Nate O Taylor – Food, Fishing, and Outdoor Adventures

Last of the Summer

September 23, 2022 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

Lodore. August. While not the best time for exciting water, the weather and camp life is unparalleled. We maxed this ticket out with 25 people and over a dozen watercraft. Young, old, friends and strangers. A true amalgamation of society.

This adult-centric trip had a limited agenda from day to day. There were some however, that wanted to ensure we had a party to remember. They succeeded.

Don’t worry, the attire you see above was mandated. It was formal night after all. Some glitter and tattoos were also made available for the guests that evening.

The party ran deep into the evening. Lights were hung to extend the festivities and not even a torrential rain shower could put a damper on a Martini fueled rager. Somehow I later ended up with the crab shell carcass garbage bags for the next 4 days.

An obligatory snippet from Hell’s Half Mile. I think everyone went right.

Even though this was an experienced Lodore group, we did take time to rediscover some of the obligatory sites. Rippling Brook waterfall, Whispering Cave, Jones Hole. Speaking of Rippling Brook campsites, #2 might be one of the best river campsites that exists.

As much adoration and mystique surround Lodore Canyon and its campsites, I think it might deserve more. There really aren’t bad campsites within Lodore Canyon and really all the way through Whirlpool and past the confluence. We maximized our trip to take the two nights above the confluence, and spent another two nights below.

The company wasn’t bad. Despite the fact there were 25 people, I’m not sure I’ve ever been on a trip where I did less work and had a lighter boat. Everyone deserved a participation ribbon for doing their fair share. We could have gone another 5 days without issue.

The Main

July 8, 2022 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

So quick backstory. We were supposed to jump off the San Juan and head straight to Idaho and catch this early season Middle Fork trip. It rained a lot, and snowed, and then the gauge was pushing 6 feet. People were dying, wood was everywhere and I pulled the plug and bowed out.

A week later I’m looking for cancellations at 10PM. I see a great date for the Main, but I can’t check out, I can only hold it in my cart. I cycle through trying to buy this thing for hours, and give up. Next morning, I check moutainbuzz and a member is dropping a cancellation. I call him, coordinate it, and snag it. Still can’t check out. I call my friend, he grabs, he pays, we’re going. He is pictured below.

Corn Creek is a pretty special place, sub-optimal road, but a little oasis once you get back there.

Water Levels: Good
Crew: Tight
Weather: Hot
Send: Full

We befriended the rangers the night before launch. We brought gifts that we traded for their beer and consideration for first orientation on launch the next day. At this point, the Avalanche have apparently just won the Stanley Cup, but we are unaware as we sit at Corn Creek, eating a few chicken tenders from the grocery store we hauled in with us.

This river is moving, going 20 miles was nothing. Campsites were a little tough but with a small group, we made do. This was fun, really fun. How fast we talking here? Fast enough you could have done back to back layover days and still cruised into Carey Creek at 10AM.

Interesting note, the Pacific and Mountain Time Zone delineation in Idaho literally follows this section of river. If you’re confused why your watch and your GPS show different times every 2 hours, well, now you know.

Casual rollers in class I water made boats nearly disappear. The hole in Elkhorn was the size of a bus. You floated past that thing and and saw your life flash before your eyes. You roll through 15 miles and its time for lunch. With daylight until 10PM, you sit around and soak it in. Then we eat the food.

Food? We did some food. Shockingly enough, hot lasagna was actually pretty satisfying after it was 100 degrees all day.

There are also some great sight seeing excursions, and with the speed record we were setting we had time. Bring money, you’ll want the ice cream sandwich at Buckskin Bills.

Scenery here is really A+. With the long summer light of the northern latitudes you spend a few hours every afternoon escaping the death ray, before the sun “sets” for four hours.

Few things I learned on this trip.

List of people that can go on a week long trip with two weeks notice.
What a beer can looks like after you drag it through the water for 100 miles.
Reflect and appreciate what legislators like Frank Church dedicated his life to preserve.

This place was great, 10/10, must do. Will be back.

The San Juan

June 6, 2022 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

From the headwaters near Pagosa Springs it cuts its way through limestone and sandstone until it reaches the leftover sludge of Lake Powell. Boasting one of the largest gradients of any river in the United States (8ft/mile), it was this velocity and erosive power that helped the San Juan River carve one of the most famous entrenched meanders on earth, The Goosenecks. Few entrenched meanders are not only as tightly bound, but also as deep as the ones carved by the San Juan as the Laramide Orogeny lifted the ancestral headwaters of the San Juan. This event gave the San Juan velocity and gradient, allowing it to carve the deep canyons that had been established prior to the mountain building event.

All that being said the river now runs into what was formerly a full pool at Lake Powell. Which creates some sediment/sand bar issues, as well as some slow moving water so the more you have, the better your life will be.

Before any of that, we begin in Mexican Hat Utah. A bustling metropolis that is centered around a 7-11. Across the street you will find the boat ramp, a place to leave your vehicle for shuttle, a hotel, and the Swinging Steak. Most of these places are family operations and have been for years. There also is most likely meth.

This water is notoriously turbid (read dirty). I learned they say, “too thin to plow, too thick to drink”. Bring your own water. When you’re on the water, you’ll find a few things.

The food game is critical. Taking it up a notch involved making ice cream not once, but twice. Including the second time on day 4.

Much of the upper reaches of the Juan through the Goosenecks lend itself to rapid river travel. The Honaker trail allows you to hike out of the river corridor and get up on top of the canyon which otherwise constrains you to within its walls. The geology itself is also very unique, lots of limestone and rock formations in the upper section that I hadn’t seen before.

So before we take this journey through the mud flats, it is also important to note the size of all the side canyons and what some of the flash floods that run through this area must be like. Telling you, biggest I’ve ever seen with huge streaks of mineral deposits that are indicative of…enormous flash floods. Also scorpions, probably Black Hairy Scorpion’s but I’ll leave that to your google search.

There was the rapid pictured above, which deserves the mention it just received. More importantly however, is the slug from Steer Gulch to Clay Hills. The river actually stops moving about 400 yards downstream of Steer Gulch. It is also exactly 1″ deep in random places. Prepare your mind, this is your reality for the next 1.5 days.

Hey, at least there was enough water we could float the rafts onto the ramp. Pretty neat area, and floating into what used to be the upper reaches of Lake Powell is surreal. 7/10, recommend.