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Autumn in Lodore By David Levine When Bob & I got off our Green River Lodore trip last month he said to me, "I’d like to come back here. I didn’t see too much of it because of the snow." He meant it. He called me soon after with news he got a permit for an October 26 launch. So Bob & I were driving up again, this time with six of our friends, some from our recent Grand Canyon trip. We have 2 rafts and 5 duckies. My raft is home with most of the gear I usually bring. It was a strange feeling leaving it there, unsure that I had everything I needed for the trip. I’ll be in a duckie for the first time in over 10 years. We stopped in Steamboat to visit another friend from the Grand trip. He said, "Didn’t you guys learn anything from the last time? The weather could be worse!" It was raining, with cold temperatures forecasted. We got to the put in and started blowing up the boats to get ready for an early launch the next day. Friday morning looked to be the start to a nice, crisp Autumn day. The conch shell was blown announcing hot drinks were ready. After a big hot breakfast we rigged and launched without seeing a Ranger. The current was moving fine, about 1400 cfs. We went through the Gate of Lodore Canyon. I tried to imagine, as I always do here, how Powell must have felt 130 years ago, entering a canyon said to be wild, and unknown. A few of us new to duckies had to figure out how to keep them pointed downriver without spinning, and soon got the hang of it. We were feeling just a little confident for the first rapid, a few miles ahead. Winnie’s Rapid was always fairly straightforward in a raft. Approaching it in a duckie was a little unnerving. I knew where to go, just wasn’t quite sure that the duck really would move across the current in time to miss the rock in the middle. But I got myself lined up where I thought I should be, worked a frenzy of paddle strokes, and the current took me past the rock into the eddy. After a few more miles of floating through flatwater and riffles, laying back and watching the cliffs and birds go by, we came to the scout point for Disaster Falls, named by Powell for one of their boats wrecked there. I looked for the easiest sneak and found it to the left, intending to bypass the main tongue. All the duckies went that way; none tried the main tongue and waves down the center. Pushing off from the eddy, approaching the rapid, I looked for the marker rocks and was surprised at how different they look from river level vs. standing up in a raft. We found our entrance and went through, getting ready for the rock gardens in the rest of the rapid. That was a fun stretch, working the duckie across the currents to clear the rocks, getting splashed by every small wave, keeping the duckie pointed straight. We floated on to our Pot Creek camp and a steak and potato dinner, watching the deer keep their distance from us. The next morning began with hot drinks and "How far is it to Hell’s Half Mile?" Most of the people on the trip had never been through Lodore before, so I built up the rapid as one of the trickiest around. We ran Triplet with no problems and came to the scout for Hell’s. The route is obvious. I showed it to the newcomers and we got ready to run it. We sent a raft through first with instructions to catch an eddy soon and have a throw rope ready for any swimmers there might be. Then the duckies lined up and floated to the entry rock. I planned on going left around the big center rock past the entry waves, hoping I wouldn’t get tossed around too much before I got to it. The duckies ahead hit the first waves, getting soaked, and maneuvered both ways around the rock. I came through oriented well enough I could still paddle to go left, giving me an easier ride through the next part of the rapid, just keeping it straight for the wave train. The duckies that went right had some maneuvering around other rocks. We all got through fine, quacking at each other as a small celebration. We pulled over to the beach and opened some fresh, cold beers, ready to float to Echo Park and our camp at Steamboat Rock. Steamboat Rock was a great place to camp, blowing the conch shells and counting the echoes. We ate heaping plates of chili with corn bread and lemonitas. The rest of the trip was quiet floating through Echo Park, a stop at Jones Hole for a break, and on to the Cove camp where we hiked up one of the hills for a look at the Island Park terrain and the old river channels. The setting sun was a brilliant red on the rock cliffs off in the distance. Sunday we made it through Island Park and Moonshine, SOB and Schoolboy rapids fine, having lots of fun with the duckies. The warm spring was a great stop to warm up and relax. Inglesby Rapid was one last test of the new duckie skills. Except for about half an hour of rain the last night of the trip, it was a great Autumn trip through Lodore, daytime temps in the 50’s and 60’s with cool nights. We had a lot of fun being out on the river again, not ready to put the boats away for the year. The Fall colors throughout the river corridor were nice to see. Bob was curious if it would be easy to get a permit for Thanksgiving. |