AUGUST 2006
CANOE TRIP TO CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK

The Route:
Ruby Ranch to Spanish Bottom  Pick up by jet boat for trip upstream to Moab.

Participants:
Jim Bailey  
Mike Reilly
Bill Yacovissi
Bob Alspaugh
Mike Alspaugh
Hans Krohn
Tom Kaminski

Distance:  97 miles by water
no portaging


 

Flew to Denver and drove to Moab.  Tex's Riverways transported us upriver to Ruby Ranch.

Here we are finishing our pretrip checklist.

It's always good to get the trip underway
Our first night's camp at around mile 83.  

The tarp arrangement worked very well to provide some shade while we wait for the sun to drop below the ridgeline

Hans paddled the kayak for a couple of days, then I took a turn, then Jim, then back to Hans to finish the trip.
Took a hike up Hey Joe Canyon to an old Uranium mine. 
Later we climbed up the ridge at the Bownot Bend.  

It's about a quarter from one side to the other but 7 miles by river 

Storm clouds moved in while we were on the hike.  We had to ride the storm out on the beach but we were lucky.  Lots of wind but not much rain.
Our second night's camp around mile 65.  

It looked like the center of this large sand bar, which you can see from the vegetation in the background has been there for quite a while, was recently swept clear by water.  It was a nice camp but kind of an odd place.

I tried one of my Costa Rican cigars after dinner.  That turned out to be a mistake.  Back to my cherry tiparillos next year.

The next day we paddled to Mineral Bottom and camped at mile 52.  A big storm blew up with heavy rains and high winds.    

The next morning a jeep with a couple and their 9 year old boy drove into camp.  The rode had washed out behind them the previous afternoon preventing their getting out of the canyon.  They spent the night in a campground latrine.  The guy's wife named Brenda was not happy.

Stopped for a while for a hike up to some cliff dwellings.
Then we climbed up on some rocks and just sat there in the wind for awhile.  I find it interesting when we do things like this.  

Normally men as long in the tooth as we are would be self conscious about doing something like this but this group gives in to those adolescent whims.  That's one of the reasons I like these trips so much. 

The day was very hot so we started to do the floating in the river thing.
The camp that night was in a spectacular place around mile 32.

We were exposed to the sun until quite late in this setting but it was still nice.  Spent much of the afternoon in the river.

In the morning we decided to paddle a ways upstream to a rock cut that allowed easy access to the plateau above the river.

 

 

The perception of the landscape changes entirely out of the confines of the immediate river channel.  You see more clearly how vast the landscape is. 
A couple of hardy hikers

Mike and Bob paddle past some spectacular scenery.

Jim and Tom do the same.
It turned out to be a difficult day.  We covered 20 miles.  It was rainy and cool and we couldn't find a place to camp.

But as is often to case, we found a suitable place to put up around mile 16.  The sun came out and we had a nice evening.

 

The next day started as usual, going downriver.
The first stop was to hike to some cliff dwellings and ruins.  I called this the cliff of death as the ledge out to point where Jim and Tom are standing seemed awfully narrow to me.  
Jim making a close-up inspection of the cliff dwelling.  The rest of us had better sense than to crawl up there.
Next was a hike up Water Canyon with some interesting rock formations.
We found a place in the shade while Jim, Bob, and Mike hiked further up the canyon.
It was brutally hot by the time we got back to the river to wait for Bob and Mike.
The water was skuzzy but at least the heat didn't kill us.
This night we camped around mile1 in a place that blocked the sun early.

This was also an overwhelmingly beautiful camp.  The river went around a bend upstream and down giving the impression of camping in a box canyon with a lake in it.

The picture to the right is looking upstream and  below is downstream.

 

Mike and I sat up to watch the full moon come up over the cliffs and illuminate the area.  The moon was amazingly bright.

Suddenly after what seems like endless paddling you arrive at the junction of the Green and the Colorado.

We were early so we decided to continue down the Colorado to Spanish Bottom.

We ran into a small rapid downstream and had fun running the riffle.

You can just about hear Mike shout yahoo!

Jim and Tom kicking up some waves in the riffles
Finally the boat arrives for the trip back up the Colorado to Moab.

 

You know you are getting back to civilization because you start to see some weird things.

This rig looks like part of the set from Waterworld.

After getting to Potash you have to take the bus the rest of the way to Moab.
After an overnight at the Lazy Lizard and lots of beer at McStiff's, we finished the trip with a hike to Delicate Arch before driving to Denver and the flight home.


THE END