Saturday, May 30, 2026 | Average CFS: 695
This morning Jackson and I headed over to Delta so we could float the last remaining section of the Gunnison River below the Black Canyon that I had not been on yet. Although Jackson and Chris had actually floated this short section of the river a few years ago, I was unavailable the day they went and have been trying to get back ever since. While I really only needed to float the section from the Highway 65 Bridge to Confluence Park, Delta County constructed a new boat ramp a few miles further downstream just a couple of years ago and we thought it would be a good idea to extend the trip a little bit and take out there. Since this would be a pretty short and easy day trip, we decided to skip the inflatable kayaks and just bring our packrafts to make things a little easier. I met up with Jackson and his son Ken at the Crane Landing Boat Ramp by 9:00am and then we took Jackson’s car up to the put-in just below the Highway 65 Bridge.
Although the weather forecast was calling for clear and sunny skies this morning, and it was still sunny out while we were rigging our boats, it quickly got very cloudy and overcast and would stay that way throughout most of the trip.
There is a warning about the Hartland Diversion boat passage at the put-in, which is the only obstacle along this stretch of the river. This boat passage was built in 2012 and modified the original dam that was built in 1881 and spanned the entire river.
After rigging our boats we were on the river under a dark and cloudy sky.
Paddling along the wall.
It was a nice morning to be out on the river, but it could have been even nicer if the sun were out…
We even encountered a few sprinkles of rain along the way.
As I said above, the only real obstacle along this section of the Gunnison River is the boat chute at the Hartland Diversion Dam. When Jackson and Chris ran it a few years ago they didn’t have any issues, but at this lower water level the current was bouncing back and forth through the chute like a pinball machine and I managed to lose my balance and flip my packraft about halfway through and had to swim through a couple of the waves. I kept hold of my paddle, but wasn’t quick enough to grab my boat, but thankfully Ken was able to grab it for me. Luckily, the water was just over 60 degrees and I didn’t start to feel cold until later in the morning when the wind picked up while I was still drying out.
Throughout the morning we saw quite a few large birds all along the river including Bald Eagles, Osprey, Hawks, Egrets and Great Blue Herons.
When we reached Confluence Park we stopped at the boat ramp to stretch our legs and eat a snack.
When we got back on the river the clouds finally started to clear and there was some blue sky above.
There was a good view of the Grand Mesa during the last few miles.
We made it to Crane Landing before 2:00pm after floating about nine miles in three and a half hours.
