genius: they had a cinch closed mesh bag full of beverage cans tied to their boats floating in the water. Dammit! Such a good idea! I could have brought beer!! Ah well.

Deadhorse Cany entrance

Hiking around Cany. Overlook/cliff looking at River/Turk's Head

Canyon walls @Deadhorse

3 awesome kayaks @Deadhorse

cool rock I saw (and left there) while hiking Deadhorse

I wandered into the channel of the canyon having striped most of my layers of clothing off, aside from my base layer swim suit. I sat in the water. Dowsed myself in it to cool off. **** was cold but oh so refreshing. Pee break time, too. Yep. I totally peed in the water with an audience nearby. Kind of liberating. Then it was time to move on. They said they were aiming for Jasper Canyon to spend the night. Tex's peeps advised this was an accessible camp spot before I left. I said I was aiming for there as well.

Saw these flowers all over along the river

lots of antlion holes everywhere

It was pretty hot outside. My clothing consisted of: base layer swim suit (not the two piece ****, my body image confidence is not quite there for that), swim shorts, NRS paddle tee shirt, NRS long sleeve hooded shirt, shemagh around my neck, bandana (that I would dip in the river) on my head and wide brim hat on top of bandana. I also wore fingerless cycling gloves. I constantly lathered myself in sunscreen since it was so sunny out and I am a pasty white person. I was constantly drinking the water from my bladders while kayaking and used the bike bottle when I hiked. At this point, leaving Deadhorse Canyon, I got a little “turned around” on my Belknap guide. Since the sandbars and things indicated on the map were no longer visible and the foliage along the river was so dense, at times, it was hard to tell exactly what RM I was at.

My goal was to find a canyon to kayak into just to rest for a bit and get off the water and out of the sun. But the water levels had been steadily dropping each day and the sandbars to the canyons made many of them difficult to get into. I think that if I was not alone and had someone else paddling with me, I would have taken more risks, like getting out of my kayak at a sandbar, pulling it over the bar and getting back in at canyons and other stops. But I did not want to risk doing that too often alone since I really did not want to dump. At all. So I paddled on. And got frustrated. And tired. I hoped I could access Horse Canyon, but once again, sandbar.

 

[gorillamel]

Day 2 (cont'd) Pt III

Eventually, I found a canyon I could get into. The Tamarisk was dense. At times, it brushed me on both sides and I kayaked over fallen ones across the stream. The canyon was narrow and appeared to have recently drained of a lot of water. There were standing pools and much mud around. I beached my boat. Grabbed my camelpak, water and wandered along the dried stream. I was exhausted. So I found some shade from a small single tree and laid on the rocky streambed and took a nap. A small nagging sensation was with me throughout my time in that canyon. I was away from the main river, so could not see others paddle by. I was completely and utterly isolated in that canyon. And I was not exactly sure where I was. I poured over the Belknap guide and thought I may be in some unnamed canyon at RM13.5 just south of Horse Canyon. I found that I actually craved human interaction…to some degree. Or at least humans knowing where I was. Or hearing them. Anything. I passed many groups so far, but very little interacting aside from the brief interlude with the kayaking couple earlier.

view inside canyon I stopped at (later to discover it is Jasper Canyon RM9.5)

I explored the canyon a bit. The walls were crumbly dirt that were sheer and I was unable to climb up (believe me, I tried). I resigned myself that I would spend the night there. I was just too tired to move on. I found a sandy higher point away from the wet mud a good walk away from my boat. I set up camp and heard the boisterous group of men over the canyon on the river. It made me smile and I was actually glad to hear some sign of humanity. They were chanting and singing. And, strangely, they did not go away. They remained nearby. Strange indeed. I figured they must have camped just off the river since my canyon water channel was too narrow for their canoes.

My kitchen set up at camp

Day 2 camp @Jasper Canyon

view of my camp from atop canyon toward ruins

canyons have a way of making you feel so small

view of beach where boat was tied and looking toward River

They came upon me, standing atop the canyon wall. We chatted. I was glad to see them. The found a trail from the bottom of the canyon where I was, up to them. I asked them what RM we were at. They said RM9.5! Da fuq? I made it to Jasper Canyon! I effing kayaked 28.5 GDamned miles! **** yes! Jasper Canyon is noted for the ruins at it. I thought I had seen some at the northern entrance, but it seemed like an organized pile of rocks from where I was. The men said the ruins in the cliff side were up near them. So I finished making camp and went up to explore the ruins.

view looking across Jasper to other side of canyon (N entrance)

There were square holes cut into the rock face in places. In another was an abode built into a shelf in the rock wall. It was about 10-15’ up. I am thankful that I rock climb and brought my approach hiking shoes. I managed to squeeze and scramble up to the ruins. I did not touch them, to honor and protect them, but oh boy! For being 100s of years old, it was in AMAZING shape! The craftsmanship of it was stellar. The stones were placed in a very symmetrical fashion and the chinking was solid. I took pics and wished to go inside, but I refrained (that and my slight fear of spiders kept me at bay). I scrambled down. Happy. And listening to Nelly Furtado from the boisterous mens camp. I went back. Finished my Mountain House beef stroganoff, read some The Maze Runner on my phone, had a raging fever that made me feel awful and tried to rest as best I could.

holes cut in rock

ruins built into the wall (beh big rock)

close up of craftsmanship of walls

view of men's camp and River from ruin

ruin walls where it meets canyon wall

standard selfie

*Thankful for the few fever reducer pills I packed in my dry bag.*

 

[gorillamel]

Day 3

I got up with light, as usual. My fever broke. And I could almost breathe out of my nose. Yay! Small victories. My goal that day was to reach Spanish Bottom and replenish my water supply since I was down to about 1gal left.

back on the River

on way to Shot Canyon

I left for Shot Canyon (RM4.5) since that was where Tex staff told me there were “potholes” with fresh (read: non/less silty) water. Getting out of Jasper Canyon was a little more difficult than getting in. The River water level had been steadily dropping each day. Well, now it had dropped enough that I got stuck on the sand bar across Jasper's entrance. I really did not want to get out of my boat, so I got creative and used the overhanging plants and my paddle to push and pull myself over the sandbar. The entrance to Shot Canyon took my breath away. On the south (left) side, the rock wall undulated against the water way. I came upon a large group of people my age. They had a variety of boats. This was their 9th day on the water and were getting out that day. There were seven of them. All very friendly. They recommended I hike up the canyon and that I would find the pools of water farther along.

Shot Canyon entrance

paddling along Shot Cany

**** me. They were not kidding. Where the canyon wall curved at an end, there was a small waterfall filling a clear pool of water. Crystal clear. It was about 10' diameter. I climbed up the waterfall. And BAM! Holy balls! Another canyon. This area clearly used to be an old river bed. The rock up here was geometric and smooth. There were mini holes and arches formed from the movement of the water. I followed the stream for a bit. Jumping rock to rock to cross it at times. My mind was utterly blown. Do you ever have those moments in time where life just feels right? That this is what pure happiness is? That was me in Shot Canyon. I got the only photo of myself using my timer on my phone in that canyon. But it will never truly capture how I felt in that canyon.

The pool with waterfall that I used to refill my water bladder

CLimbed up waterfall and looking back down into canyon

Looking toward source of water spring, old riverbed rock

More clear-ish pools of water

Looking back to Canyon and river direction

more old river bed on S side of canyon farther up

cool formations from water on rock

Yeah! So flippin' happy!

the spring ebbs and flows in spots

selfie with waterfall area beh me

selfie with waterfall

I went back for my water bladder/camp shower bag and water filter. I filled it halfway and added some purifying tablets, just to be safe. I really did not want to leave, but knew I had to. I was looking forward to getting to The Confluence.

 

[gorillamel]

Day 3 (cont'd) Pt II

Elephant Hill pics:

Confluence Overlook (CO Riv on left, Green on rt)

Earlier in the week I drove Elephant Hill trail in Canyonlands NP with my off road event. We went to the Confluence Overlook where I hiked and saw what I would be paddling in a week. I was mightily intimidated, but also hella excited. And now, this was it. I was going to paddle it! In a note from Powell on 07.17.1869:

“Late in the afternoon the water becomes swift; an hour brings us to the junction of the Grand {now named Colorado} and Green. These streams unite in solemn depths, more than 1200 feet below the general surface of the country.”

Yes, exactly Mr. Powell. Exactly. The Green River is slower moving and thus siltier and brown looking than the Colorado, which is narrower and swifter moving.

canyon walls pre-Confluence

It felt like The Confluence was the pinnacle of my trip. It was the Big Moment/Accomplishment. I was giddy to see it, be in it, and past it. I approached it and actually found it hard to see at first. The canyon walls curve and the foliage was dense. Then there it was ! The Colordao freakin’ River! I made it!! And, of course, a jetboat came by, picking up paddlers leaving the area for the day. So I tried to avoid it and it me. The Confluence is quite wide. Combined with the wind picking up, the swifter Colorado River and jetboat wake, made for a bumpy ride.

There it is! The Confluence in the distance!

*drumroll* The Confluence

Colorado Riv upstream view

F-ugh yes! I made it!

Colorado Riv downstream, i.e. gotta paddle that ****.---> see the giant sign on the left?

 

[gorillamel]

Day 3 (cont'd) Pt III

I knew that I wanted to stay on river left because there would be a giant warning sign and the sign in sheets for camping at Spanish Bottom at RM214.5-ish. The Tex staff warned us that there were some “eddies” on river left just after the sign in area. As I approached the sign, I saw the boisterous men in their canoes ahead of me leaving the sign and going over the eddy. Yeah…eddy. Sure, let’s call it that. I call it class 2 rapid across the whole damn river. It made for getting to the sign a little more work than I planned. Not difficult, just more work. And, of course, the water was running swifter, so my boat got turn around backward as I grabbed a hold of plants to keep me from drifting away. Balls.

The Sign and sign in area

close up of the sign

I beached my boat and went to the sign. Which warned of impending doom to anyone who went a further 2mi downstream to Cataract Canyon and the Class IV rapids, i.e. you die (or at least suffer greatly) if you don’t know what you’re doing or have the right equipment. I signed in to lower or upper Spanish Bottom since I was not sure which one I would get to. The boisterous men signed up for Middle Spanish Bottom. The Tex staff advised that this is a difficult location to get to and requires high water due to the sheer rock wall. They also mentioned a few other spots to stop before getting to this sign. Scorpion rock on river right, which I pass where the jetboat was stopped picking up passengers/gear at roughly RM215.

Ok. Time to go. And paddle that eddy. Ok. I got this. I get in my boat and push off from shore…and get stuck. I try to get unstuck and end up turned around backwards again. ****. ****ety **** ****. A perfect time to turn on the GoPro. Capture myself doing a 180 degree turn about 100’ from the river wide eddy. I got this. Yup… Actually, I really did. The eddy was not terrible. Kind of exciting. Not very hard at all. Just not exactly what I wanted to do after kayaking 55mi already. I went through it unscathed! YES! I DID IT!! And then, I hear something. The river current is not slowing. **** me, another eddy ahead. Really? Cruel joke. This one looks worse. I say **** it and go in the middle where there was a mini falls. I was pushed and splashed around a bit. Quite exhilarating really. Lots of explicatives were shared. And then, I see it ahead. An open sand spot. Spanish Bottom! I aimed for river right and beached my boat.

final landing: beached kayak at Upper Spanish Bottom

I was warned by the NPS guy and Tex’s people that Spanish Bottom would be busy since it is a staging stop for the white water people and the end of the line for the smooth water paddlers like myself. Well. No other boats were seen. No people heard. I figured maybe those that I passed over the past few days would catch up and camp here. I was not thrilled with the plan, but figured it was inevitable. I wandered the camp area looking for a nice tent spot. Got distracted by a large flat rock sloped toward the river in shade and decided a nap was in order. Then it was naked time. And launder my stinky *** clothes time. So I took a dip in the river, attempted to wash all the layers of sunscreen and bug spray and sweat off of me. And laid on my now named “Naked Rock” to rest while my clothes hung to dry.

view at Spanish Bottom (dolls house in the distance)

Dolls House closer to Lower Spanish Bottom

I read that there was a neat hike to the “Doll’s House” from Spanish Bottom. I was warned that this is a hard half day hike that traverses the canyon wall to the top. I went exploring for this trail. I hiked into the meadow that was Spanish Bottom. Very pretty with lots of different colored vegetation. At one point a buck ungulate of some sort leaped out about 500yds from me, scaring the bejesus out of me. Then the trail ran out. It appeared that the trail I was following was an animal trail. I wandered around some more in the sand washes covered in deer tracks, but could not find the trail to the canyon wall. I could see it in the distance going up the canyon, but my motivation was dwindling and it was hot. So I eventually turned back.

meadow leading up to Dolls House at Spanish Bottom

pretty clouds over canyon across river

across meadow toward Dolls House

I decided to set up camp on a sandy section that was overlooked by a tree and had a view of the river. I hiked around some more. Hung out on “Naked Rock” some more watching and waiting for others to arrive. Then I heard thunder and saw a dark cloud over The Confluence. Rather than make a Mountain House, I ate a long shelf life Beef with BBQ packaged sandwich. Blegh. Luckily, the storm went east and missed me. I waited for sun set. Took some pics. Then read some more “The Maze Runner” before going to sleep. But of course, sleep did not come and I had a terribly low blood sugar event. I gobbled a Cliff Bar and finally fell asleep.

The thunder storm

view of my tent from main beach

view of tent from Naked Rock area

sunset across the River