FLOAT NOTES
6 DAY Desolarion / Gray canyon TRIP INFORMATION
Latest
update: March 10th 2002
TBD
- River information via the BLM
The following books provide good background information and may be purchased:
- The complete Whitewater Rafter. by Jeff Bennett,
-DESOLATION RIVER GUIDE. By Belknap (waterproof ~ $17,-).
- CANYON COUNTRY PREHISTORIC INDIANS. By F. A. Barnes
- CANYON COUNTRY PREHISTORIC ROCK ART. By F. A. Barnes.
You will be traveling in a spectacular, but fragile area. This is a protected area, and as such we try very hard to keep adverse impacts to park areas we visit to a minimum. Help us make our programs responsible and sustainable travel. Here are a few things to consider before you arrive. 1. Off trail hiking can cause erosion, and it can take up to 50 years for fragile soil coverings to fully recuperate. So please stay on designated trails. 2. The Indian rock art can be easily damaged. Touching the rock leaves a film of oil on them, which speeds up the deterioration process. So, please do not touch rock art. A substantial number of other people may use your campsite after you leave. With this level of use the disposal of human wastes can be a problem. Please use portable toilets
Saturday, May 4th:
- The Dutch fly-in to Denver.
Sunday and Monday:
- Buy food & special equipment (The Dutch in all teams will buy the food for their ‘cook crew’),
- Pack equipment on Monday,
Tuesday:
- Pack last things and drive out to Desolation Canyon,
- Unpack equipment at Sand Wash (put-in for the Green)
- Camp at the put-in and Let's Party…………, (permits to camp are no problem)
Wednesday May 8,
- Start of our trip!
Monday May 13:
- Takeout of river at the town of Green River (approx. ?? h.),
- Pack all our stuff and take a shuttle to the put-in (will take 5 to 6 hours),
- Pack all our stuff on our own cars,
- Drive back home or spend the night in Utah,
Tuesday:
- After getting home, clean-up all equipment
- After cleaning everyone can go his/her own way.
We assign cook crews. A cook crew plans the meal, buys the food, cooks, and then cleans up. A cook crew starts with the evening meal, then does breakfast and lunch the next day. We mix up the Dutch and US people in the food crews. Might be a bit of a problem getting the crews together to plan the meals together. We could have 2 Dutch plan the food, buy it, ... and then assign 2 from the US to help cook it. It would be nice to see what the Dutch plan form the meals. Cook crews can be found on our Desolation homepage.
Keep in mind that you have to feed ~ 20 hungry people !!!!! Some (free of charge) advise on food to take for breakfast & lunch:
Breakfast:
- Donuts,
- Muffins,
- Yoghurt,
- Coffee, Thee, Juice and/or milk,
Lunch
- Bread, Ham and cheese,
- Yoghurt,
- Fruit,
- Salad,
- etc.
Space on rafts is limited so don't bring any unnecessary items. Excess travel baggage should be stored in your vehicle or with your motel. Bring comfortable loose fitting clothes that can get wet. NO GLASS BOTTLES, please. We advise buying beverages in cans or transfer to plastic bottles for wine or liquor. Eating utensils/plates are provided.
PERSONAL GEAR CHECKLIST
* Drybag (Large for tent & clothing 'Sealline 70' / For daytime
use have a 'Sealline 20 or 15'. Check if your tent fits in the larger drybag. We
may consider putting tents in a separate drybag to protect clothing from getting
wet in case we have rainfall at night)
* small backpack type
tent
* compact sleeping
bag; sleeping pad; groundcloth
* fleece, wool or
pile sweater
* binoculars &
waterproof camera, camera and film
* rain suit top and
bottom or poncho (it CAN rain, VERY IMPORTANT)
* small towel and
washcloth (special ultra fast drying towel)
* long pants (for
camp)
* flashlight with
extra batteries
* sunglasses with tie
strap
* swimsuit and/or
shorts
* hat (Baseballcap won't be enough)
or visor with tie strap (fleece cap is warm as well)
* suntan lotion (30 or higher) and chapstick
* insect repellant (DEET 100% by Muskol, available in US only) (Use only if
necessary!!!!!!!)
* t-shirts and long
sleeve shirt (Don't use cotton t-shirts at rapids)
* wool or fleece socks / wetsuit booties
* polypropylene or
capelene underwear top or swim suite (VERY
IMPORTANT!)
* water bottle with
securing device (use carabiners)
* eye glasses with
securing system, like Chums
* camp shoes (DRY
shoes other than river shoes for hikes or for comfort)
* rafting sandals (TEVA's are much less expensive in the US) or river
shoes like laced tennis shoes that can get wet
* toilet articles
(toothbrush, comb, biodegradable soap such as Ivory)
* plastic bags for
wet or dirty clothing
* Be shure that you have a clean set of clothing ready in the vehicle.
Bob Karls:
Kitchen gear: Pots, pans, plates, griddles, dutch ovens,
dishwashing supplies including pickle buckets and
Dishsoap/scrubbies, Liq. Clorox, soap, matches, can openers,
cooking knives, cutting board, eating utensils (Plate, fork, spoon,
knife, bowl and cups for everyone), pot grabbers, Zip-lock bags,
Trash bags, fire wood for put in, condiments (including coffee),
spices, Required - Strainer and FIRE PAN
Bill Burmester:
Stoves, Water Filter, 1/2 size propane bottle, 2 toilets, toilet
supplies (Paper, soap, water jug, treatment), Raft Repair kit, Major first aid kit, kitchen rain
Doug Lovely:
Propane (full size bottle)
5 gal water jugs: Ray(1), Bob(1) and Bill(2)
Martijn Rutten is the only one that does the entire
river in his
small kayak
(flown-in from the Netherlands). Some people are going to be on a 16"
Paddle Raft
for most of their time. Others go down the river on 14”,16” or an 18”
Oar Rafts
. An additional hard-body kayak or an
Inflatable
Kayak
will be present to be used by anyone who likes to.
Weather on the Yampa
in May and June can be highly variable with temperatures ranging from 55-80
degrees (13-27 °C) during the day
and 35-50 degrees (2-10 °C) at
night. It is wise to be prepared for the possibility of rain showers, as well
as lots of blazing sunshine. On a warm day after the big rapids you'll have on
sunblock (30+), swimsuit and T-shirt. On a cool
day starting off in the morning most people wear rain pants, over pile, wool or
nylon pants, over shorts/swimsuit; a raincoat over a pile or wool sweater, over
a polypropylene or capelene underwear top;
and wool socks and tennis shoes; hat and sunblock. As the day warms you can
take off in layers. Polypropylene can make a huge difference in how warm you
stay throughout the day. We suggest that sweaters and pants be of a material
that dries quickly and stays warm when wet (like pile, nylon or wool). We
advise against wearing blue jeans and cotton shirts on the rafts because they
stay cool and wet all day. It is very IMPORTANT to keep your raincoat and
sweater with you on the raft to ward off splashes or cool breezes. If you plan
to use a kayak most days, you should consider using a wetsuit top and pants.
Keep in
mind that river clothing differs from Camp clothing. Take convenient clothing with
you (jeans, t-shirts etc.) Have a sweater ready to put on since it can become
very cold at night.
Body of text copied
from Adrift Adventures.