This creek has not had enough water to kayak down since 2019 and I had two groups of friends paddle it this year and all of their reviews said “5 STARS!!!” So my friend Aaron and I decided we should hit it before it dried up again for potentially years to come. We met at the take out on Saturday night which involved a rough but scenic road ending at Hidden Splendor Tailhead.
Full Movie - 9 minutes :
This stretch was obviously a creek with a depth rarely exceeding knee height. Aaron’s dog, Tucker, is not used to the packraft life and a few times he jumped out and ran alongside us on the banks. But as we noticed the canyon walls begin to narrow in, we knew we had to keep him in the boat. My friend told me to look out for the “Ducky Pile Up” rapid and to go right, but I had no clue when this was coming up. I did not paddle right hard enough and hit a rock which flipped me out of my boat. Fortunately, it was just this shallow creek so I was able to quickly stand up and hop back in.
Short Movie - 1.5 minutes :
The walls closed in and it was absolutely amazing to paddle down this slot canyon. I saw something blue bob up in the water for a brief moment and then sink below. I told Aaron to keep an eye out and we spotted it again, it looked like a Nalgene water bottle. We played a game trying to track it down in the muddy currents and this took a few minutes. We would spot it and paddle towards it only for the bottle to dip back below the surface. I eventually snagged it and was pleased to see it was a luxurious 40o Hydroflask! Most of the custom lettering printed on had washed away but the big “GROOMSMAN” was in tact enough for me to conclude this was a present to someone’s wedding party. I peeled off some letters to make it say “GROO MAN” which is my last name. Officially mine now. Finders Keepers.
River Score Excerpt:
It continued to be a surreal setting as we kayaked through this narrow canyon and eventually it came to an end. We took out and carried our boats up to camp near the airstrip. We then drove back to the put-in to retried Aaron’s truck and decided to take a side quest to explore this mine in Tomsich Butte. It was easy to crawl past the grating and go down the tunnels. Aaron departed to Richfield to his favortie mountain bike spot and I stuck around to take some photos of the gorgeous landscape.
