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Green River (UT) thru Desolation and Gray Canyons - 84 miles - June 25 - July 1, 2004

Please be patient while the pictures load...
I only used 81 of the 174 pictures I took :)...

Trip Itinerary:
Day 	Camp 			Bank 	Miles 
Put-in	Sand Wash 		Right	0.0
1	Gold Hole 		Right	6.6
2	Stampede Flat		Right	17.6
3	Firewater Canyon	Right	29.9	
4	Calf Canyon		Right	43.2	
5	Wire Fence Canyon	Right	58.4
6	Below Rattlesnake	Left	73.9
7	Takeout	Swazey Rapid 	Left	84.1

Full campsite listing at bottom of page


Morning of Travel Day 2 - Twin Falls (ID) at Perrine Memorial Bridge on US-93


Twin Falls (ID) #2. Snake River below. Several miles upstream the 212 ft. Shoshone Falls produces hydroelectric power for Idaho Power Company. By July, however, about all you'll see is one very dry cliff


Unknown facility along the road from Roosevelt to Myton, UT


Photo stop #1 on the road to the Sand Wash put-in


Photo stop #1 close-up


One of many deep, dry ravines on the road in


Day 1 - Rigging at Sand Wash Put-in


Departing from Sand Wash at 2:23PM (MDT). The BLM rep. gave us the most thorough checkout ever. He wanted to check each repair kit to see if the glue was good. He also wanted to check first aid kit contents. He even wanted to squeeze the foam on each and every lifejacket!


Jerry seems to be happy rowing a heavily loaded 16' Maravia raft he borrowed from Dennis M.


Floating along 30 minutes later. Note lack of current. This pretty much lasts all the way to Jack Creek (26 miles downstream)


Wild Horses


Setting up camp at Gold Hole


Gold Hole next morning


Day 2 - Cormorant? or Anhinga?


Floating serenely along, still in flatwater, enjoying the scenery...


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Sombrero Rock close-up (my name for it)


Sunset at Stampede Flat


Day 3 - Still in the flatwater....


More fascination with the odd rock formations


Mountain sheep appear unphased by passing rafts


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Mark relaxs just above Jack Creek Rapid, our first major rapid. NOT!. Most of the rapids listed are actually class I or II riffles


Marie gives the oars a try while Bob and Marlin supervise


Ollie peers into moonshiner cabin window in Firewater Canyon


Marlin at Firewater Canyon


Firewater Canyon artifacts


Firewater Canyon view


Ollie and Bob opt for an evening hike up the cliff at Camp 3 (zoomed in view)


Unzoomed version of previous picture!


Day 4 - Ollie cons me into a morning hike looking for Indian pictographs. Says river sandals are fine. Does this really look like a sandal hike? Didn't find the pictographs either.


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Ollie with scenery backdrop...


Then the close-up


Floating serenly along. Notice what 12+ gallon of water in the front does to the trim line! Photo by Ollie


A pictograph stop already jammed with people from commercial outfitters


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Sandy and Ollie relaxing at the Rock Creek water stop


Another private party departing from Rock Creek. If I ever do this stretch again, I too will bring a river shade umbrella


Sunset at Camp 4


Day 5 - Chicken Rock


Below Chandler Falls, on the left bank Ute Indian reservation side. The terracing must have some pictographs, but none are mentioned.


Our only day of rain prompted Marie and Betsy to become Bag Ladies


A reminder that the eroding cliffs do drop big boulders into the river channel


Wire Fence Canyon Camp


Wire Fence Canyon Camp #2


Day 6 - Behind Wire Fence Canyon Camp


Wire Fence Canyon Camp #4


Mark and Sandy below Three Fords Rapid


Ollie thru Three Fords Rapid


The end of Desolation Canyon...


And the start of Gray Canyon. Jim (our illustrious permit holder) in his kayak.


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Abandoned building in the Rattlesnake Canyon area


Rattlesnake Canyon area #2


Rattlesnake Canyon area #3


Full Moon rises at last camp. (1 sec. hand held shot...)


Day 7 - Morning at last camp


25 year old boat of the people we shared the site with. Story later...


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Betsy and Miss Kitty


Jerry would dearly love to catch something other than the few catfish he has caught so far. The only fisherman in the group


In search of pictographs (again), in Price River Canyon


Found them this time!


Climbing higher to look for more...


Price River turns the Green even muddier


Below Price River confluence


Group photo at last lunch stop


Alexandra and Jeremy. A solo boating couple we met at the last camp. They had the misfortune to flip in the Three Fords Rapid the day before, but no one was hurt, nor was anything lost


Abandoned building in the Coal Canyon area


Abandoned building in the Coal Canyon area #2


Looks like Gray Canyon is coming to an end. The take-out must be near....


Take-out ramp at Swasey's Rapid


USGS Green River Flow


After the derig, we went to Green River, UT, then to Moab the next 2 days for
exploring the Colorado riverway, and visiting the Arches Nat'l Park


Possible Green Desolation/Gray camps compiled from several sources.
The LEFT camps are those on the reservation that were available this year.  I don't know if they change from year to year.  
Others may exist or some of these may not due to various reasons.

RM	MILES	Description
95.6	0.0	Sand Wash put-in
91.0	4.6	Duches Hole camp on LEFT - early, separates you from other groups
89.0	6.6	Gold Hole (#1) camp on right
84.8	10.8	camp below Summer's Amphitheater on right
82.1	13.5	camp in alcove on right for small group
81.2	14.4	camp on right near Gold Hole, which is on left
80.0	15.6	Rock House Rapid - camp on right above rapid?
78.0	17.6	large camp on right across from Stampede Flat
77.2	18.4	camp on right near three trees
76.4	19.2	camp on right with sand beach
76.2	19.4	another nice camp on right
69.9	25.7	camp on right above Jack Creek Rapid
69.7	25.9	2 camps on right below Jack Creek Rapid
68.9	26.7	camp on right near double trunked cottonwood
66.7	28.9	camp on right below Big Canyon Rapid
65.9	29.7	camp on right between parts of Firewater Rapid - best camp on river
65.9	29.7	Firewater Canyon on LEFT         
65.7	29.9	three camps on right below Firewater Rapid
63.7	31.9	camp on right with huge tree
62.7	32.9	camp on right below Flat Canyon Rapid
61.7	33.9	camp on right below Dripping Springs Rapid
59.4	36.2	camp on right below Fretwater Falls
56.6	39.0	camp on right below Steer Ridge Rapid I
55.8	39.8	camp on right above/below Steer Ridge Rapid III
54.3	41.3	Log Cabin camp on LEFT
52.9	42.7	camp on right near ranch buildings
52.4	43.2	camp on right above/below Calf Canyon Rapid
49.7	45.9	2 camps on right at mouth of Rincon
47.8	47.8	camp on right at Lion's Hollow - half way there
47.3	48.3	camp on right at rapid
47.1	48.5	2 camps on LEFT above and below Chandler Falls rapid 
46.6	49.0	camp on right
46.0	49.6	large camp on right above Trail Canyon fan
45.0	50.6	camp on right at end of rapid
44.6	51.0	large camp on right
43.5	52.1	2 small camps on right above and below point
43.0	52.6	camp on right below Moonwater Rapid
42.6	53.0	several small camps on right below Red Point Rapid
40.5	55.1	camp on right below Joe Hutch Canyon Rapid- sandy beach
39.3	56.3	large camp on right below Ouray Lodge
37.2	58.4	2 large camps on right
37.0	58.6	large camp on right below Wire Fence Rapid
34.1	61.5	2 small camps on right
31.5	64.1	6 camps on right around Range Creek Rapid
28.9	66.7	camp on right below Rabbit Valley Rapid - sand
26.1	69.5	camp on LEFT below Coal Creek Rapid
25.3	70.3	camp on LEFT below Poverty Rapid
22.3	73.3	camp on right above Rattlesnake Rapid - hard entry
21.7	73.9	camp on LEFT below Rattlesnake Rapid - beach
20.3	75.3	camp on LEFT below Nefertiti Rapid
16.7	78.9	camp on right
16.3	79.3	camp on right
12.8	82.8	camp on right below Stone Canyon Rapid
11.5	84.1	Take-out below Swasey Rapid

Possible water stops - some may or may not have water
75.3	20.3	spring in canyon
69.8	25.8	Jack Creek (dry)
65.9	29.7	Cedar Ridge Canyon in Firewater Rapid?
62.9	33.1	Flat Creek - intermittent
59.4	36.2	Fretwater Falls
54.0	41.6	Rock Creek (OK)
51.4	44.2	Snap Creek?
51.2	44.4	spring up Lower Snap Canyon 
47.1	48.5	Chandler Falls
46.0	49.6	slow spring
38.8	56.8	Florence Creek
31.5	64.1	Range Creek
26.1	69.5	Coal Creek?
25.3	70.3	seeps at Poverty Rapid - chemically unpotable
18.3	77.3	Price River (muddier than Green)

    Credits:
  1. U.O.N., Olympus C-740 UltraZoom Digital Photography by William F. Smith (2.0 MP, 2048x1536, 10X optical 38-380mm)

Last Update 18-Jul-04