San Juan River

A trip down the lower San Juan River began my summer this season. Sitting on a boat under the sun at the bottom of the canyon allows me the time and space I need to reflect and reset after a long school year. This stretch of the San Juan River in particular, offers a sense of being home, to me. I keep reels of red rock walls and sounds of silence in my mind and I go back there, often, when I need to recenter or reconnect.

I drew and watercolored. A couple got engaged at John's Canyon. We sang songs around the campfire. A hand-built dory completed a maiden voyage. Some group members ran Government Rapid on paco-pads. We ate way too much food.

The Sandy Juan

Somehow we scored a permit for the busiest week on the San Juan river (from Mexican Hat to Clay Hills), in mid-June. Run-off was fierce throughout Colorado, and everyday we checked the flow of the old San Juan. We watched as the river rose all the way up to 6,800 CFS on the day of our launch.

Having run this stretch of the San Juan at a typical 400-1000 CFS several times, I was both nervous and excited for the big flow. I had planned on taking my Shaboomee paddle board down the San Juan, and with limited boat space, I decided not to chicken out because of high water, instead I borrowed a helmet and headed for Utah.

It rained all day, and as we began shuttling the cars, I started worrying about Clay Hills Road. It was, as I suspected, in rough shape. We had to rally our cars down to the takeout and back to the put-in. It was touch-and-go in spots, but in the end we made it back to the put-in - not without a few hiccups, however. The Subaru that was taking us all back to Mexican Hat overheated from the clay and stopped us about 45 minutes outside of Bluff. We were stranded for three hours; the car refused to start.

It was a Sunday, and when the ranger stopped by he told us the nearest auto repair shop was in Blanding, and they weren't open until Monday. With that, we decided there was no point in waiting around or missing our trip, so we left the car on the side of the road (knowing we could deal with it when got off the river) and two kind and generous rangers drove us all the way to Mexican Hat.

We launched and made quick time to our first campsite. The river was exciting at 6,800 CFS. A new rapid formed from a flash flood at Twin Canyons; it felt even bigger than Government, but that may just have been because it caught me by surprise on my paddle board. It was wonderful, but then the storms began rolling in. Slickhorn Canyon flashed in the morning while we were packing up, and Grand Gulch was pouring out water when we passed by; I've never seen so much water in the canyon. on the final night there was a torrential storm; we were camped at Oljeto - a known flash flood site. Just as I had fallen asleep, hurricane-like wind picked me up in my tent and the sky opened up with a torrential downpour. Luckily, we made camp on a high ledge and everyone was safe.

It was a San Juan trip unlike any other I had done before. I missed the calm serenity of that stretch of river, but the high water and unpredictable weather gave new life to that canyon and showed me a side, which I appreciate in it's own light.

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.