In addition to four oar rafts, we had ten rubber duckies (inflatable kayaks), a hard shell kayak, a solo whitewater Mohawk, and two 17 foot Pakboats with spray covers.
Desolation Canyon and Gray Canyon, Green River, Utah 2001
Dear Alv,
The 75 mile trip on the Green River from Sand Wash to Nefertiti Rapid is a perfect introduction to western rivers. This portion of the Green traverses Desolation and Gray Canyons. Despite the names conferred upon them by the Powell Expedition, these are beautiful and colorful canyons. Jean and I, and a contingent of family and several friends had a lovely trip on this section of the river.
This section of the river requires a permit from the BLM and these are increasingly hard to come by. We knew that we had about a 5% chance of getting a permit in the lottery and so we were not surprised when we didn’t get one. By that time, however, we had generated so much interest in the trip that we signed up with a Moab, Utah outfitter, Tagalong Expeditions. We were lucky that Tagalong had a permit for the day we wished to depart and as things worked out, the party was limited to the group we had assembled for a private trip. Furthermore, Tagalong took care of the logistics and food, making life much easier than it would have been if we had done it all ourselves. The cost was very reasonable, and it was great to have most of the gear in the rafts furnished by the outfitter. The outfitter’s fee also included the cost of a single engine plane ride to the airstrip above Sand Wash that saved most of a day that otherwise would have been spent on dusty dirt roads.
This was a perfect trip to compare various boats on western whitewater. In addition to four oar rafts, we had ten rubber duckies (inflatable kayaks), a hard shell kayak, a solo whitewater Mohawk, and two 17 foot Pakboats with spray covers. The trip is a perfect introduction to whitewater for those with little prior experience in rapids. The rapids start small and grow in complexity and size as the trip progresses. On the western scale of class 1 – 10 the highest rated rapids are 6. Because most of those on the trip had reasonable boating experience we avoided the “duckie mayhem” that the guides sometimes experience on this part of the river. We had a number of swimmers, nevertheless. The two Pakboats came through unscathed, no upsets.
In contrast to much eastern whitewater, these rapids have larger swells and higher waves. It was wonderful to see the Pakboats flex as they went through the troughs and over the tops of these large waves, rather than poking their bows into the heavy stuff. We loaded each of the Pakboats with gear amidships in order to generate a bit of rocker in the hull. Thus we were carrying gear that the duckies, kayak, and solo canoe lacked. Despite this we rode high and for the most part dry. In the largest rapids, we sometimes partially swamped the Pakboats despite our spray covers, but we were always able to get to shore without trouble.
If the oar rafts were battleships, the Pakboats were destroyers. We were by far the fastest boats on the river and able to circle the fleet at will. When the wind came upstream we had a tremendous advantage over the others. If we wished, we could often make progress upstream against the current, an impossibility in the other craft. We were usually the first at the scene of an upset of the other boats. Whereas the duckies, and the other craft could “spin on a dime” our boats were harder to turn suddenly. We could make major corrections in the midst of the whitewater, however, as well or better than the other boats. On two of the largest rapids the two Pakboats chose “sneak” routes in order to avoid the possible consequences of a swim through the rocks or into an undercut wall. Certain of the other craft did these rapids lying across the sterns of the oar rafts.
The food and campsites were great, the country beautiful, and after the first night, there were NO bugs. The Pakboats versatility surprised the river guides and we had no problems in getting the outfitter to accept them on this trip. They are perfect for this lovely piece of the Green River.
I send my best,
Ross
