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San Rafael River: Fuller Bottom to Lockhart Box

Friday – Sunday, June 2-4, 2023

This weekend Jared and I met up in the San Rafael Swell so we could float the San Rafael River with our packrafts while there was still enough water left this year. Although our last packrafting trip together on the Dirty Devil River may not have gone as well as we had hoped, Jared was looking forward to getting his packraft on a river that actually had enough water this time and I was looking forward to a return visit into the Little Grand Canyon! I left from work on Friday afternoon and made my way over to the Swinging Bridge at the mouth of Buckhorn Wash, where we planned to meet up. I arrived a couple hours before Jared was going to, so I drove a little ways down the Mexican Mountain Road and found us a campsite just as it started to rain.

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The Colorado River: Cisco Landing to Hittle Bottom

Average CFS Above the Dolores River: 26,278 // Below the Dolores River: 32,500
Sunday, May 14, 2023

After spending five days on the Yampa River last week and then yesterday morning hiking in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison it was time for Jackson and I to get back out on the river again for a short day trip. Today we planned to float a section of the Colorado River that we had not been on before, starting from Cisco Landing and taking out at Hittle Bottom. With the water level around 30,000 CFS we knew the river was going to be high and fast, and figured that we would make it through this section of the river pretty quickly. We were right since we ended up floating all 23 miles in just about four hours and made it home by the early afternoon!

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Yampa Canyon: The Yampa River in Dinosaurland

Floating Across Dinosaur National Monument | Friday – Tuesday, May 5-9, 2023

For years, Jackson and I have wanted to float the lower section of the wild and scenic Yampa River that carves its way through Dinosaur National Monument, so we have been entering the lottery each winter for a chance to obtain that hard-to-get permit hoping that maybe we would eventually get lucky. This year after we were unsuccessful in the lottery yet again, we decided it was time to actively try harder to get a permit and Jackson was able to secure a Low-Use Season permit for early May just a few days before the High-Use season would begin. This was actually great timing for me since I have been spending the first weekend of May in Dinosaurland these past couple of years and now I could look forward to spending that same timeframe floating across Dinosaur National Monument on the Yampa River this year!

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Rainbow Bridge: Circumnavigation of Navajo Mountain

The Canyons of Navajo Mountain & Rainbow Bridge National Monument
Wednesday – Monday, March 15-20, 2023

This year for our annual spring backpacking trip, Jared, Dave and I were planning to spend an easy four days and three nights hiking down Paria Canyon from the White House Trailhead to Lees Ferry. It’s a trip we have all wanted to do for a long time and were looking forward to, but back in December when I reserved the permit we had no idea what the atmospheric river would have in store for us this winter! A couple of days before our trip was set to begin there was a large flash flood in Buckskin Gulch and the Paria River that unfortunately killed two hikers and resulted in the rescue of about a dozen more. With reports of deep cold water crossings and continued precipitation and cold air temperatures in the forecast, we decided that this was probably not the right time for this hike and started considering different options. Since I try to be prepared, I already had a backup plan to hike around Navajo Mountain to Rainbow Bridge ready to go in case the weather did not cooperate with us on this Paria Canyon hike, so we decided to try that one instead.

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Moab Meanderings: Arches on Amasa Back

Sunday, March 12, 2023

I was originally planning to go hiking on Saturday this weekend, but the rain in the forecast made me change those plans late in the week. So instead, I opted to stayed home on Saturday to work on my Jeep a little and start getting prepared for an upcoming backpacking trip. The weather forecast was looking better on Sunday, so after moving the clocks up an hour for Daylight Savings Time I got up early and drove down to Moab for a day hike on Amasa Back. I had hiked onto Amasa Back with Diane over the 2021 Christmas weekend, but we didn’t make it as far as I would have liked that day, so I was hoping to reach a couple new arches this time. As I drove through The Portal and along the Colorado River shortly before sunrise, I could tell that spring break had definitely arrived since all of the campsites were occupied, which was not the case just a few short weeks ago. When I reached the trailhead at the mouth of Kane Springs Canyon I started hiking up the Jackson Trail as the sun came up over the cliffs. It was turning out to be a very beautiful morning!

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Tag: rain

San Rafael River: Fuller Bottom to Lockhart Box

The Colorado River: Cisco Landing to Hittle Bottom

Yampa Canyon: The Yampa River in Dinosaurland

Rainbow Bridge: Circumnavigation of Navajo Mountain

Moab Meanderings: Arches on Amasa Back