William H. Ashley and John W. Powell may have had a more harrowing experience in their respective 1825 and 1869 expeditions, but the last week of June permitted us to witness the same unchanged majesty of the Green River that they experienced decades past.
Countless of emails, weeks of menu planning and prepping, five states, four boats, and two days of driving later, our motley crew of Brian and his brothers Clark and Matt, Crain and his mama Meredith, Ed, Jody, Jonathan and I (Kristin), arrived at Dinosaur National Park, Colorado, where the renown Gates of Lodore beckoned. After rigging our boats, grilling lamb, chicken, and fish for all palates, and several rowdy games of life-size Jenga, we fell asleep to the sounds of coyotes with excitement and anticipation of the days ahead.
Our days on the river were hot, sunny, and varied. At times the sandstone and limestone cliffs rose more than 2,000 feet above our heads in striated bands of red and orange. We were fortunate to spot long horned sheep, deer, and snakes along the way. The rapids never posed too much of a challenge—only totaling perhaps four rapids of class III difficulty and other class II's and riffles—but the “way casual” nature of the float provided comfort for all of us to have our hand at the sticks.
Our savvy Trip Leader, Jonathan, had coordinated a perfect itinerary, floating 8-14 mile days and requesting a layover day—which the permit office granted—to break the exhaustion of packing and unpacking camp. To up the fun-ness of this day, Spirit Leader, Crain, and his Spirit Apprentice, Clark, organized games of horseshoe and deemed our layover as “Hawaiian Day” replete with leis, Hawaiian shirts, a grass skirt, and the necessary coconut bra, all of which were quickly shed due to scorching temps.
Nights consisted of elaborate, delicious meals prepared by the ladies, dutch oven desserts, and bonfires under the waning “Super Moon.” All of our campsites (Pot Creek II, Limestone, and the Cove) were beautiful, but we especially loved Pot, with its big beach, red canyon walls, and shaded tent sites.
All-in-all the trip lived up to a Radical Sabbatical and we eagerly look to make the “family float” an annual tradition.
-- guest written by K.Sardina --
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| The packing was an 'epic' itself – made a little easier this go around thanks to B-Mac's shiny new trailer |
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| The trip prep never ended – Spirit Leader, Crain, putting the finishing touches on life-sized Jenga |
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| Yes, five states to make it to the put-in, as well as a decent amount of miles on dirt |
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| After our short stint in WY, we bid farewell and continue South |
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| Honing in on Dinosaur National Momument as we make it to Colorado, The Real West |
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| And after a LONG drive we have finally arrived in time to rig the boats the evening before we shove off |
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| A little evening game of Jenga to kickstart the festivities |
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| On our launch day we awake to find the water pretty low |
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| With some time, waiting for the water to come up, Crain and I head down river for a short hike to get a look at The Gates |
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| Our first AM look at the stunning Gates of Lodore |
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| Spirit Leader, Crain, is full or surprises |
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| All rigged up and ready to head out at the Lodore boat ramp |
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| And we're off – the trip started with several flat miles through the majestic Gates of Lodore |
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| Master on the sticks, Ed, rowing through our first little piece of whitewater at Winnies |
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| After a tasty lunch a few of us venture up to Winnies Grotto where we found a throne suitable for my pops |
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| Clark on the sticks with Matt up front threading the needle on Upper Disaster Falls |
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| Crain and Momma Crain running through Upper Disaster Falls |
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| Ed & Kristin getting dinner done at our first and favorite campsite, Pot Creek II |
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| And a good morning to you too, Crain |
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| AM light, looking up river past Magnum |
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| Kristin still nestled in as the sun starts to climb the walls in camp |
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| Back at it, the brothers (Matt & Clark) are ready for day 2 |
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| The sun is no match for Ninja Ed |
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| Day 2 had some exciting whitewater at Hells Half Mile |
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| Mom hanging on as we rock-n-roll through Hells |
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Clark reaping the rewards of a meat popsicle after successfully making it through Hells Half Mile
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| Kristin on the sticks through the canyons |
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| The ladies in the kitchen at Limestone getting prepared for Fajita night |
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| No Fajita night would be complete without salt-rimmed margs |
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| Well Aloha – Layover days are better with a theme |
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| As well as a sweet setup for camp |
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| And games – nice toss, Crain |
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| Mom just relaxing in the river on our down day |
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| Kristin couldn't help herself, and unleashed her inner 9 year-old |
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| With a little liquid courage I stood atop our PFD totem in my Hawaiian Kimono |
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| Crain getting his infamous popcorn brewing |
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| Back on the river for day 4, we see some very impressive rock formations on the Mitten Park Fault – waning super moon in the distance |
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| And some even more impressive walls as we float past Steamboat Rock to the confluence of the Yampa |
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| Mom and dad giving it some scale – moments later the wall shed some serious debris, luckily they had pulled to river left and were well out of harms way |
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| After some fancy acrobatics Brian had to go swimming to search for a missing camera – he found it to all of our amazements |
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| No river trip is complete without the confluence shot – here the crew stands where The Yampa meets The Green |
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| Momma Jody tries her hands at the sticks |
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| Final look back at the confluence as we 'round Steamboat Rock |
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| Kristin back on it with some more spectacular rock formations in the background |
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| Bighorn Rams spotted |
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| Day 4 on the river went quicker than expected which left ample time for playtime on the river |
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| Temps were so warm that even Jody & Ed joined |
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| Crain getting his mud-bath fix at Cove Camp |
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| Wouldn't have wanted to share this one with anyone else |
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| Some pretty insane evening light for us on our final river night |
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| As documented by the masterful camera skills of SL, Crain |
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| The last evenings are the saddest on river trips, but The Green was doing what it could to keep smiles on our faces |
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| B-Mac prepared a masterful meal on the DO |
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| Final moments at dusk |
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| Up and at 'em, Crain – time to push the final 14 miles to takeout |
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| The crew rightside up and down river at takeout – GREAT TRIP |
