Cataract Canyon Raft Trip 2007

This blog is the story of my recent 4day, 3night rafting trip down the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon mostly through Canyonlands National Park in Utah. This was my first time as a participant in an all-women's annual trip (I think they are up to their 6th trip) consisting of days spent on rivers enjoy truly spectacular natural beauty and evenings spent in excellent company with great food and a great deal of excellent wine.

The adventure began by driving from Denver to Green River, Utah - approximately 6 hours.

Here is a picture at the hotel the night before the expedition began. Not all of the ladies (nor all of the wine) are present in the picture...

From Green River we rode in vans to Potash, Utah (near Moab), our start-point (put-in). We marginally successfully attempted a "before" group shot... so here are the players:

Left to right top row: Katie, Sabina, Mary Ann, Monica, Heidi, Barbara, Sere, Kathy, Karen

bottom row: Sammi, Rose (aka Diva), Carla

Chris, Dana, Jen - a little late for the photo

Maria missed the group shots all together so here's one of her and I in an inflatable kayak (duckie) later in the trip:

And here are our bad-ass guides:

Zak, Walker, Greg, and Cole

We floated in 3 rafts - 2 oar boats and 1 motorized. For most of the trip we were strapped together making a big party-barge. For the rapids, the boats were separated.

It is really not possible to express the magnitude of the beauty of the canyon in snapshots. There were steep cliffs, mellow sand-banks, and rock formations of every shape and size. It is truly amazing to see how the persistence of water over ages and ages can cut and sculpt to create such beauty. While the photos can not do justice to the scenery, here are some favorite shots:

This area of the country is rich in natural history and in the history of the Native Americans. Our very knowledgeable guides took us on the most amazing side hikes to see petrified trees:

amazing ruins of ancient peoples including grain storage structures:


and pictographs (see the handprints in the stone above Karen and the light deer-looking animal in the middle beneath the crescent - very amazing!) One of my favorite parts of the trip were the hikes into the side canyons along the way. Bodie Canyon was one that was adjacent to our campsite on the second evening. It was a beautiful slot canyon that has only recently become accessible as a flash-flood last fall cleared out the over-growth. The rock formations and the obvious sculpting of the various types of rock is amazing to see, touch, and traverse. "Potholes" form in places and in one case prevented forward progress without swimming through the pool. The water was clear, cool, and refreshing - and how fun to have a swim be part of a hike! Here are a few shots of the canyon and the pool:

Here is another slot canyon we visited:

It wasn't all smooth sailing. Most of Day 3 was spent in rapids, up to class 3+ maybe 4 depending on flow rates. Here is a picture of one of our few sightings of random strangers... only good shot I have of rapids with something in it for perspective.

And then there were the evenings of excellent company, food, and wine. Our guides proved eating in the backcountry does not mean giving up any of the flavor of fine dining. They create wonderful meals at every sitting - and wash your hands before you eat!

And then there was the wine tasting hosted by our queen Diva and trip-planner extraordinare, Rose:

And a great deal of relaxing and talking to the sounds of the river and crackle of the camp fire:

We eventually came back to modern civilization. The sight of this bridge was a sign of the end of our grand adventure - too soon! But I couldn't help but appreciate the man-made beauty of this structure, even after all the scenery of the canyon.

The "after" picture has not yet reached me. I'll insert it later.

We were unloaded from the rafts, loaded into small airplanes, and flown back to Green River.

It was cool to fly over the canyon lands after having spent time inside of them - to change perspective so dramatically.

And so ended this grand adventure. I started the trip knowing only one of my travel companions and came back with 18 new friends. I hope to travel with you all again in the future!

Special thanks to Rose for planning the trip, and to Sere for inviting me!

Thanks to Sammi, Maria, and Zak for sharing their pictures (many of their photos used here due to their superior photo taking skills and the unfortunate water incident that lead to the demise of my camera on day 2).

And a big thank you! to Colorado River and Trail Expeditions (crateinc.com) for a well organize trip with great food and excellent guides who where professional, knowledgeable, great fun, and friendly (and Rose says to add pretty :-). Thanks Walker, Zak, Greg, and Cole!