October 19, 2015
Day 1
"We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore. What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know not; what walls ride over the river, we know not. Ah, well! we may conjecture many things."
--John Wesley Powell
After hiking through the La Sals, Freebird was planning to raft down the Colorado. He had invited me along weeks or months ago but I had refused, doubting that I could take that much time off of work. But other friends that he had also invited along couldn't make it, so I began to consider it again. Two Explorer 300's (pool rafts fit for 3 people that are not recommended for rivers or lakes, according to the warning labels) that he had purchased were waiting to be used. The float would be from Moab to Spanish Bottom, about 60+ miles on flat water with one set of Class 3 rapids near the end. Freebird had done this same route over a year ago with friends, and I had heard all of the stories several times, making me want to raft the river all the more. I finally decided to ask my supervisor if it were even possible to take another week off of work. To my surprise she said yes, so long as I found coverage. It turns out another coworker was able to take my hours, and when I told my supervisor the news, she was actually excited for me! After working through the rest of that week, I was then given another week off.
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| Dinga and one of the life jackets. |
On the evening of the 19th, Pete drove us to the river. First we stopped at Matrimony Springs to fill up on water for the trip, about 4 gallons each. Then, at the boat ramp on the other side of the river, Pete helped us inflate the rafts and saw us off. Freebird helped me into the raft first with my water and pack, and then he loaded his raft and put in second. We floated under the pedestrian bridge, under 191, and then past Moab. A boat full of tourists launched and they looked concerned and worried for us sitting in these tiny rafts, until we smiled and waved, and then they took pictures of us. I was horrible with rowing at first. At one point I got swept around the other side of an island and felt the boat sliding and bouncing over the gravel! We had to be very careful not to pop these fragile rafts. I thought for sure I wouldn't make it past the first day. At least we still had roads nearby to get back to town if we needed to. In the days to come, I would thankfully get better at rowing. I met Freebird again past the island and we continued to lazily pass by Moab. A rainbow stretched to the east over what would be our last view of the La Sals for the next week. A rainbow has often been considered a good sign and I took it to be a sign that I wouldn't sink the boat or die. Grebes swam past, curiously watching us as we entered the Portal as the sun was setting. Soon we reached a habitable island near Wall Street and camped there for the night.
And so it was that we set out in Explorer 300's, in explorer-like fashion, though not so much like John Wesley Powell and his crew had done. These days, hundreds and thousands have floated before us (even others in their own Explorer 300's!) and the river is well-mapped. Roads are beside part of our route, and even when they're not, we're in BLM or national park land, nearby trails which lead to other roads. But even yet, it was a very different experience from anything I've ever done, and the week would be more invigorating and fun than I had ever imagined!
Here's some pictures illustrating our first day:
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