TRIP REPORT: Dolores River (Slickrock Section)

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.