I know that I am finding my balance in life when I find myself on the river two weekends in a row. The opportunity presented to paddle the upper San Juan River, between Bluff and Mexican Hat, with my housemate Franklin, his girlfriend K-rissy and our friend Matt Gross (a Moabite in diaspora living in North Carolina. I didn't have to think long before accepting this invitation.
We rigged on Friday morning got to the put in at Sand Island later in the afternoon. Our friend Todd, a ranger with the BLM, was working there and saw us off, wishing no doubt he could come with us. With the river running at a swift 3,700 cubic feet per second, we quickly made some miles downstream, pausing to take in the amazing Anasazi petroglyphs at Butler Wash. We made camp above Desecration Canyon on a fine beach. Driftwood was plentiful and we whiled away the evening with a great fire and an amazing dinner of breaded tilapia, broccoli and cous cous.
We welcomed the next day with a lazy morning in camp, complete with breakfast burritos and coffee with a nip of Irish cream. We got off on the river, stopping for hikes to the incredible river house ruin and the rock art up Chinle Wash. Between those two hikes I took an unexpected swim to retrieve an oar ripped out of the oarlock after the oar caught in the sandy bottom of the shallow river. A little excitement in an otherwise calm stretch of river. We entered Lime Ridge and soon spotted a group of mature male bighorn sheep at the river edge. We made camp on a lovely ledge after several other camps we hoped for were already occupied by other boaters. It was a busy weekend on the San Juan. Another great dinner ensued, consisting of pork chops and applesauce. We retired to another large driftwood fueled fire and lively conversation.
The third day broke with warm sunshine into the gorge of Honaker and Paradox formation limestones, reminders of the great age of the rocks surrounding us. These limestones were formed by ancient seas that covered this region during the Pennsylvanian epoch some 300 million years ago. We easily navigated Eight Foot Rapid and Ledge Rapid. Afterward, I put on my work hat to check for signs of use or maintenance on a disputed ATV route along the river near Ledge Rapid. I would be saddened to see motorized vehicles in this beautiful and wild canyon, home to one of the state's most successful bighorn sheep herds.
By late afternoon we made the take out and shuttled cars. After derig we ate at a singularly impressive establishment in Mexican Hat, the Swinging Steak. This cowboy themed outdoor restaurant featured steaks cooked over a hot fire on a swinging grill, ensuring even heat. The old guy cooking the steaks sported a cowboy hat and a western shirt unbuttoned to nearly his navel, bristling with white chest hair. The place was straight out of a Coen brothers movie and provided a great ending to our river trip before our ride home.
This trip reminded me again of what a great river trip for a long weekend the Upper San Juan is. The past two weekends on the river have served to remind me how important traveling by river is to my sense of sanity and happiness.
I decided that this was going to be the year to see all of the Dolores River, at least the sections that are most typically run. Two years ago I ran the upper section from Bradfield (just below McPhee Reservoir) to Slickrock, a beautiful stretch combining the best of the desert and the higher country -- Ponderosa pines towering over the river. This upper section contains the most storied rapid of the Dolores, Snaggletooth.
By contrast, the Slickrock section is mellow water broken by the occasional minor rapid (never more than Class II despite the guidebook). The river winds its way through a serpentine redrock gorge, tall cliffs of Wingate sandstone rising up from right beside the river. We put in below Slickrock at the northwestern end of Big Gypsum Valley and traveled 36 river miles to the takeout at Bedrock, Colorado.
So, Thursday night after Spanish class, Lee and I went to the grocery store to outfit ourselves as lightly and cheaply as possible for our one-night river expedition. We decided to go backpacking style, the bare necessities. We would paddle an 11" NRS raft borrowed from a friend. We would leave behind or dramatically scale back most of the equipment normally associated with a raft trip. We brought my Whisperlite stove, canned soup for dinner, a couple of wag bags, and a firepan that was originally intended for baking turkeys -- all stuffed into our two drybags, no metal or hard edges in our rig.
Friday morning we left Moab early for Colorado. We drove to the takeout at Bedrock, dropped Lee's truck, and continued to Big Gypsum valley, pausing briefly in Naturita to buy what might have been the most bland and disagreeable breakfast burritos I've ever had the misfortune to eat. With some intestinal discomfort, we got to the uncrowded put in and quickly inflated our little boat and were off.
We entered the canyon (and the BLM Dolores River Wilderness Study Area) a couple of miles after the put in. Several layers of dramatic sandstone cliffs shot skyward as we were enveloped by the gorge. The river continued to twist like a snake through the ages of ancient desert's sands. We saw or heard no one -- only our own voices and laughter. We patted ourselves on the backs for going on a Friday and Saturday, beating the crowds of weekend warriors we knew would be behind us.
We camped at a small campsite that seemed to be reclaiming now that the Dolores sees less use. We ate our soup and burned driftwood in our turkey pan. I settled into my sleeping bag and quickly fell asleep beneath the starry sky.
The next day we woke and coffeed and took our time getting out on the river, luxuriating in the beautiful canyon morning. After a few more miles on the river we stopped to hike briefly in Coyote Wash. After a few more miles, strong tail winds increased our speed toward the take out. We made it to Bedrock and Lee's truck. We deflated the raft and put our stuff away in about ten minutes, a record derig, and were on our way back to Big Gypsum for my truck.
This was a great two day trip, stunning views in a special place. I am glad that there is an opportunity to run the Dolores this season. Sadly, most of my years in Utah, the river has been unrunnable due to the operations of McPhee Dam. Surely there is a way to balance the need for water to irrigate a few bean fields with the greater imperative of keeping this river ecosystem healthy.
