n.taylor – Page 3

The Season of Three Permits: Trip 3, Gates of Lodore

September 15, 2021 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

The canyon of Lodore holds a special place in the pantheon of western multi-day trips. John Wesley Powell named it after a famous English poem, “The Cataract of Lodore” which eloquently describes the flow of water over a waterfall, but more importantly just sounds mysterious and cool.

Today, like most permitted rivers, your odds of every seeing this place aren’t great. If you get invited you go. The 4 Rivers Lottery is the only place that publishes all the stats for applications. So while this doesn’t represent Lodore, you get the idea. FYI there are 300 permits given between May 10 & September 10.

4 Rivers Lottery Statistics — *May the Odds Be In Your Favor*

Entrance in Dinosaur National Monument — *Now Leaving Civilization*

The tools of the day made many of the obstacles for Powell, recreation for us today. The major rapids of Lodore are far more manageable with consistent flows and rubber boats. The wooden 21 foot boats of Powell’s day coupled with the unknown dangers and flows of a wild river were terrifying to put it mildly.

We run down to the mouth of Yampa River. This has been
a chapter of disasters and toils, notwithstanding which the canon of Ladore
was not devoid of scenic interest, even beyond the power of pen to tell.
The roar of its waters was heard unceasingly from the hour we entered it
until we landed here. No quiet in all that time. But its walls and cliffs,
its peaks and crags, its amphitheaters and alcoves, tell a story of beauty and
grandeur that I hear yet-and shall hear.
J.W. Powell June 17, 1869

Gates of Lodore put in — *The “Gates” of Lodore Canyon*

Fog in Lodore Canyon — *A Rainy Day in the Canyon*

Rain persisted for twenty four hours. We traversed from Kolb to Wild Mountain through the storm. Taking time to scout Triplet Falls and Hell’s Half Mile before finding the sanctuary of a single tree at Wild Mountain that provided enough relief for our shrimp fajitas.

Wild Mountain Campsite Gates of Lodore — *Covered Kitchen*

We made our way through Echo Park and into Rainbow Park where we camped at The Cove. The mud pit that is The Cove wasn’t the greatest campsite I’ve stayed at, but when you’re on Lodore there aren’t bad ones either. We hiked, we rowed, we cooked, and we finished by sitting next to an old ammo can hooked up to a propane tank.

The Cove campsites Gates of Lodore — *Last Campsite*

Last few miles of Lodore Canyon — *Last Campsite*

Our trip included a living legend. Howie recently retired from a lifetime of guiding Grand Canyon adventures. By his own account he has 170+ trips and over six years of sleeping on his boat under the stars. A quiet man, he never offered an opinion unless asked. It took several days for him to finally reveal the breath of his experiences and knowledge, including trips down the canyon in 1983 with flows approaching 100k. On our last night he broke out his favorite scotch, Lagavulin.

Utah Colorado Border on US 40 — *Back Home*

I may be back this winter…

The Season of Three Permits: Trip 2, The Middle Fork

July 9, 2021 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

First off. Holy shit. This was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had, and I’m not sure it’s even close. If you are reading this and get to go on this trip then no matter what is happening in your life, go. It is just incredible.

I’m not going to write a lot about this trip, rather I’m going to post the pics as they tell most of the story. Words can’t really describe this place. The answers to the obvious questions are as follows:

What was the flow?	2ft @ Boundary
When did you launch?	June 28
How many people?	18
How was the weather?	It was 100 everyday
What are the best campsites?	Honestly, they’re all good
What would you do different?	Uh, get new coolers, a permit, and run the main

Launch Stuff

Gotta get the boats in the water. The launch here is as intimidating as it is elegant. You slide that boat down the ramp and you know that you have 100 miles of whitewater in front of you to get back. Sleep well!

Food

Delish. Not pictured were some other pretty extravagant offerings by the team. Most all our meals were based around using the wok or “discada.” While heavy, it cut down on all the other kitchen stuff and was really efficient.

Campsites

Fear not. Your campsites are not a worry. You will not only be happy, but impressed.

Sights & Springs

Hot springs everyday, scenery in every direction.

Water & Other Awesomeness

Incredible amount of whitewater over 100 miles. You’ll be doing things the entire time, albeit at 2ft it was more technical than anything. There is a lifetime of exploration here, you can’t even begin to conquer all the hiking and scenery this place has to offer.

Jumping into river on Middle Fork — *Pistol*

The Season of Three Permits: Trip 1

May 30, 2021 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

This year has proven to be one most fortunate for me. Having not drawn a permit yet again I was fortunate to be invited on three. The first of which was the Rio Chama in late May. The drive was beautiful as the landscape transitioned from high desert, to the Conejos Canyon, over Cumbres Pass and finally into Chama New Mexico.

Conejos Canyon on the way to Chama New Mexico — *Conejos Canyon*

The Chama is nestled in a green valley of sedimentary rock, with thick stands of Ponderosa, Douglas-Fir, Cottonwood and many others. The divorcee who runs the lodge at the put in (his ex-wife runs the campground) was nice, albeit seemingly cognitively limited by what one would imagine was a lifetime of alcoholism.

The rain began at 5 am on our launch day. I know this because I was sleeping uncovered on the ground next to the boat. The rain didn’t stop for over 12 hours. While there are plenty of campsites and you are not limited by a number of days on the permit we moved quickly in order to reach Chama Wall.

Hot Springs near Rio Nurtrias — *Hot Springs on Rio Chama*

Chama Wall was advertised as one of the best campsites along the wilderness section of river. The sandstone cliff opposite the river towered over our campsite. The sunsets in the evening brought all the colors of the sandstone out of the massive canyon face.

View from Chama Wall campsite — *Chama Wall*

This campsite is fantastic. You could sleep 15+ people here as there are plenty of campsites both close to the water and then on the terrace above the main landing area. This was the first time I had brought the “cowboy wok” on a river trip. Being as they are made by a veteran in Albuquerque it was only fitting to break it in on a New Mexico river trip.

Boat parking for Chama Wall campsite — *Landing for Chama Wall*

We took a layover day, and with it, the opportunity to fish Salmonflies & Caddis.

Not far after Chama Wall the canyon gave way to the desert. The gradient slowed and from the river you got a great view of The Monastery of Christ in the Desert.

As a final note, I’d like to thank the state of New Mexico for installing bollards in the middle of a quarter million dollar boat ramp so it is un-useable. What we needed was a good two hours of de-rigging before the drive home.