My good friend, fellow Triple Crowner, and desert dirtbag, Leah, has had this 46 mile float in her sights for years and tossed out some invites. I am still eager to put my packraft to use so I accepted and found out there was some room on the permit for more humans, so I extended the invite to Stevo (a ski-bum buddy) and Amanda (from Baja posts.) Coupled with Leah’s boyfriend, Ben, and coworker, Shelby, and her friend, Cassidy, plus three dogs we had quite the crew assembled.
At the end of the adventure
Day 1: 7.5 Miles to Three Canyon
We all met at the Mineral Bottom boat ramp and began sorting all of the gear and shuttles. We had my Outback, Shelby’s Jeep, Amanda’s van, and Ben’s van at our disposal and it was still a very tight fit. Amanda and I were going to take the first leg so we strapped as much gear to my roof as we could and crammed some more in the back seat/bed while Amanda took all three dogs and four more humans in her van. It is about a two hour drive, most of which is dirt road, to get from take out to put in. Ruby Ranch charges $5 per person and $10 per boat which sucks when 5 of 7 people are on small packrafts. We again sorted all the gear and this was the first time using my packraft as a true packraft and storing gear inside of the hull. Many packrafts have T-Zips which are airtight zippers to allow access inside of your boat, once you get to camp of course.
Finally, around 330pm, we were on the water and CRUISING. This section of the Green River usually flows around 6,000 CFS (cubic feet per second) but with the fantastic snow year that the West experienced, it was rocking at 26,000 CFS! About two miles in, I found a small beach tucked against the bottom of a big wall and we pulled over for a break. A massive and tenacious tree was growing out of the wall and served as a bridge/ladder to a neat rock, so I climbed it. After hanging out for a bit we got back on the water to float lazily along and start drinking brews. The lack of effort required to move meant this trip would be more of a booze cruise than an intense, multi-day river paddle full of rapids.
None of the squad had been in this section before but I saved a few screencaps of maps of our route which involuntarily made me the river guide. One waypoint was for Three Canyon which allegedly had some camping, at least when the river is at regular water levels. So I had to paddle ahead to the front of the group and tell them to be on the look out for the pull out. We found it and set camp among of shrubs, everyone cowboy camped and had a little nook to themselves.
Day 2: 17 Miles to Marguerite Launch
The next morning, Amanda, Shelby, her dog Ranger, and I (all early birds) went for a little hike to explore Three Canyon. We went up the first amphitheater and then to the much nicer, main camp spot, which was unfortunately occupied the night before. We returned to camp as the others were stirring awake and soon began to pack up. Leah’s packraft, which Stevo was borrowing as she paddled in a two-man boat with Ben and two doggos, had some issues with the T-Zip. It was not sealing properly and unless it did, the boat was not seaworthy. For a minute, we were thinking he would have to cram into the two-man boat for the remaining 39 miles 😲 But with some luck and copious amounts of zipper lube, we got it set.
Back on the river! We missed the turn to explore Ten Mile Canyon and I remember reading a tidbit that Joe Canyon had a bunch of mining ruins so I did not want to miss that. I again paddled to the front of the pack to keep watch for the turn, but unfortunately when I found it, Ben and Leah were river right and unable to make it. The rest pulled up beside me and we unloaded for a lunch break and to explore the ruins. The machinery left to decay in the desert seemed pretty modern and I was annoyed how so many mining companies pull this BS trick of declaring bankruptcy and then not having to clean up the mess they left behind. However, we all loved the hike and enjoyed the time to eat and refuel.
Not far down the water was a bend and another good pullout where Ben and Leah were waiting. I again checked my “maps” and saw a waypoint that said Marguerite Launch was just ahead, and that sounds like it should possess a decent pull out. Sure enough, it did. But only after some afternoon thermals caused a persistent headwind which made us paddle hard for the first time of the trip. Again everyone scattered around to find a good cowboy camping spot before returning to the fire to hang out for a few hours before bed. There were also some pretty wildflowers blooming.
Day 3: 21.5 miles to Mineral Bottom
Almost no issues with T-Zips today but we still had a late-ish start around 10am. A short 3.5 miles after putting in, we pulled over to hike up the ridge that separates Bowknot Bend. One could skip eight river miles by hiking 3/4 mile over this narrow band of land, but we were here for the river, not to hike. Stevo, Cassidy, and Shelby stayed at water level while Amanda, Ben, Leah, myself and the three dogs hoofed it up the short path to the top of the ridge which had some fantastic views.
I think everyone napped at some point during the eight mile loop around Bowknot Bend, clouds provided a comfortable amount of shade, the river current was smooth and steady, and the neighboring cliffs had many interesting caves, spires, and features.
Approaching Two Mile Canyon, we had a decision to make: my “map” notes said the last good camping is just ahead at Horseshoe Canyon so we can either stop there or we can send it another seven miles to the end of the line at Mineral Bottom. The group was pretty split, some not wanting to paddle against a headwind, some worried about not finding a good camp spot, but ultimately we elected to go for it. We had a lot of gear to breakdown and shuttling to do the next day (and not having to rig up the boats in the morning, paddle, unrig the boats, and then pack up wet gear) made it worth taking the risk. We lucked out and had no headwinds and landed at the takeout with plenty of daylight left.
We lucked out and had no headwinds and landed at the takeout with plenty of daylight left. Well, Ben and Leah missed their exit again and had to paddle upriver for about 100m to get out at the boat ramp. We cowboy camped in a sandy stream bed, had a campfire, and enjoyed the final night in the canyon.
Side Stories
1) Being the bigger boat with room for gear, and dogs, and coolers… Ben and Leah were the bartenders. Leah also brought a bag of wine and at one point, Stevo pulled the heist of the decade:
2) Shelby’s dog, Ranger, was getting antsy sitting in the tiny boat all day, so she let her go for a swim. But Ranger spitefully swam to the opposite shore and got on land, which caused quite the fiasco for Shelby to paddle into the shrubs and coax her back on the boat.
3) Message in a Bottle: We found a bottle floating by and Shelby immediately uncorked it, with her teeth, before realizing the other item contained inside was a wet pony tail. Yes, stinky, wet, human hair accompanied the message which we could not really decipher. Something along the lines of “Live like the river” Very odd. And pretty disturbing.
4) Just some random shots of the gang:
5) Quick stop in the White Wash Sand Dunes. The long and slow drives to retrieve cars left us wanting to take a break from vehicles. This gem is right on the road back to civilization from Ruby Ranch.