Taos Box News
Official Club weekend dates are May 22/23 2010!
Take advantage of early spring flows this year and don't wait until late May to go. Other spur of the moment spring trip dates will be discussed on our Yahoo group.
Subscribe to our FREE discussion group at 
Taos trip leader is Jeff Hodge at 719-687-6573.
Hotel:
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Quality Inn in Taos and tell them you are with Pikes Peak River Runners for the club discount room rate ($70/night) at 800-845-0648 (505-758-2200) Raylene Casias is the general manager. Regular room rates are $89.99 ($109.99 on Memorial weekend). Our special club rate rate is good for all of May. Tell the desk staff that you are with Pikes Peak River Runners for our special discount. Reserve your room well ahead of time, they book up quickly. The parking lots at the Quality Inn provide great access for trailers/parking and they include a morning breakfast as well. Rates are based on single or double occupancy. Each additional person in room is $10.00 per night. Children 17 and under are free when sharing room with adult. Rates do not include tax currently at 12.94%. Reservations must be cancelled by 4 pm day of arrival in order to avoid a penalty of one night’s room and tax.
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Sagebrush Inn (Comfort Inn in Taos) - Pikes Peak River Runners discount $85 (based on double occupancy) regular room rates are $129/night, Kashion Smith is our contact, discount is good for weekends in May (excluding Memorial weekend) through first week of June. Three day cancellation policy. 505-758-2254, 800-428-3626
Camping:
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In Taos, Taos Valley RV Park & Campground, nice quiet campground in Taos. Showers, full RV hookups, very nice tent camping. Convenient if you want to enjoy the town of Taos at night.
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At the Pilar takeout: BLM Rio Bravo campground, showers, along the river, shady cottonwoods. Very close to the takeout, convenient if you want to hangout near the takeout. Long way to go into Taos for dinner/shopping. Lots of other BLM campgrounds in the area, but Rio Bravo is the prettiest (in my opinion).
Links:
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Taos Box section River Information
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American Whitewater's website link
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Pilar Shuttlers- private parties that do Taos Box shuttles:
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Suzy Furlan 505-737-0567 &
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Julia Ives 505-758-8474
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Schedule:
Friday - Sometimes we arrive on Friday during the day and run the Pilar section. A nice place for dinner is at the Embudo's Station restaurant (25 miles south of Taos) and relatively near the Pilar takeout. Great riverside restaurant! Or arrive in the evening and stay at a hotel or camp.
Saturday - meet
at the
Taos Box put-in 8 am, be ready to dump your boat and get the shuttle
going quickly. Why? The put-in is very congested. The shuttle takes
about 2 hours. If you arrive late, you might get boxed in or out and not be able to
get the shuttle going in time (see the picture below of a typical Saturday in May).
We tend to get off the river and back into Taos around 4 pm (later if the flow is
low). Don't forget to pay the $3/per vehicle fee at the takeout. 
Favorite Taos Restaurants:
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Embudo Station (Website says it's reopening May 9, 2009, it's been up for sale, good luck)
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Quadalajara Grill- 2 in Taos (south end location has easy trailer parking). Quadalajara Grill menu on our discussion group website Files section
Sunday - Boat Taos Box section again or maybe do the Pilar section. Most people boat on Saturday and often skip on Sunday. Depends on the flow and weather.
Note about what to expect at the put-in: Please recognize that many (private & commercial) boaters are all trying to access this put-in at about the same time. Try to unload your equipment quickly and move your vehicle out of the way. Otherwise you risk getting boxed in at the end of the dirt road and will have a difficult time getting out to begin your shuttle. The ranger will ask all boaters to move their boats (to keep unloading moving smoothly) either across the river or down/up river to maximize the cramped put-in space. This really helps everyone while the 2 hour shuttle is being run and other boaters arrive as you wait for your shuttle. Contact the River Ranger Mark Sundin if you have any questions/suggestions. The takeout is not quite as congested but the same principle applies here. Try to load up quickly and move out of the way because it seems like we all arrive at the takeout in staggered groups. Sunset Rapid is the photographer's favorite rapid to shoot and you can find your photo at www.raftphotos.com. I noticed that they take quite a few good photos of every boater that you can view/order right away.