Dirty Devil River
March 23-29, 2008
150-120 cfs

Did a solo 7 day trip down the Dirty Devil and I am going to finally put some kind of a Trip Report together here. It was a very personal trip, I could go into great detail about seeing Jason Voorhees, illuminated by the moonlight, standing in the middle of the river with his machete and hockey mask after midnight (black cow w/a white face), the hawk screaming and then diving from on high for a rabbit at Twin Corral, the beaver that I thought was a bear that nearly jumped onto my kayak below Happy Canyon...or the crazy people wasted on acid or mushrooms at Poison Springs. I could wax on for hours about the quicksand I fell into the first day at "come..see... canyon\slot (my name)", running the "ditch" near the confluence in almost total darkness and other such tales that will probably age like fine wine...but for now I am not going to. In the end I think I will keep all of those gory details and more just for me. The DD is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I feel a great deal of "ownership" when talking about it.

Before the trip I had (re)read Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and like him I punished the hell out of myself both in psyche and body on this trip...he paid someone to actually beat him as he wandered the deserts but I found it easy to do it on my own. Second day I named the new Vanguard kayak Wilson so I could have someone else to talk to and yell at as I "plowed" the sand and silt the first 30+ miles of the DD with an 8' strap slung across my chest. If you are thinking of going down there contact me through the site by leaving a comment and I will be happy to answer questions about the specifics of running the river.

And...

Take care of that place or I will kick your ass...

Some of the photos from the trip are here in the gallery...having trouble getting everything up but should have it sorted out soon.

San Juan River
Febuary 29th - March 4th
4000-5000 cfs

Shane Rasmussen
Jordan Rasmussen
Logan Rasmussen
Mike Scott

Just finished another fantastic trip down the San Juan with my two boys and Mike Scott. Four of the five days we had great weather with highs in the low 70's. On March 2nd we had a nasty 16 hour wind storm that started at 4am and didn't end until about 8pm. We did not make to many stops in the upper section other than River House because my boys had already seen quite a few of the sites on a three day trip we did a couple of years ago. Fun and lazy floating on the first day, Jordan rode in Mike's kayak for a bit while Logan navigated for me. Got them both throughly soaked in 8 foot Rapid and we camped at Lime Creek for our first night on the river.

On the morning of the second day we all climbed the hill behind Lime Creek camp to reach the suns morning rays and warm up. After packing everything up we headed to Mexican Hat with Jordan in Mikes IK. Watch the video below of Jordan describing Gypsum Creek Rapid in camp later that night, pretty hilarious . Ate at the cafe next to the trading post and after another stop at Mendenhall Loop we were on to our camp at the Honaker Trail. We could tell that the next day was not going to be too nice because it was so warm that night.

At 4am on Sunday I was awakened by a 50mph wind gust that folded my tent over on top of me. Got out of the tent and rearranged it for the first of many times so it wouldn't blow away. Checked on the boys and they were doing great in the four season tent. When the sun came up Mike and Logan hiked aways up the Honaker Trail but the wind drove them back down...man I HATE the wind! Mike deflated his kayak and we launched at about noon. Tough miles in all that wind but as long as I could keep the boat off shore we made good progress. Shortly before Government Rapid Logan started whimpering, he had gotten his feet wet that morning and he is such a tough little kid that he said nothing. Jordan was a great big brother and consoled him while Mike was able to warm his feet up. Did a cheat run at Government Rapid to try and keep everybody dry and was successful although I did brush over a submerged rock. We camped at Slickhorn C and as soon as he hit the shore Logan was off and running, his misery forgotten.

The next day the sun hit our camp early, Logan set up Lasso Golf and we played that for awhile until the suns rays penetrated Slickhorn Canyon. Around noon Mike and I were packing up and the boys went up the canyon again while we finished. About five minutes later I came to the large pool at the bottom of the canyon to find that Logan had already went for a swim by himself. He said that he wanted to see how deep it was next to the wall where you jump from, when I asked how deep it was he replied that he didn't know because he couldn't touch and got scared so he swam back. When Jordan and Mike showed up we all jumped off the rock into the cold pool, Logan did a great superman belly flop and Jordan jumped into the deepest part. After drying off for a bit we launched the boats at about 1:30.

We had planned to spend that last day at either Oljato or Steer but it was such a nice day, neither of those camps get good sun, that we decided to push on to Clay Hills where we spent the night. Packed up and ready to leave the next day by 10:30, plenty of time to make it home before dark. It was a great trip, we didn't see anybody else on the river and no signs of anybody having been in any of the camps...we felt like the San Juan belonged to us(1)(2).

All the photos from the trip are in the Gallery

Hiked down the Virgin River Narrows with Mike last weekend, photos are located here.

Went down the White Rim Road - Trail this last weekend,

Photos here.

The Sexy Time Grand Canyon Good Karma 2007 Trip
Participants:
Dianna Cort
Gary Scovill
Lorie Erickson
Mike Scott (aka Spider Monkey)
Shane "Shnard" Carter
Shane Rasmussen
Steve Bradley
Tracy Anderson

I just spent 16 days, on the Colorado River, rowing through the Grand Canyon and my small world will never be the same.

But we should start at the beginning,

I had major anxiety for many months leading up to this trip.

Would the rapids or rattlesnakes kill me or the others I felt responsible for?

What about getting everything and everyone there and back?

Would I, my two great old friends and the five other "strangers" (who soon became my tribe) all get along?

What about the food?

I had forgotten my river maps in the truck and my GPS with all the way points had died 30 minutes into the trip, a perfect start to the journey of my life...I have been rowing and kayaking rivers and creeks for more than nine years. My map of Utah is nearly complete having done nearly all sections of the rivers in the state but nothing, not even Cataract or Westwater, had prepared me for the rapids of the Grand Canyon. Rapids on the Grand are rated on a scale of 1-10 instead of the standard I-V classification and I was soon to find out why. Most of the riffles and non named rapids would be considered class II on most rivers. We hit Badger Creek Rapid (5-6) a couple of hours into the first day and it looked huge, one entry slot and then hit the big waves, try to keep forward momentum and the boat straight.

That night we camped above Soap Creek Rapid (5-6) at about mile 11 1/2 and I listened to the roar all night. I don't know how to describe how I felt at the time, I was elated to be here but at the same time I had serious doubts about my skills and especially my nerve for when the really big stuff came up. We took on Soap the next morning and then it was some nice floating time until the first big test, House Rock Rapid (7-8). Other than the Big Drops in Cataract it was the biggest rapid I had ever scouted. We looked at it from down below, then climbed up higher and looked at it again, the move was like many others to come, pull your ass off and away from the big shit. Most of the current was going to the left, exactly where you did not want to be so the run was to stay as close to the right shore, without hitting the rocks, to get away from the nasty stuff in the main current. It didn't help my confidence that during the scout Mike kept saying "we are going to die!", "this rapid can't be run!" and other encouraging words. Everybody had good runs, Tracy pulled through nicely after being stuck on some rocks at the top for awhile and needing a push off from Shnard and Steve.

Then we were on to North Canyon where I believe we spent the night, the next day would bring the fast and furious roaring twenties where Richards, Hansbrough and Loper had met their end. Nothing was to intimidating (4-6's), *but*, Tiger (Wall\Wash rated a 5) nearly got me, I thought I would be cute and let the lateral coming off it push me away from the nasty stuff but instead it surged then disappeared under my boat and then came up underneath and pushed me right into where we didn't want to be. Luckily we were out in short time, had been humbled and spanked throughly. We spent the night at a wonderful beach camp near South Canyon.

The next 40+ miles or so were great, nothing big to write home about until we hit Unkar (6) and Nevills (6) Rapids which were pretty big. Hance Rapid (8-9)was really quite terrifying and a sign of what we could expect on the days ahead. Enter right and pull through the "duck pond" to the left, it didn't quite go that way for Mike and I. We were going about 20mph when we hit the first big hole on the middle right and it stopped us dead, spun the boat and filled it with water. I was crushed to the bottom of the cockpit, saw an oar, put it on top of the hole\wave, pushed on it with both arms and we broke free...the rest was a blur of white and brown. Had a great run through Sockdolager (7-8) and saw what might have been the biggest waves of the trip (bigger even than Hermit), those following us saw the bottom of my boat but we hardly even got wet. Camped in the eternal shade of Grapevine camp that night and felt like I might actually be able to pull this all off.

The next day was the start of the "big ones". Don't remember much about Grapevine Rapid (7) other than we didn't scout it. Then it was some other "smaller" 4-5's until we reached Phantom Ranch. Most of us sent post cards, tried to make a few calls, purchased some souvenirs and we were back on the river. Horn Creek Rapid (8-9) was next and we got really lucky with the high water, the left horn was covered and made for a fairly easy run through. We camped that day just above Granite Rapid (8-9) and after we were set up went down to look at it. Laterals, laterals and then a dozen more laterals that were coming from both sides. It ended up being, in my opinion, the second scariest rapid of the trip. After the scout, back in camp, the Canadians showed up (they had a film crew that had shot us in Hance) to look over the rapid. The Trip Leader said they were planning to float down several more miles but after taking a look at Granite he said to me "So...this is a really big camp...". I told him that they were welcome to share the camp and they did. A few Olympic kayakers were in there group and entertained\scared us as they ran the rapid in the late afternoon catching some serious air time at the top.

The next day we ran Granite at about 8:30AM as the other group watched and filmed us. Steve and I did not want to look at it again so we just ran it, I think I have repressed the memory because other than trying to keep turning my boat into the opposing laterals all I really remember is working my ass off at the bottom to get out of "forever eddy", that back pull was good preparation for what was to come. Next was Hermit, all I will say about that rapid was that I had a great run...meaning we stayed in the boat. On to Crystal Rapid(9)...Crystal...Crystal...F*!k you Crystal...you have been in my nightmares. This was the rapid that had kept me up late at nights. As we approached, landed and I ran up to the scout I felt myself becoming lightheaded. At the upper scout I stood there looking at it at thought I was going to pass out. Then I realized that I had bee hyperventilating and tried to control my breathing as I joined the others at the lower scout.

Jesus, Allah, Buddha I love you all!
Please don't put me in those holes where all the current goes.

Perfect runs through Crystal followed with a short break at ABC (Alive Below Crystal) beach below where I shed some tears of relief hidden by my sunglasses. Then we went through the Jewels (5-7) without incident and made camp. I don't know if I have ever had a better nights sleep in my life.

After Crystal I felt untouchable, Walthenberg (6) was just pure fun as my boat smacked down into the hole. Stops at Shinumo, Elves, and Blacktail will never be forgotten. We camped at Ross Wheeler that night in a small camp that was just big enough. The next morning, less than a half an hour after shoving off we ran into one of the other private trips we had been running into. The Grand Canyon has "tides" based on releases from Glen Canyon Damn and we were now getting the low September flows. The night before we had been waking up every two hours to release the lines and push the boats out, our leap frog private trip had not. Rounding the bend and seeing boats (one was a 33' rented motor rig) stuck 30' on shore was quite the site. They blew the air horn and it was time for the Sexy Time Good Karma Grand Canyon '07 Group to come to the rescue. All boats were back in the water in less than an hour and our rafts were freshly laden with thank you beer when we pushed off.

That day two rapids stand out, Bedrock (7) and Dubendorff (7-8) (F#*K, Dubendorff!!!). Everybody had good runs at Bedrock and made the pull but Steve and I had to eat some meat at Dubendorff. Not so fun but it was followed by lunch and a great hike and shower at Stone Creek. On to to Tapaets (5) where we parted ways with Shnard, Mike, Lorie and Steve while they went on a 5 hour hike to see Thunder River jet out of the canyon walls. Gary, Dianna, Tracy and I continued on to camp at the spot across from Deer Creek Falls, one of my favorite spots in the canyon. After setting up camp I inflated the ducky and pushed across to Deer Creek, I sure wished I had brought my camera after a hottie commercial guide got half her top ripped off so I paddled back to get it. After getting the camera and pushing back across, most of the commercials were shoving off and I had Deer Creek Falls all to myself. The next hour or so was spent trying to swim under the powerful falls wearing nothing but my life jacket, sorry for the disgusting visual but it was one of the best parts of the trip for me.

The next day we missed Matkatambiba Canyon because AZRA boats were taking every available spot to pull in, we were pretty pissed but then they showed us that you could run the big stuff in Upset Rapid (6-7). We had planned a pull and stick to the right shore run but we watched them enter at nearly the center and we followed their line. Turn into the big lateral at the top, turn again into the one on the right and then push hard into the center of the big hole at the bottom. I stalled in the big hole and lost an oar, as I was wishing I had my passenger for weight on the front I looked to my right for the oar and saw him filming me from the bank. It was all worth it when I saw the footage on the 3' screen later, maybe the best shots of a rapid on the trip. I think we made some pretty good time that day and camped at the second ledges camp, which had a spring shower coming off of the upper ledges, got some good naked photos from my vantage spot on the boat but I am saving those for blackmail purposes.

Next day was Havasu where we parked the boats and some hiked around while others of us swam up the creek with our life jackets. Beautiful water with small falls as far as we walked up, playing in most of them. That night we camped at National, while the others went on a hike Mike and I drank beer as we floated around in the huge eddy. Later, Lorie sneaked up and got some great pics of the Spider Monkey's butt as he changed while I distracted him with my laughter.

I can honestly say that I was not that scared of\at Lava Falls(9)...by that point I was in the zone and ready for the river to fall off the face of the flat earth. It was big and I now believe the stories about the ledge hole ripping the frames off of boats. I was more concerned about ending up in there and having my life jacket ripped off so it was the only rapid that I put my shortie wet suit on for extra buoyancy. The line you take is a leap of faith, or at least a float of faith, follow the current\bubble line coming off a big bolder on river right, don't touch your oars and pray. We had a great run, as we hit the first hole at the top I started pushing forward and trying to move to the left to avoid cheese grater rock at the bottom, it worked so well that we hardly even hit the hole at the bottom and barely got wet in the rapid. Good runs for all (no flips or swims :) PARTY AT TEQUILA BEACH BABY!!! The two commercial groups who had run safety for us at the bottom of the rapid (and probably hoped that their passengers would see a bit of carnage) didn't seem to be having nearly as much fun at "made in the shade" below, probably because most of them were going to have to leave by helicopter the next day at Whitmore where we stayed at the lower camp that night.

The next day was pretty relaxed and most of the time I was the sweep boat as I was feeling extra lazy and in no particular hurry. Watching Tracy go through Kolb Rapid (6) woke me up though as it looked like a near flip. Rafts don't usually like to go where cats do so I skirted most of it to the left. Camped just above 209 that night and listed to the whomp of the massive hole that eats unaware boatman all afternoon\night.

Short day on the river and we camped at upper 220, played around in the water to keep cool and drank most of the rest of the beers and then...Last day...very mixed emotions. I was aching for my family but the rest of me wanted to go back up and do a stealth launch at Lee's after midnight. No real BIG rapids on the way to Diamond but everybody was going for the holes on every run trying to savor our last hours in the canyon. Then we saw it, a cable across the river, then a bus and cars. Damn, we're back now.

To be continued...

See my photos here
See Mike's photos here
See Diana's photos here
See Gary's photos here
See Lori's photos here
See Tracy's photos here

Rochester Creek Pictographs

Pictures here.

Thompson Wash (Sego Canyon)
Feb 2002

Pictures here.

Westwater Canyon
July 20-21
2800cfs

Had another great trip down Westwater Canyon this last weekend. We launched at about noon on Friday and spent a few hours floating to Little Hole campground where we spent the night.

The next morning we launched at 8:30 and quickly ran into Little Dolores Rapid. I was running the sweep boat and at Surprise Rapid we were following Karlee's boat and watched as she dropped in and got surfed sideways. It was pretty intense to watch as we closed in on them and the passengers hi sided while Kailee cranked hard on an oar with both hands finally spitting them out seconds before we were about to come on top of them.

I had a very interesting run in Skull Rapid. As Bo Christensen explained and demonstrated with sticks and rocks in the sand at camp before we launched the safest way to run it at this level was to make the hard move left just above Razor Rock. Steve Christensen also mentioned that if you miss the move don't keep trying to get left after razor rock and that Skull Hole was the least powerful on the far right side. As I started to make my move left I didn't commit enough to it and saw razor rock coming right at us. I didn't think I could make the move to get behind it so instead I started pushing forward to try to get to the right side of the hole. My right oar was coming up on the wall fast and the hole was right below. As my oar was knocked from my hand by the wall I was able to get one last stroke in with my left one to get us straight for the hole. It was a pretty scary moment as we dropped in but we were quickly spit out and soon we passed the Room of Doom where Brandi and Mica's boats were at.

We sat in an eddy below and relished in the adrenalin rush for awhile before continuing on. The last three rapids were all pretty big but Bolling Alley second wave was massive. Everybody made it through and we were on to the flat section to the takeout. It was a fantastic trip with a great group of people, big thanks to the Carbon Recreation folks and Steve Christensen for putting it all together. Steve got some really great pictures on the trip, and hopefully will be sending me more. See all the pictures here.

Mike Scott and I went down to the "daily" section of the Green River this weekend for the Carbon County Recreation River Rescue Workshop. Friday night we all met at Rays Tavern and ate dinner before the classroom session that was held at the John Wesley Powell River museum at 7pm. Bo Christensen was the lead instructor for the class.

We started out with introductions and then moved on to the meat of the class. Below is a list of what we discussed:

-decision making, on and off the river

-understanding of group compatibility

-rescue techniques

-safe river travel

-having what you need to work with

-using what you have to work with

-self rescue

-boating attitude and mentality

-statistics

-environmental awareness

-knots

-communication on and off the river

-scenarios

-wrapped raft

-z-drag

-knots

-entrapment

-rope management

-throw bag

-dealing with capsized rafts

-self rescue: don’t wait for someone else to rescue you

-aggressive swimming techniques

-rigging for the possibility of capsizing

-proper introduction for new people on the river

-TL

-signals

-chain of command

-Ability to make a decision and stick to it — make the right decision

-Know what you are capable of and what your group is capable of; more importantly,

-know your limitations

-You must be confident in what you attempt, or don’t attempt it at all

-Self rescue — don’t rely on someone else

-Don’t create a second victim

-Know where you are, what type of environment, weather at the river, physical condition of yourself and others in the group

-Communicate before you launch

-Hand signals

-Whistle signals

Saturday we practiced all of the things we discussed in the classroom section. We launched the boats at Butler Wash and shortly after Bo called on me to help him flip a boat and demonstrate how to right it. This was my first of many swims to come, Bo is like a river super hero and was on top of the capsized boat in an instant helping me on board. We pulled out the flip lines and quickly had it back upright, again Bo was back in and pulled me in. Then it was on to tossing throw bags to swimmers in a rapid, most of us did horribly but after at least a dozen throws I was starting to get the hang of it and started to put the rope where the swimmer needed it.

I think we flipped the boats I was on at least five times on Saturday, the most spectacular one at the big wave at the top of Sand Knolls. Steve had said that if we weren't all dragging ass by the end of Saturday that they weren't doing their job, I was dragging halfway through our first trip down on Saturday and we still had to go up and do it all over again!

On the second trip down on Saturday we practiced setting up a z-drag to pull a pinned raft off of a rock at Stone Cabin rapid. This part was really cool, Bo and Mica took a boat out to a rock about 80-90ft off the shore and "pinned" their boat. It was to far to toss a throw bag so we had to figure a way out to get a rope out to them. An attempt in an inflatable kayak failed so then we got Steve out on to a closer rock, threw a rope to him and he tied it onto another throw bag and tossed it onto Bo and Mica. The throw ropes were then attached to the rescue rope and finally attached to the pinned raft. On shore we then rigged up the z-drag and proceeded to try and pull it off the rock, Bo and Mica tried to hold it on and we had a tug of war with them although they didn't have a chance with the leverage the z-drag gave us. After the days river activities it was off to Rays again for dinner.

Sunday we were not told what scenarios we would be facing. I don't want to get into details of the scenarios as they will likely be used again in the workshop and you should go into them fresh. Anyways, they were set up really well and could happen on just about any river. After we had finished the last trip down the river we stuck around to help load the boats. I was amazed to learn that this type of class\training is not required for commercial guides, hopefully the commercials provide something similar in house to their trainees but I think an agreed upon format including certification should be mandatory.

It was a great weekend and I am still a bit sore from the workout. I learned a lot, got some really good experience and built my confidence on rescue techniques. Carbon County Recreation puts on a very professional workshop and the lead instructor Bo Christensen is a great teacher. Calm, collected and very knowledgeable. I recommend the class to anybody who rafts rivers, the price is very reasonable and the things taught could prove invaluable.

Westwater Canyon
June 2, 2007
8500+ CFS

Participants:
Steve Christensen
Mica Loveless
Shane Rasmussen
Craft:
2 15.5 Achilles Self Bailers

Finally got my first trip down Westwater Canyon. Drove down after work on Friday night and met Steve and Mica at the Westwater ranger station. Steve was the volunteer Ranger that weekend and had to check everybody out at the ramp before we could launch. Mica and I ran the shuttle to Cisco Saturday morning. A few commercial groups came through and quickly launched and then eventually some private groups started showing up. We launched at about 12:30 in the afternoon.

After several miles the black walls started closing in and the current started to pick up speed as we went through a few class II rapids. We hit Little D and I was amazed at the power of the waters current, both me and Mica almost got stuck in the eddy at the bottom right of the rapid. Most of the other rapids were a blur, they kept coming fast and furious. Funnel Falls gave me some problems, I didn't have enough momentum on entering and it stopped and spun my boat as I struggled to straighten it out for the rest of the waves. I had a really hard time getting my oars to find purchase in the large rolling waves, luckily I made it through upright although it almost tossed me from the boat.

Skull rapid was just plain huge but Steve told me how to run it by starting out on river right and doing a downstream ferry to river left towards the bottom of the tongue to avoid the hole, rock of shock and room of doom. Mica and I (Steve was on Mica's boat) both ran it as planned. As we floated by the hole\RoS\RoD I was really glad I didn't get any closer to them. At Sock it to me I was a little to far left and had to pull hard to stay off the "Magnetic Wall". BIG, BIG Water! We made it through to the end of the rapid section (2 1/2 miles) in about 30 minutes. The entire 17 miles we covered in about 3 1/2 hours...that is some fast moving water!

Huge thanks to Steve for getting me on this trip and setting me up with the 15.5 Achilles that I will be taking down the Grand Canyon in August. It was really nice to get some miles on that boat and get the feel of it, plus to get in some more big water experience. Mica was just plain awesome, and I followed her lines through most of the rapids which probably saved my butt a few times. Far and away the best singe day trip I have been on. Wish I would have been able to get some photos but I didn't even take my camera because I felt it would be to distracting to try and snap any pictures.

March 3, 2007

See all the pictures here

First of all, here is a little album from many years ago - Moonshine Canyon. Not much to this, just a few pictures.

Also, I have added a San Rafael Swell folder, which includes three new albums.
The first album is Eardley Canyon, but it isn't done yet (technical difficulties).
Secondly is SWS May 2005. I provided the shuttle while Rasmussen, his kids, Jay, and Mike rafted the San Rafael . While waiting, I went and found some petroglyphs I had heard about from my uncle, and hiked around a little by swinging bridge.
Finally is SWS August 2005 . These are the pictures that I took with my good camera before and after the Lower Black Box trip. Includes petroglyphs , nice views of Mexican Mountain , and a wild jackass.

Shnard

Here are two more old trips to the San Rafael Swell.

First is Eardley Canyon. This trip was with Mike Nelson in April 1998. The first roll of film from this trip disappeared, so all the pictures are from the last day, going from our camp just upcanyon from the big rincon , up and down cliffs as we try to escape the canyon, and finally ending as we foolishly enter the lower part of the canyon. This was probably the worst experience either Mike or I had during our backpacking adventures. The lower canyon was full of nasty potholes that we had to swim / wade until finally we came to a pouroff. We ended up climbing up the side of the canyon right there at the pouroff, reaching the rim of the canyon just in time for the rain and lightning to start. We hightailed it down the face of the rock, and cruised out to the mouth of Straight Wash, where we were met by Ben.

See all photos here.

Second is the San Rafael Knob. This trip was with Bob (Bobby) Rasmussen in June 2002. We camped the night before on Jutensen Flats, then walked down the steep part of the road, then turned and walked up Devils Canyon. We took a side canyon at random, and it turned out to have a little narrow section, as well as a deep, hidden, incredibly stinky pothole . Came across a deep "crack", that had actual pine trees as well as a cottonwood growing out of it. We went up the Knob, took a bunch of pictures, then dropped back down, agreeing to meet at a spot by some cliffs to the south of the Knob. I walked down a wide wash, then waited for about an hour for Bobby to try to find a different way off of the Knob. Eventually we met up and took another random canyon 14512> back to the car. It had some little narrows and a couple of big dropoffs.
See all the pictures here.

Shnard and I went hiking in Escalante this weekend. We drove down Friday morning and hiked the Dry Fork Narrows in the late afternoon. As the daylight faded and tents were set up we were treated to a beautiful sunset. The next morning we hiked up Peek-A-Boo, down Spooky and in and out of Brimstone gulches. We then hiked up out of the canyon and along the rim back to the truck, about 7 miles total. Plenty of info on the web about these hikes so I will spare the details, the photos are what the people want to see!

Grove Creek is a crystal clear, spring fed waterway that emerges from the limestone midway down the front side of the majestic Mount Timpanogos. It flows into the city of Pleasant Grove, Utah and is one of the city’s major water sources. Following 500 North, West into the hills will take you to a parking area where the Grove Creek Trail begins.

The Grove Creek trail is one of over two hundred in the trail system of the Timpanogos wilderness area. The elevation at the trailhead is 5200’ and it will climb 2000’ by the time you reach Grove Falls three miles away. The first .8 miles of the trail follow along the swift creek that cuts a small canyon into the mountain. Populated by pine, aspen, cottonwood and wildflowers the scenery is wonderful, especially with the fall colors.

The gradually rising trail suddenly veers steeply to the North and climbs above Grove Creek. After several lung busting switchbacks where the trail narrows to only a few feet wide you will begin to continue up the canyon passing many small waterfalls in the creek below. On the trail you may encounter other hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers and even horses. I was very lucky and did not see anybody after leaving the parking lot.

Upon reaching the falls I was surprised to see a small bench had been erected just off the trail overlooking the falls. Off to the side there was a miniature wrought iron bicycle and a plaque that read: DEDICATED TO THE LOVING MEMORY OF LES CASE AUGUST 1956 – APRIL 2002. I sat my pack down and angrily began to clean up the wrappers, cigarette butts, and even toilet paper that was littered around this wonderful memorial.

Finally, I sat down to enjoy the moment. The sight and sound of the falls, the wind blowing at and dislodging the remaining leaves that drifted into the canyon below. I started to think about Les Case, who was he? How many times had he hiked this trail and felt contentment like I did at that spot. A later search on the internet gave no answers to who Les was but I think his memorial told me everything I needed to know.

A check of the GPS told me that I was 2.83 miles in a straight line to my house and less than 2 to my car. After ten minutes or so I headed back down the trail, covering the three miles that took me nearly two hours to climb back to my truck in less than an hour. As I descended I kept hearing a strange noises that were overiding the peaceful sounds of wind and water I had been enjoing. It was almost like the sound of crashing waves but very irregular. I kept trying to pinpoint the noise, and then I started hearing a voice as well. Wonderful...I had finally crossed over to the far side of crazy.

When I reached the first switchback I realized where the wave sound and voice was coming from, Brigham Young University’s Homecoming football game. The Cougars had 65,000 rabidly loyal fans in the stadium cheering on their home team as the announcer spoke over the loud speakers. As I perched 1200' above and looked out over the valley below, which contains more than a million people, I again appreciated the couple of hours of solitude, reflection and beauty that I was awarded by taking a short hike on a trail just minutes from my front door.

Shane Rasmussen
All of the photos from this hike are located here

Just finished a trip to Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We took the South Kiabab Trail down and back up to the South Rim. It took us about nine hours total with a good long break at Phantom Ranch. We parked along the road and walked to the trail head making the total trip about 15 miles.

Some photos from the trip are located here.

The four corners area of the United States encompasses Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. You have probably seen the photos of people sprawling their bodies to cover the four states at the Four Corners Monument, or maybe you have visited the park yourself. For most people this is a wayside stop on in route to explore the ruins and mystery surrounding the vanished Anasazi culture. The vast majority of these tourists go on to visit Mesa Verde, which attracts over 600,000 visitors per year. The crown jewel of Mesa Verde is Cliff Palace, built around 1200AD in a protected alcove contained over 150 rooms, some four stories high. Tours to the cliff dwelling are scheduled and guided by the National Park Service and you better get reservations early to obtain a viewing, especially in the summer months.

If the cliff dwellings and obviously defensive structures, such as Hovenweep that the Anasazi built towards the tail end of their decline and eventual disappearance interest you then a seldom seen ruin named Keet Seel (Navajo for “Broken Pottery”) is the holy grail of Anasazi architecture. Built around 1250AD and inhabited for less than 40 years it was the last “major” ruin found by the many archeologists and pot hunters scouring the four corners area around the turn of the 20th century. It is extremely remote, situated on the Navajo Reservation (the largest Indian Reservation in the United States) and accessible only by an 18 mile round trip trek requiring a grueling hike with over 2000ft in elevation change. Since becoming a National Monument in 1966 less than 6,400 documented visitors have traveled to the site. Most people stick to the overlooks at the Monument, and some take the guided tour (5-6 miles round trip) to another spectacular ruin, Betatakin.

To visit Keet Seel you need a permit well in advance and must call the Navajo National Monument to obtain one. Being on my own and the fact that it was late in the season (the backcountry hiking permits are only available between Memorial Day and Labor Day) I had no problem calling them up, giving my credit card and receiving a reservation for the hike on a Sunday morning late in August. After a brief slideshow and orientation the night before I was ready to set out with two other hikers, Helmut and Maria from Austria. Early the next morning, just after 7AM as I was preparing to leave my Austrian friends showed up and we started the 17-mile journey at nearly the same time. The hike is long, brutal and hot. For more than half of it you will be wading in a spring fed stream that requires constant crossings. After the long hike I arrived at the Rangers residence, check in and let him know that two others were coming too, we then waited about thirty minutes for Helmut and Maria to arrive.

Words and photos cannot describe Keet Seel, it seems completely untouched and pristine. Only 5% of the ruin has been restored and everything else is as it was 750 years ago when the Anasazi inexplicably abandoned the site. Full pieces of large pottery, bone necklaces, sandals made of yucca and many other artifacts litter the site. After more than an hour and over one hundred photos I started to make my way back on the trail. My pack seemed much lighter and for some reason the hike out seemed easier than the one in. I was and continue to be awestruck by the incredible treasures that litterly reside in my back yard. If you wish to visit Keet Seel, take only pictures and leave only footprints, this is a treasure that we should guard for countless generations to come. All of the photos from my trip are located here:

Navajo National Monument

Canyon de Chelly

Hovenweep

Canyonlands-Stillwater

San Juan River
Sand Island to Mexican Hat
May 27 - 29, 2006
3800cfs
Shane Rasmussen
Jordan Rasmussen
Logan Rasmussen
Mike Scott

We took a short trip down the San Juan River from Sand Island to Mexican Hat over Memorial Weekend. We launched on Saturday and the theme for the day was WIND. We did get lucky in the flow department though and had plenty of current to push downstream. We stopped and hiked to some moki steps, a nice pottery field and the Butler Wash Panel.

Stopped to camp at about 3:30 at a nice spot on river right where my six year old son found some petroglyph's. Jordan took a nap in the tent and we debated on hiking to River House or just hanging around camp and avoiding the wind. We stuck around camp and cooked up some hot dogs and my boys played war with a deck of cards in the tent until they fell asleep.

At about 3:30 in the morning Logan woke me up.
"Dad...Dad...Dad...Are you awake dad?"
"I am now" I replied, "what’s wrong buddy, what do you need?"
"Listen" he said.
"What is it? I don’t hear anything"
"The wind stopped Dad"

The next morning the wind had stopped and it was about 10 degrees cooler but still a nice temperature, probably in the lower 70's. We launched the boats a little after 11AM and Logan took a turn riding in Mike's kayak. After a few small rapids he was wet and cold and Jordan and him switched places. Jordan ran a few rapids with Mike and then we stopped on a small beach and both boys got in the boat with me for the upcoming Eight Foot and Ledge Rapids. Both rapids were pretty washed out, no holes or rocks to avoid but some big waves.

The two spots we had hoped to camp at were occupied so we pushed on the Mexican Hat boat ramp and arrived a little after 5PM. When we showed up nobody was there and we thought we may just camp there for the night and load up and drive home the next morning. After unloading the boats and setting up camp near the picnic tables a few trucks pulled in and started unloading at the boat ramp. What had seemed like a nice place to camp for the night became the standard put-in takeout boat ramp mess with people and gear everywhere. We still had a good time though; we set up a tarp and had a dance off to Thriller. The boys got totally served when Mike broke out the worm. Packed up and on the road by 10AM for the six hour drive, it was a fun trip but I wish it could have been four or five days longer.

Some photos from the trip are located here

Muddy Creek Kayak Trip
Lone Tree Crossing to Hidden Splendor Mine
About 300cfs
May 18-20, 2006

Kayaked Muddy Creek from Lone Tree Crossing to the Hidden Splendor Mine with Kathy. The second night we had one of the best campsites I have ever stayed at. Some nice cottonwoods provided shade in the late afternoon as we sat on the beach, read our books and watched the water flow by. In the morning we were protected from the sun by a 300ft sheer cliff and were still in the shade when we launched at 10:30. Around noon, just as we were about to go for a hike up one of the many side canyons a huge thunderstorm rolled in. We stayed in the boats and were treated to an incredible lightning display with ear splitting thunder. Pouring rain soon followed and pounded us for about 10 minutes, no worries though, it was about 85 degrees, tons of fun. According to my GPS we were very close to Tomsich Butte so we pressed on and pulled into the dirt ramp about 1:30.

We set up camp back in the trees and made some chicken noodle soup to warm us up. Soon after several guys with hard shell kayaks showed up and we shared the ramp while they shared ice cold beer. They packed up and launched by about 3:00 and we were again alone. About an hour later Jeff showed up and we chatted for awhile and agreed to shuttle him and a few friends the next day back to his truck from the Hidden Splendor takeout. A bit later Jeff's friend Mark showed up with his son Riely and some other nice guys who's names I have forgoten :-( and I was able to score some more cold beer :-). After talking for awile beside the fire we decided to run The Chute together and shuttle their drivers back to Tomsich Butte.

The next morning Kathy and I took just one kayak and minimal gear for The Chute and left everything else at camp to be picked up after. It was a good decision, packing the boat and our small amount of gear out at Hidden Splendor was brutal. Hot, dry and up a switchback road. A group of scouts moved the barrier at HS and their leaders drove down to the river. Watching them load up riverside and drive out made our trek out all the more painful. Before long we had the A/C blasting and the six of us were driving back to TB. We said our goodbys to our new friends and headed home, it was a great trip.

All of the photos from this Muddy trip are here.

Muddy Creek Kayak Trip
-Lone Tree Crossing to Little Wild Horse Road (Goblin Valley)
Shane Rasmussen
Mike Scott
David Mendenhall
Mike Francom
Noah Roberts
Isaac (forgot your last name man!)
May 28, 29 2005

We put in at Lone Tree Crossing for a two day trip down the Muddy Creek. We got a late start due to all the shuttling but finally got on the water about two in the afternoon. The water was at about 420cfs and we floated quickly through the tight channel. After a couple of miles it opened up a bit and everyone was able to maneuver more easily. Once we entered the canyon I was relieved to see that tamarisks did not dominate all of the shore and there were plenty of nice campsites.

The next morning we packed up and started down river. Stopped for lunch and did a short hike up a side canyon. We started to hit many small rapids just before entering The Chute. What a beautiful float! But it was over to soon, in what seemed like minutes we were floating under the logjam and out of the Chute.

Within a few miles we were into some nasty rocky rapids and a couple of people took a swim. As the sun sank the water became calmer and we floated through some of the best scenery of the trip.We pulled into the takout at the end of the Little Wild Horse road just as the rest of the daylight was leaving the sky.

I now have everybodys photos up (327!) in the gallery.

"Sometimes luck is with you, and sometimes not, but the important thing is to take the dare. Those who climb mountains or raft rivers understand this."
- David Brower

Mike "Big Willie" Scott and I kayaked the Virgin River Narrows from Chamberlain Ranch to the Temple of Sinawava in Zion’s National Park this past weekend. We drove down Friday night, camped outside the park and the next morning obtained a backcountry permit when they opened at 8AM and rented a dry suit for Mike. The plan was to kayak the narrows on Saturday and meet my wife and kids who where doing the "tourist thing" in the park that day at the takeout around 7:30PM, things did not go according to the plan.

We put in on the North Fork of the Virgin River a little before 11AM just as another group of hard shell kayakers showed up. The first 5-6 hours were spent mostly dragging the inflatable kayaks, portaging log jams, waterfalls and occasionally floating-paddling. It felt like runing a marathon dragging 50lbs. Finally at around 5PM we met up with the confluence with Deep Creek. I think whomever named the two water ways had a sick sense of humor because Deep Creek had at least six times the water of the Virgin "River". We strapped all the gear down tight and figured with all the new flow we could still make our planned takeout time.

Until about 6:30 things were going great, cruising fast down the river at what seemed like a sprinters pace with continuous class II rapids and an occasional III-. Then disaster struck. At the top of a curving rapid I hit a rock and was tossed from my kayak. I swam back to it and grabbed on, flipped it over and started struggling to crawl back in. The rapid took another curve and the current was taking me to the left of a big rock on river left and at the last second I saw the fallen tree that stretched from a rock on shore to the rock in the river and was about six inches above the water. I only had half my body back on the kayak so I quickly slipped off, I knew I had to try and duck under that tree so I would not get strained. I am not sure exactly what happened next but I ended up submerged under water with my right arm entangled on something at the elbow. In what seemed like a full minute (probably more like 10-15 seconds) With my left hand I tried to free my knife from my life jacket so I could cut at what ever was holding me. Soon I started to thrash around under water in a panic as I sucked in a lung full of water but then suddenly, I was released from the entanglement.

The other morning I noticed a huge bruise under my tricep on my right arm, I now believe that I must have become entangled by my kayaks tube on the upstream side and the log on the downstream side. When it shifted, and one tube went under the log was when I was likely released.

It took every drop of my remaining adrenalin to reach a rock near the left shore where I proceeded to throw up the water I had just ingested and convulsively shiver from the shock of what had just happened. I clung to the rock for at least a full minute, I could not muster the strength or courage to swim the remaining 5-6ft to the left bank, I was completely exhausted, mentally and physically. A soft voice started tickling around in the back of my brain, "get to shore, you have to get out of this freezing water, get to shore...the water is 39 degrees and you will die if you don’t get out" I tried to ignore it, I wanted to just hold onto that rock. The voice slowly started to rise in volume "Did You Forget What Happened To Mike Nelson?You Have To Let Go Of This Rock And Get To Shore While You Still Have Some Strength...COME ON SHANE! DONT YOU WANT TO LIVE! ARE YOU GOING TO HANG ONTO THIS ROCK UNTIL YOU MISS YOUR LAST CHANCE AND LOSE YOUR GRIP, THEN FLOAT AWAY TO YOUR DEATH!? DONT YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR FAMILY AGAIN?! THEY ARE PRAYING FOR YOU RIGHT NOW! YOU HAVE TO MOVE! DO IT NOW! SWIM TO THE SHORE! NOW! ITS RIGHT THERE! JUST A FEW FEET AWAY! YOU MUST DO IT, IT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT YOU JUST WENT THROUGH! NOW! GO NOW! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! NOW! NOW! NOW! DO IT NOW!

I did it, made it to the shore and crawled a few feet up the steep bank out of the water and collapsed. No thoughts were going through my brain, I was numb all over and felt disconnected from my body. Mike Scott was behind me and had not seen the flip, swim or pin but he did see my kayak strained against the log so he pulled into a small eddy on the right bank directly across from me. We were both at a loss for what to do next, he could not cross the river to where I was and he was nearly as exhausted and just as demoralized as I was. Finally, I was able to get back into action and decided that I had to try and free my kayak and gear from the log. The Rock on shore was steep and I inched my way down to the boat and tried to free it by kicking the log to break it, trying to lift up on it, swearing at it, everything I could think of to no avail. It was a small tree, only about eight inches around and 14ft long but it would not budge. Stretching out a hand and laying my body flat against the rock, praying I would not fall in again I started to deflate the kayaks tubes a little, hoping it would wash under and I could catch it in the area below where I made it to shore. Little by little it started to work it’s way under the log and then it popped free and caught the current before I had a chance to grab it. It was quickly caught in the rapids flow and it floated down the river with all of my emergency gear (Gortex jacket, Eureka EXO tent, med kit, emergency sleepign bag, 6x8 ground cloth, cloths, digital camera, wallet, and lots of food) dashing what remaining hope I had of floating out that night and setting up a terrible scenario of being stuck in the narrows in high water with nothing but what I was wearing.

Mike witnessed all this from the opposite bank and we both threw up our hands wondering what to do next. We could not hear each other over the sound of the rushing water so I despondently signaled him to just go on without me down the river and maybe if he could make it out he could initiate a possible rescue (slim chance in the Narrows). I could not see a way for him to get to the left bank and meet up with me and even if he did what good would it do? We both had NRS Bandit kayaks and they are not meant for two people, especially in these types of water conditions. On my side of the river it was sheer cliff walls and even if he made it to the left bank it would require me to swim down to him, something I did not think I could possibly do. He signaled back that he was going to try and ferry across to a large rock on the left bank downstream. Half a minute later I could hear him shouting for me to come down to him. I had to wade out into the current and once it passed my knees I was swept off my feet and around the rock, there was Mike on shore with a throw rope and he pulled me in. We sat there on shore pondering what to do next, going over every possible solution to our predicament while we shared half a cliff bar from Mike’s dwindling food supply. After about ten minutes we finally decided our only option was to shift things around in his kayak, get back on the river and try and paddle out together in his boat.

The Bandit is a great, tough, light inflatable kayak but like I said it’s no good for two people, weighted down with 400lbs it handles like a slug and does not drain water well. 10-15 minutes later, at about 7:15PM the channel split, we hit another log that was hanging out into the water and were both scraped from Mikes kayak. After a brief swim, I was on the upstream side struggling to hold onto the kayak with one arm and a big rock with my body and the other arm while Mike, out in the main current was clinging to the other side. “Don’t let go!” he yelled, as the boat pendulumed-straightened out, swung around and pushed him towards the island in the center of the river. “You have to let go now and get onto that island!” I screamed back “I can’t hold on much longer!” Just as my grip on the kayak was about to give out he let go and swam to the island, I crawled up onto the rock, still holding the kayak and we all made it onto the island.

The island was about 10ft wide and 20ft long and covered entirely in irregular shaped river smoothened rocks. Both of us were in the early stages of hypothermia and shivering uncontrollably as we jerkily tried to remove our dry suits. Mike dumped out the contents of his dry bag:
A pair of jeans
Sweat Pants
Sweat Shirt
Fleece sleeping bag
Fleece hat
Generously Mike offered me some of the booty and we were dry at last but were still shivering and not warming up at all. “Let’s see if we can build a fire,” I said. “Great idea!” replied Mike. We were in the middle of a rapid on a small rock island but there were some twigs, leaves and drift wood lying about which Mike, the fire master, used to slowly coax a fire to life. It was like that scene from Cast Away where Tom Hanks shouts out “Look what I've created. I have made FIRE!” It was amazing how quickly it changed our attitude and warmed both our bodies and spirits. With the light fading we started to try to dry out our sweat soaked thermals that we were wearing under the dry suits and warm our hands and feet. The only food we had left was about four ounces of jerky; for our water we eventually had to drink from the river. We were in for the longest night of our lives. I will spare the details but it was a night of heavy reflection spent trying to get some sleep on the rocks with the life jackets under us for padding and insulation. Time seemed to stand still, I would look at my watch thinking hours had passed and it would only have been thirty minutes. A jet would fly above and I would think it was a flash flood coming to sweep us off our tiny island. For the hundredth time I questioned not if I was going to die, we all do that, but whether I was going to live. Finally the black sky had a tint of gray and the morning slowly came.

We had to self-rescue, we didn’t know if or when help would come and we were less than two hours from making it out. The only way to recover us would have been to rappel down the sheer walls and pull us back up and out. With no food left and limited gear we pushed off at 8:15AM. Within twenty minutes we came to the nastiest rapid I have ever laid my eyes on and we pulled to shore to scout. People have different perspectives on rapid ratings but in our minds, in the state we were in with the equipment we had, this was without a doubt a serious class V and the worst rapid either of us has ever run. I would rather swim Big Drop 2 in Cataract Canyon (again, I did it accidentally once already in 2001) than run this rapid. The walls were straight up with no shore line so a portage was out of the question, after extensively discussing how to run it and thinking it was not possible and that we would likely swim and die we knew we had no choice but to go for it. In my minds eye I can still see the rapid and how we plotted and made the run, we had to go left and miss a boat flipping rock at the top, then go hard right to miss the house sized boulder on the left, then a hard left to get behind the boulder so we did not get sucked into the log jam on the right. After that the rapid quickly continued into another set of huge boulders that constricted the rivers current into a massive vortex just around the bend.

We could not see what was after that vortex but with our experience so far we imagined a dam of logs and we were right. We ran the first half exactly as planned and then set up our line and prepared to meet our fate in the vortex and unknown below. Just as we rounded the first boulder before the vortex I spotted a cheat route on the left and we gave every thing we had and tried to go for it. We didn’t make it, and the current ended up sucking us backwards into the vortex. Just as we had envisioned there was the huge logjam. Most of the current below the vortex was pushing right into it on the right side and going in backwards was the best possible thing that could have happened. Had we gone in face first our momentum would have took us right into it, as it worked out we were able paddle hard forward to get around the backside of the boulder and work our way around and away from the log jam and were then shot out a small channel next to the left bank.

High fives were exchanged multiple times along with screams of joy and for me at least a few tears of relief, my wife was not to be widowed and my young children left fatherless. Shortly after the rapid we passed under a small waterfall and we opened up our mouths to catch some of the liquid. Directly below, on the next bend was my kayak stuck in a log jam. It looked like everything was still in it and the tubes were still partially inflated. We stopped below and tried to figure out a way to extract it or any of the gear but it was not possible unless the water dropped quite a bit. We left it there and launched again, soon we saw Ordervill Canyon on the left shore and I knew we were almost out. At the end of the Narrows trail head we took out the boat at 10:30AM and packed up for the 1-2 mile hike to where the Temple of Sinawava shuttle bus comes in. My incredible, wonderful, beautiful wife had been holding a vigil at the small parking lot next to the river but somehow we missed her and jumped on the shuttle expecting to make contact at the lodge or visitors center. The shuttle driver figured out we were the “missing kayakers” and said that she would call on the radio and have a ranger relay to my wife to meet us at the visitor center.

When we got off the shuttle there were two rangers and a guy named Logan waiting, we were both a bit delirious from the whole experience and I only remember his name because it is the same as our middle child, I think Logan works for the Park Service in some capacity and had run the river before at different levels and was there acting as “translator” for the rangers to get a detailed account of our adventure. They were a great group of people and not angry or chastising at all. From other accounts I gathered, when the level is around 200-400 it is a class II-III run. It turns out that the river flow had gone from a decent and only slightly insane level of 424cfs when we checked in Saturday morning at the backcountry desk to 784cfs by the time we hit Deep Creek due to the weekend warm up and Logan agreed that sections become class IV+ when it gets up to that level. They had thought one or both of us stranded or possibly dead and a rescue-recovery was planned for 1PM if we had not been seen by then. Towards the end of our account to the officials my wife and children appeared beside me, words can not adequately describe the guilt, relief and love that I felt towards them as we embraced.

To sum up, rafting-kayaking-backcountry hiking are extreme hobbies-sports, small problems can become huge obstacles, and this trip went far beyond our comfort levels. Even after this experience I don’t think I could ever give my wilderness trips up though; its what I do, my passion, part of what makes me who I am and I couldn’t live a fulfilled life without them. I have always tried to be cautions and safe, was never an adrenalin junkie or big risk taker. We always have to remember that nature is the one in control and we can do our best to prepare for every conceivable eventuality to no avail. I feel I have been giving a renewed lease on life because things could have turned out disastrously, $1,600 dollars of lost gear; a freezing night spent on a tiny island in the middle of a rapid with no food and only river water to drink was a small price to pay for a refresher course on that lesson.

Shane Rasmsusen
April 24 2006

btw, Mike Scott has a few pictures from the trip that I will post when he develops them, my camera was lost so I have none...and Mike, I Love You Man, but your still not getting my Bud Light! :-)

Finally scanned and posted Mike's photos, they are located here. Unfortunately most of them are before hitting Deep Creek so you cant get a sense of how much water was pushing through the narrows. Taking photos was the last thing on our mind after the confluence :-)

Did the Upheaval Dome loop hike in Canyonlands National Park with Shnard this weekend. We took the right fork on the Syncline Trail, hiked into the dome and took an exciting exit route. It was around 10 miles total and took about five hours with breaks.

My photos are located here.

Mike and I ran the Price River from Woodside to Swaysey's yesterday. The flow was around 520cfs and the rapids seemed less numerous and pushy but more technical (rock dodging) than on our trip last year with 650 cfs. The nasty new rapid looked more like a class 5 and we portatged without a thought. Miss the moves at the top and you could quickly end up in a strainer. Very bad upstream wind once we hit the Green. Some pictures from the trip are here.

Price River
May 14 - 15 2005
Around 650cfs

We met Russ Hunt at the Swaysey's boat ramp and left his truck there. Put in on the river Saturday a little after noon about 4 miles North on the dirt road across from the gas station at Woodside. Floated the river for about an hour as we entered the Book Cliffs, stoped to have a quick lunch of PBJ and snacks.

The river was very swift and rapids blended together. Many were scary because you could not see what was around the corner and it was hard to stop. I fell in twice after I parked my boat on shore and jumped in thinking it was shallow but it ended up being 5ft deep 1ft from shore. Seen some petroglyph's on river left near Water Canyon.

Stopped to camp about midway between Long and Jenny's Canyons. We then went on a hike and I took to many pictures of the desert in bloom. It was a very exciting day with one flip and a few swims but nothing was lost and everybody was in bed and asleep by 10pm.

The second day was just as exciting with a few more class III's and one solid class IV that we dubbed Balls of Steel Rapid (BoS). Soon after was the old ranch house and the confluence with the Green. We kayaked the rest of the way on the GRD (Green River Daily) and took out at Swaysey's boat ramp, threw the gear in and headed to Ray's Tavern. What a great trip!

Many photos from the trip are located here.

Just received a couple of movies from Josh Grigg. They were taken using his helmet cam through Wolfe Creek Rapid on the Selway River. He is (hopefully) sending a trip report and photos soon!

Thanks to Kerry Walsh who allowed me to post this trip report and photos. on the site. It was originally posted on the utahrafters yahoo! group.

Logs Suck
or
(How to drain the Testosterone out of 10 men in 3 seconds)
Marsh Creek – May 2005
Kerry Walsh

Standing atop this green, rolling hill on the outskirts of Garden
Valley, Idaho, I couldn't help but recall the events that had unfolded two days previous while running down Marsh Creek on what was to be day one of an eight day rafting trip. My friend, whitewater stallion Steve White, and I were on our way home to our families. We were a little light on gear, but grateful to be alive.

For several years Steve has rafted with a great group of very experienced whitewater boatmen from around the West. The de facto leader of this group was Mike Holstrom, a northern California boater with an impressive rafting resume. This year Steve tossed my name in the ring and Mike had invited me to join the group on an early season Middle Fork trip.

I had never met Mike. In fact, the only person in the group that I knew going in was Steve. As the trip was organized and things gelled, I’d come to realize that Mike was most likely the single most organized trip leader I had met to date. Mike had a firm and impressive grip on the people, the skills, the gear allocations and the trip itself. Things came together smoothly as we moved toward our launch date of May 20.

Now, standing on this peaceful hilltop, looking across the green valley toward the steep canyon of the South Fork Payette, we were struck with the irony that lying at our feet was the final resting place of Dr. Walter Blackadar. During the 1970’s Walt, as he was known to most folks, became a whitewater legend when, in his mid 40’s he took up the sport of kayaking and, at the ripe old age of 49, made a solo kayak descent through infamous Turnback Canyon on the Alsek River in SE Alaska. As a doctor based in Salmon, Idaho, Walt traveled around serving his patients and used the opportunity to run all that Idaho had to offer and then some.

Walt’s life ended in May of 1978 when he and some friends kayaked the canyon section of the South Fork Payette. About 1/2 mile below "Big Falls", a mandatory portage even today, he rounded a bend and encountered a log strainer where he was snagged and drowned. Today the rapid is called "Blackadar" or "Walt's Drop" and is marked by a brass plaque attached to a rock just above the drop. The man now rests in the Garden Valley Pioneer Cemetery beneath a beautiful river rock headstone, facing toward the river that claimed him. The ashes of his wife Shirley are scattered beside him.
Standing there I had a hard time reconciling the fact that just three days had passed since Steve and I, along with Mike Howell, another boater on the trip, had passed through this same valley heading to the Middle Fork. Then as we drove along the Payette canyon, Steve, having recently read the book "Never Turn Back, The Life of Whitewater Pioneer Walt Blackadar" by Ron Watters, recounted some of the stories of the man. We made several stops and looked down on the river, reconstructing the chain of events that ended so tragically. Little did we know that we would soon have our own story to tell.

Leaving the Payette behind we soon arrived at Marsh Creek, a small, meandering stream that winds peacefully through the valley alongside Highway 21 about 19 miles west of Stanley. The tranquility of the put-in is disarming but every boater who chooses to launch at this location should be well aware of what lies ahead.

Marsh Creek serves as an early season put-in when road conditions do not allow access to Boundary Creek, the normal put-in. Many b