The Mighty Juan

"The river is the soul of the desert." - Ed Abbey

It's become a tradition to raft the lower section of the San Juan river (from Mexican Hat to Clay Hills) each Spring, and if I'm completely honest it's definitely one of my favorite traditions. The red canyon walls, blue skies and sunshine are a welcome escape from Colorado's bipolar Spring weather.

This year we had a pretty exciting start to the trip with THREE unexpected swimmers before we even finished our first mile! My sister, Kennady and her boyfriend Eric came along for the adventure, and an adventure it was. I borrowed a duckie (inflatable kayak) for Kennady and Eric to raft the river in; they started the trip looking a little rough and uncoordinated, and things got exciting when they flipped their duckie in the very first rapid. Luckily, all of their gear was strapped down with the exception of a Nalgene. In a rush attempt to save the runaway Nalgene Justin's dad, Terry fell out of his boat, too!

We laughed - a lot - and decided the exciting beginning was a sign that this year's trip was going to be a good one! And it didn't disappoint. It was the perfect weeklong getaway filled with an abundance of blooming flowers, a brief appearance from a family of Bighorn Sheep and surprisingly few bugs.

The river was flowing higher this year than it had been during any of our previous trips, which allowed for more land-time. I enjoyed exploring the Honaker Trail, Grand Gulch, John's Canyon, Slickhorn and more. I have always been fascinated with the desert, and never miss an opportunity to explore the desert from a raft.

I'm already looking forward to next year! The San Juan feels a little bit more like home every time I raft it.