Saturday & Sunday, June 29 & 30, 2024
This weekend Jackson and I set out to continue what we had started two weeks ago by floating two more sections of the Colorado River close to home as day trips. Last time we had started near New Castle and left off at Parachute, so this weekend we planned to float two more sections from Parachute down to Beavertail Mountain in De Beque Canyon, which is a section of just over 28 miles. Although there was a lot of storm activity in the area this weekend, we made sure to to get started early and off the river before noon so we had no issues with weather or wind and the mornings were actually perfect for floating the Colorado River!
Floating Between Battlement Mesa and the Roan Plateau
Average CFS: 10,300
On Saturday morning I met up with Jackson and Ken and we started our morning on the river from the nice new boat ramp in Parachute.
Mount Callahan towered above us as we floated between the Roan Plateau and Battlement Mesa for most of the way.
The river was still moving fast today, but not quite as fast as it had been two weeks ago.
Ken & Jackson
After a couple miles Mount Logan came into view.
Mount Logan
We floated under this old highway bridge shortly before reaching the boat ramp in De Beque after about 2.5 hours on the river.
Packrafting into De Beque Canyon of the Colorado River
Average CFS: 10,000
On Sunday morning I stopped to take a couple photos in De Beque Canyon on my way to meet up with Jackson and Ken again.
Morning in De Beque Canyon
Beavertail Mountain
After leaving a vehicle in the parking area near Beavertail Mountain we got on the river at the boat ramp in De Beque. Jackson and I traded in our inflatable kayaks for packrafts today, so I was finally able to get my new Alpacka Mule on the water for the first time!
Jackson in his packraft.
Ken floats below a large crumbling hill of mud and clay.
It wasn’t long until we were approaching De Beque Canyon.
Although this stretch of the river was the closest to the interstate for longer than the other sections, the scenery was nicer once we were in De Beque Canyon.
It’s always nice to slow down and observe a canyon more closely that I’ve driven through many, many times at 70mph.
Packraft & Ducky
Bunkwater Ridge
We floated around the bend to the other side of Beavertail Mountain and got off the river just before reaching Big Sur, which was non-existent at this water level.
De Beque Canyon Petroglyphs
Since we ended up driving through De Beque Canyon a couple times and then finally floating into it this weekend, I figured it was finally time to stop and check out the petroglyphs found in the canyon. It’s too bad that they are heavily vandalized, because this would be a pretty nice panel for the area if they weren’t…
