Desolation Dory Blog

Some serious R & D

2012-01-10T10:08:00.001-07:00

Framing hatches

2012-01-09T13:18:00.009-07:00

5/6 hatches are framed in, and 3 of them now have their coamings. I like the look of the raised hatches, a little bit old fashioned, and they are definitely drier than the flush lid hatches. And a hell of a lot less work.

I'm working with some extremely tight tolerances in the front, where the seatback comes up from the bench and ties into a big hatch for a cooler. I want to fit my 100 qt igloo marine (aka Dave and Bug's couch) into the hatch. This thing is the perfect dory cooler. It was fate that it so perfectly fit into the front hatch of the Desolation and slid so perfectly under the front bench where it helped so perfectly trim the boat. But this time it's going to take some engineering. So that is the last part to tackle before she's wired for bilges, and sealed up with the decking.

Meanwhile,
Porter in the pail.

HD Briggs progress

2011-12-12T09:51:00.007-07:00

Reluctantly, we had to pack up and leave the spacious shop where the hull was built. The boat sure looked purdy out in the sunlight.

Moved back into the tiny studio garage where I built the (much smaller) Desolation. Tight fit. The boat sits on casters and I have to push it back and forth to get from one side of the shop to the other. Making due until I find another space we can afford.

Spent a couple weeks tweaking the hatch configurations to where we like them, and they've been roughed in, waiting for finishing and final installation. Lately I've spent an obscene amount of time tinkering with a removable rear bench made of oak, on plywood stanchions which will be filleted to the hull. The bench can pop out to make room for our two dogs in the rear. I don't know if I'd want to ride in the very back. But the bench is going to look neat. Might make a drybox that could drop in as well.

Ordered the plumbing parts for the cockpit drain. For the floor drain, I couldn't find what I wanted from any marine vendors, but found this nifty bar sink strainer which should look presentable, and with a straight 2" pipe for a faster drain. Out the side through a thru hull fitting.

We are likely going to add bilge pumps to the front and rear footwells. They are pretty big buckets, and while I know the tradition is to let the passengers bail so they have something to do besides freak out, bailing can be dangerous believe it or not. I have almost fallen out of the boat trying to exuberantly bail. So I'd rather tell my passengers to hold on, high side, and stay in the boat. I'm putting a SLA battery wired to a switch in the footwell which will control both 1500 GPH pumps. Solar chargers will keep us juiced on longer trips.

Brendan

2011-05-20T09:27:00.004-06:00

For my new little nephew, Brenny.

Emergence

2011-05-20T09:04:00.005-06:00

I sold the Desolation to pay the gas bill a while back, so Ky and I are excited to be building a bigger, badder Briggs for the Grand Canyon in 2012 and beyond, floats below Flaming Gorge, and everything in between.

I bought patterns from famed dory builder/guide/wedding singer Andy Hutchinson in CO. The design is a pretty standard Briggs Grand Canyon Dory with transom, 16'9 centerline, 48" wide bottom, 75" beam. 1/4" Hydrotek sides w/ 9oz glass sheath, decking and bullkheads with 4oz glass, and 1" Plascore honeycomb bottom reinforced with 12oz biaxial glass inside and out, 9oz E glass, with additional 9oz biaxial kevlar outide. BOMBer.

I was terribly sad to see the old boat go, but it is in VERY good hands, and I hope it will still see a lot of service. I hope to see it out on the water, or upside down on a beach somewhere, someday.

###

Grand Canyon 2010

2010-04-20T21:17:00.012-06:00

Photos © Kylan Frye and Jeremy Christensen

Messing About in Boats

2010-03-24T06:18:00.012-06:00

"Simply messing about in boats -- or with boats... In or out of 'em it doesn't matter. Nothing seems to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not.

Look here! If you've really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together and have a long day of it?"

- from Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

This oft-quoted ode to boats pretty much sums up my life for the past and future 3 weeks. Messing about in boats. For almost a month now I have been putzing around the garage, busy doing nothing in particular, mostly trying to keep my mind busy so I don't just fixate on the three weeks now to come. Finally it's time for the fun part, 3 weeks of solace and utter contentment, as close to perfection as it gets.

This is my third opportunity to float the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, and in this case, the third time is definitely the charm. Ky (Veteran of such exciting river adventures as "High Water Yampa" and "Deso Junkshow") is coming with me on this one -- her first trip down the Grand -- and we're taking my dorky home-made boat.

Food and gear is piled to the ceiling in our living room (Everett is not amused). The boat is on the trailer, hatches battened down. All we have to do now is load the trucks on Friday and drive 7 hrs south to Lees Ferry, the terminus of Glen Canyon, and the beginning of Marble & Grand Canyons. Downstream lies 280 miles of bliss. Look for me in three weeks, I'll be the puffy, tanned, hairy, stinky one.

Fly Fishing the Green River

2010-03-20T11:49:00.005-06:00

Here's the multimedia that Brett Prettyman and his crew put together with the footage from our Green River float a couple weeks ago. Good stuff!

Also check out the accompanying print story at the Salt Lake Tribune online: http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors/ci_14702555

Deso Dory Featured In The Salt Lake Tribune Online

2010-03-08T17:18:00.005-07:00

Photo © Francisco Kjolseth/Salt Lake Tribune

The trip to the Green was a hoot, even though Rich and I got skunked. We fished Little Hole for a couple hours on Tues afternoon, and both missed a fish or two on dries and streamers. On Wed we hooked up with Brett Prettyman from the Salt Lake Tribune, his photographer Francisco Kjolseth, and Reed Sherman, a videographer for the Utah Division of Wildlife. The three of them were gathering video, stills and interviews for a couple stories on fishing and floating the Green River. Rich and I practiced our shadow casting, while their crew teamed up with Darren and Brad, top hands from Western Rivers Flyfisher. Let's just say they had no problem picking up a few fish on midges and on streamers. Rich and I struggled all day, missing a couple fish but never managing to put one in the boat.

I am eager to see what Brett, Fran and Reed are able to come up with; they shot thousands of photos and took a bunch of video, as well as interviewing myself and the guides. Look for the stories in the Trib in the next few weeks, but for now Brett has posted a little sumthin on his blog:

Fishing Utah Blog - Salt Lake Tribune

Green Means Go

2010-03-01T06:39:00.005-07:00

The Green River below Flaming Gorge is one of those special places that I get really excited about, especially this time of the year. The first time I floated Red Canyon I felt like I had won the lottery. I had just gotten back from a summer in Alaska, a trip that got me reinvigorated (to say the least) about fly fishing, when I was first invited to float the A & B sections with a work friend in his home built wooden dory. This is the same friend and the same dory that inspired me to dive in and build my own. I still get that same feeling there.

The earliest boatmen in the canyon sought knowledge of what lay just over the horizon line, and characters like J.W. Powell, the Kolb Bros. and Buzz Holmstrom left their mark here in wooden boats of various design. Even before them the natives traveled the river in 'bull boats', a round predecessor to the skin-on-frame kayak.

When the BOR built Flaming Gorge dam, they forever changed the river downstream. The river that once flowed warm and silty now flows cold and gin clear, it's flows fluctuating wildly like the tides. Suckers, chubs and squawfish have been replaced by brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout, and where natives and interlopers once eked out a living hunting and trapping, and outlaws came to hide from the law of the approaching fronteir, scruffy guides and wannabes now try to eke out a living taking paid clients through the canyon for a shot at catching the brilliantly colored fish that now thrive here.

Wooden boats had all but vanished from this river and many others, replaced by far more practical rubber, plastic, fiberglass and aluminum ones. But it seems now there is a resurgence in interest in wooden boats, and not just for a sense of nostalgia or aesthetics, though both of these certainly play a part. I would like to think that some people are starting to realize that cheap plastic crap isn't all that great afterall. Wooden boats are light, strong and beautiful, and with some care will last a lifetime. And you can build one yourself in your garage.

Stream Access Bill Fails

2010-02-23T16:37:00.003-07:00

The Utah Legislature failed to pass HB 80, and left the door open on HB 141 which would restrict public access and overturn the Conaster Supreme Court ruling. It's an unfortunate loss for anglers, and If I hadn't already lost all faith in politics, I'm sure I'd be upset.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14450751

Upgrades

2010-02-04T10:28:00.006-07:00

The boat has been in the shop for some upgrades, getting outfitted for the Grand Canyon (aka little dorky) expedition coming up in a little over a month.

On the bottom,
- 9oz biaxial kevlar in the impact zone (2' in from the stem/transom)
- 9oz biaxial fiberglass
-12 oz biaxial tape at the chine
-new epoxy/graphite finish,

and in the front seat, a 360 gph bilge, powered by an 8 amp battery mounted inside, with a switch in the cockpit. This will free up Ky to highside like a monkey on crack.

Even added some new artwork -

The ejector seat is going in next...

We launch March 28th, taking out (hopefully) at the new Pearce Ferry road 20 days later. There will be three other wooden boats on our trip, including Kyle Frye's recreation of the Susio Too (later renamed Music Temple), the first traditional Oregon drift boat to travel the Grand Canyon. I can't say how excited I am to watch the Navajo Bridges pass overhead again and descend into the heart of the Grand Canyon for another 3 weeks of bliss.

Water Access Rally at the Utah State Capitol

2010-01-27T09:27:00.003-07:00

There has been a lot of noise surrounding the water access issue here in Utah. Representative Fowlke has introduced HB 80 which seems to be a workable compromise for the majority of stakeholders, and I would encourage recreational water users to show their support for this bill.

Utah Water Guardians are hosting a rally in support of HB 80 at the State Capitol Friday, February 5, 2010 at 11:30am on the south steps of the Capitol Bldg.

We've come a long way since last year's defeat of HB 187, but passing positive legislation is always harder than defeating bad legislation. The Farm Bureau and private landowners are going to be lobbying hard against this. Fishermen, hunters, boaters and other recreational water users need to make their voices heard, and a strong turnout to the rally would be a big step.

Thanksgiving on the Colorado II

2009-12-25T20:50:00.005-07:00

Gotta love the shoulder seasons. Great little float down Horsethief and Ruby with Ray & Nan, Ken, Alex, Franklin and Ky. Everett dog was along to supervise. Hardly saw a soul. Photos (C) Jeremy Christensen & Ky Frye.

Hear that lonesome train.....

Ray Rupert Rally, "Hoop Dreams"

Willie Nelson live from Maui via sattelite

Rooster Cogburn

Ky exhibits her complete mastery of cold weather layering

Let's all feel bad for Everett

Dinosaur NM Update

2009-11-19T12:55:00.005-07:00

Dinosaur National Monument river update from Herm Hoops.

Here are some things at Dinosaur National Monument you might be interested in:

There is a new phone system for the river office. A menu will allow you to find river flows, road conditions, water availability (echo Park, Lodore, Lily Park, etc) and other information. 1 (866) 825-2995. In addition you can email questions to the river office, get the information from a link at the Dinosaur National Monument web site.

The fire blanket regs for 2010 will be a fire blanket of appropriate size is required.

The Lodore and Deerlodge boat ramps have been improved significantly. (Remember to use boat ramp courtesy and not block the ramps for lengthy periods.) The structures in Jones Hole (outhouse, store shed, and old ranger cabin) have been removed.

There was a fatality at Triplet (bottom rocks) in 2009 on a private river trip at 2000cfs.

Shell Oil has been buying Yampa Junior water rights. The Yampa still has significant Junior Rights appropriations that are unused. The Shell project is around 375 cfs for 45,000 acre feet reservoir. It will come from a pump station on the river 7 miles west of Maybell, CO and use an existing pipeline to a reservoir, then via Cedar Wash (via Co road #23) in another existing pipeline to the White River and the Piceance Basin where the oil shale project is. Much of the reservoirs are on private lands, but the project will cross BLM land; thus issues like NEPA, endangered species, Wild & Scenic Rivers and other federal issues will have to be studied. The NPS feels that it can’t stop the project because of a previous filing on water for recreational boating that was rejected by the Colorado Water Court. However my feeling is that enough case law exists to contest the District Court (remanded the case back to the State of Colorado) decision and appeal on recreational and a variety of other needs (endangered species for example). Dinosaur and the Water Rights folks plan to re-apply for water rights. Steamboat Springs has applied for water rights based on recreational boating. Stay tuned.

The Million Project proposes to take 250,000 acre feet from Flaming Gorge and pipe it via I*) to the Colorado Front Range and as far south as Castle Rock (a new reservoir is already being built near there!). In 2007 the Bureau of Reclamation found there is 155,000 acre feet that can be withdrawn. At present Colorado is doing a statewide survey to determine the availability of water. The Million Project is, at present, poorly thought out with a plethora of holes in it. The Department of Interior Agencies involved, at present, are united against the project. There is boisterous opposition from Uintah County and some near-by downstream users... but Utah is reticent to oppose because of the St. George project to withdraw water for its golf courses from the Colorado River.

Besides the Yampa there is still unappropriated water on the White, lower Green and Colorado Rivers. There is a large irrigation withdrawl on Hastings Road (to Swayseys) in Green River. Some think the large pump stations there are a precursor to the proposed nuclear power plant in Green River.

Oddly enough in all of this the BIG downstream Senior and Junior users (California) has been suspiciously silent!!!

Issues involving oil and gas development will, under present BLM leases and requirements affect the air quality of Dinosaur NM as well as the Uintah Basin (You want to hear people scream - just wait until the Utards have to get their vehicles emission inspected!). Last year in downtown Vernal there was an Ozone alert... and Ozone and particulate from drilling, the new burgeoning network of roads and other O&G development are the culprit. The dust from as far away as Nine Mile Canyon apparently has a significant affect upon Dinosaur.

Dinosaur NM received 14 million from the Federal Stimulus Program, 13.1 million goes toward the new Quarry Visitor center(s) which should be in place in about 2 years. In the meantime the old Wilkins Store at the Monument Boundary has been donated to the Natural history Association and it will be operated as an interim VC during demolition and construction.

The Weed Removal program has completed tamarisk removal at all river camps and the Weed Warriors are working on removal at lunch stops in Whirlpool and Split Mountain lunch beaches. The tamarisk eating beetles have been very successful at defoliation and stressing the plants in the river corridors. They are most likely to be observed at the head of Whirlpool Canyon around the Mitten Park Fault. Several studies related to the beetles are being conducted, including one on the breeding bird populations.

Because of the opportunity, climate and flow changes the tamarisk is being replaced by willow thickets. It’s a problem as the NPS has no plans to remove them, and they are especially prevalent along some Yampa camps. Almost all Russian olives have been removed from along the river corridors.Colorado Pikeminnow populations are increasing slightly, but Humpback Chub populations in the Monument are declining. Some Chubs were taken to 2 USF&WS hatcheries (to keep genetics separate) and Bonytail Chubs were returned to the river. The USF&WS is releasing larger fish (7-14") to decrease the chances of being taken by non-native fish. There was a small local decline in peregrine populations this past year, probably due to weather fronts moving in at the wrong time. Mature bighorn ewes are declining and there is some worry about the future of breeding ewe availability. The NPS, USF&WS and states are studying and monitoring all of the above.

Whew that was a lot, but hope its been helpful to you.

Herm

Stream Access, cont.

2009-11-17T14:08:00.013-07:00

Don't be this guy...fight for you rights.

On July 18, 2008 in the case of Conaster vs. Johnson the Utah Supreme Court ruled unanimously to uphold the public's right to use and recreate on waters that the public owns. The court concluded "we hold that the scope of the easement provides the public the right to float, hunt, fish, and participate in all lawful activities that utilize the water. We further hold that the public has the right to touch privately owned beds of state waters in ways incidentally to all recreational rights provided for in the easement, so long as they do reasonably and cause no unnecessary injury to the landowner”. Read: Conatser vs Johnson –>http://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/Conatser071808.pdf. The Conaster Decision was vigorously challenged in the Utah Legislature in the spring of 2009. A final version of the bill was tabled in the waning minutes of the session.

Stakeholders in Utah's stream access debate are gearing up for the 2010 Utah Legislative Session, when questions of public easements to Utah's waterways will once again be addressed. Anglers, river enthusiasts, real estate interests, conservation groups, private property advocates, farm groups and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources are all posturing for a place at the table in the debate over stream access in Utah.

Utah Water Guardians provides updates from Capitol Hill, and a current version of the bill is available for download on their website: http://utahwaterguardians.org/.

(Photo Ky Frye)

In Honor of Our Veterans

2009-11-11T11:42:00.002-07:00

Why is it so often that our most marginalized citizens are first in line to defend our country? What does this say about the enduring strength of the American Dream? Here's to our Veterans, whomever they are, but especially those who have known less of the freedom and prosperity than many of us enjoy.

Today in History

2009-11-10T16:04:00.004-07:00

And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered.

Salmon River Steelhead Oct 09

2009-10-26T15:03:00.006-06:00

Another beautiful week on the Salmon swinging flies. Record numbers of steelhead passed over Bonneville Dam this summer and fall on their way to rivers up and down the Columbia and Snake, coming as far inland as the middle of Idaho. The Salmon seemed to have good numbers of fish moving through, and we managed to hook 9 or 10, landing 6 including a nice wild fish. It is a privilege to cradle such a vibrant living thing, and while the numbers of fish this year are encouraging, imagine what could happen if we, say, demolished the lower Snake River dams?

Deso Sept 09

2009-10-26T14:19:00.009-06:00

What an amazing, mellow, stress free trip, though Dave & Bugs frame may beg to differ.....Photos (C) Jeremy Christensen, Ky Frye & Dave Inskeep

Deso: Day Negative One

2009-09-12T16:59:00.005-06:00

It's been so long since I've done a real river trip, I feel, I'm ashamed to say, a bit out of practice. I am finding myself actually having to think about what I need to bring, as opposed to having it already packed in my car from the last trip as things were the last couple years. But tomorrow we arrive at Sand Wash for 7 days in Desolation and Gray Canyons, and I'm so excited I think I just peed a little bit.

Last few months have been busy with work, and preparing to (FINALLY) move into our permanent Salt Lake residence (only 5 months after getting back) but it's looking promising - the finishing touches should be completed by the time we get back from this trip, and we'll be ready to move in. Ky and I still haven't even unpacked from North Carolina, so the move should be relatively painless.

I have been trying to find the time and money to put the Plascore shoe on the dory, but haven't yet managed to, so that is still a work in progress. She won't be coming on this trip, 2400 cfs is a bit below my threshold for the wood boat on Deso, so Grey Boy, my 16' Achilles bucket gets the nod this time, fresh off a trip down the Middle Fork Salmon with Rupert "Ray Ray" James III. Hoping 7 days on the water will give me the time to find and fix the slow leak in the starboard chamber.

We were also planning to bring Everett (furry buddy) but he somehow got injured in the last couple weeks and has been slow to recover. Had us scared for a couple days, obviously in pain but not emanating from any discernable location on his body. Thankfully I can report he is on his way to a full recovery, but unfortunately for all involved he will have to sit this one out as well.

Pics and trip report to follow.....happy trails.

Flotsam

2009-06-19T13:18:00.002-06:00

Managed to sneak away for a couple floats these last few weeks, getting out on the Moab (Colorado River) and Green River dailies. I wasn't able to use my Desolation Canyon permit over Memorial Day because of work but managed to transfer it to some friends who were able to put a trip together for the high water. I surprised them by driving down to Green River the day they were supposed to take out, and posting up at Nefertiti until they floated past, joining them for the last few miles of river and a beer & burger at Rays. It seems really strange not being on the river more this spring but damned responsibilities keep popping up, and the economy and Ky & my lack of permenant jobs have put a damper on our free wheeling ways for now. But we're planning for a fall Deso trip, followed by some time on the Salmon in Oct. for Steelhead fishing, and another Grand Canyon trip (Ky's 1st!!) next Spring.

Thieves In The Night

2009-06-07T13:54:00.006-06:00

I did something dumb the other night and paid for it. I left my camera in my truck overnight and it was stolen. A Pentax DSLR body, 3 lenses, half a dozen filters, and several memory cards tragically full of pictures from the last several months. The camera can be replaced, but unfortunately the pictures are gone.

In other news, I am slowly moving towards shoeing the dory with 3/4" plascore. This will (I hope) give me a worry free bottom that will withstand the occasional rock hit without requiring an immediate repair.

When I built my boat, I didn't know any better and used 3/8" Okoume for the bottom. This would be fine if I was the type of person that only floated calm water or just didn't hit rocks. But I am neither of these and my boat has taken some hits requiring on-stream repairs. Not to keep the boat from sinking, but to prevent water penetration into the wood. Knowing what I know now, I would have used 1/2" fir or another longer grained wood rather than Okoume, or more likely I would have used plascore. It's light, and it's impervious to water damage. So even if you put a gash all the way through the bottom (unlikely) you can just put some gorilla tape over it and call it good until you get home, then take the time to make a permanent repair, instead of wasting time with rough repairs on the river which only have to been removed and replaced once you get back home.

This raises one of the issues I have with commercially built dories and drift boats. Everybody wants to be able to say they build an "indestructable" boat but we've all seen that no matter what material or process you use to build a boat, it is no match for the power of the river should the river decide to show you. I am much more interested in having a boat that is reasonably impervious to the occasionally rock hit, while being as easy as possible to fix in the event of something more significant. Which is why I like plywood, plascore, fiberglass and epoxy. And when the most suitable building materials are also the most attractive, why would you want anything else?

So Larry helped me join a couple pieces of 3/4" plascore to get the length I need, now I just need to order some biaxial glass and I will be ready to do the layup.

I thought about vacuum bags and other elaborate systems, but decided to go the simpler route, relying on the chemical bonding properties of the epoxy to do the work for me. Once epoxy cures fully, new epoxy added will not chemically bond to the old epoxy, making it necessary to scarify the surface to allow a physical bond. So for the new shoe, after the first layer of the layup, everything else will be done in one big push in order to chemically bond the subsequent layers.

I have sanded the bottom of the boat with 80 & 120 grit. Next I'll lay down a layer of biaxial glass fabric using a slow cure epoxy mix, allow it to begin to kick, then lay down the plascore sheet and evenly weight the sheet down with sandbags, bags of pottting soil, etc. (which I'm hoping will more evenly distribute the pressure than hard sided weights) and allow to set up for 24 hrs. Then pack the open cell edges of the plascore with thickened epoxy, and finish with another layer or 2 of biaxial glass over the top, overlapping several layers of biaxial tape at the chine.

Home Sweet Home

2009-04-14T17:22:00.002-06:00

Managed to escape the southeast, no worse for wear, and have landed back in Salt Lake City to start a new job with the Utah Division of Wildlife, and pick up where I left off building boats, floating rivers, and catching fish. Went down to the workshop today to check up on Larry and see how his new 16 footer is coming along, and it is awesome. It's a one-off design, with a plascore bottom and is going to make on hell of a fishing boat. Can't wait to get it out on the crystal waters of the Green. We are also scheming on a few new projects, including a pram, a jet sled/power drifter, and an all-plascore whitewater dory. I am thrilled to be back on the right (as in correct) side of the continental divide, and excited to dive back into building and rowing boats. I am hoping to start posting on here a lot more frequently, so check back often.....and I am thrilled to have heard from a lot of people interested in wooden boats who have come across this page from one source or another, so feel free to drop me a line - I am always happy to talk boats and floats.

Fish Will Be Jumping Into This One

2009-03-08T20:18:00.005-06:00

Progress report from Larry - bottom is on, and looking mighty fine. This is a one-off design based on some design principals he and I settled on after many hours in the shop and on the phone, and hundreds of emails back and forth about what would make the perfect dory for fly fishing. This one is long, wide, and carries it's width further back into the tail than either of our current boats, accommodating a rear passenger/angler.

Utah Legislature Upholds River Access

2009-03-03T16:45:00.003-07:00

In an admittedly surprising turn of events, the Utah Legislature today voted down a bill which would have severely limited public access to Utah's waterways. This is great news to anyone who cares about Utah's rivers and streams.

If you were not familiar with HB 187, it’s a piece of legislation in response to last years Supreme Court ruling that gave anglers access to virtually all bodies of moving water in the state. This Bill, would have negated the ruling and more critically removed waters that generations have had the opportunity to fish.

Today's positive outcome is due in no small part to the tireless organizing efforts of anglers, boaters, business owners and many others who spread the word about this ill conceived bill, and brought others into the fray to make calls to their representatives and to the Governor. Your voice was heard by the right people, and the bill was shot down.

From one river rat to many, many more - my sincerest thank you to everyone who got involved.

Taking Shape

2009-02-28T12:25:00.003-07:00

Strong work Larry. Starting to look like a boat.

New Beginnings

2009-01-28T06:45:00.002-07:00

Spring is slowly coming to the southeast.

Ok, I am lying. It is cold and rainy today, and it's still January.

But it is a time of new beginnings. I have been on this little experiment in the southeast since August and while there's been some fun times and superb experiences, I am excited that in 3 months I will be coming home to the west. Ky and I are both looking for jobs (anyone out there hiring?) and hoping to land in Utah. But wherever we land it will be adjacent to or west of the Continental Divide.

Larry and I finally have a shop up and running (well, Larry has it running) in Salt Lake, and a new boat is now underway. I can't wait to get my hands dirty again.

Lake Erie Steelhead - 12/08

2009-01-09T19:17:00.015-07:00

Home for the holidays found Ky and I at her parents' house on Lake Erie. After waiting out sub zero temps, freezing rain and snow, and blown out rivers painfully slow to clear, we managed to duck out and find some solitude on one of the lakes beautiful tributary streams for a few hours chasing steelhead.

Ky got right down to buisness and put the wood to a couple spectatular fish, the first releasing itself at arms length after a long battle. The second - this beautiful bright hen - was brought to hand after another lengthy fight.

I farmed a big buck myself, spectacularly striped and definitely larger than the fish I ended up bringing to hand - a big healthy buck.

I was hoping to find some of the larger tributaries in shape so I could swing flies with the long rod, but conditions never cooperated. So we ended up embracing the local methods, employing a dead drift nymph to catch these migratory fish in one of the lake's more intimate tributaries.

These lake-run rainbow trout were introduced to the great lakes decades ago, and their numbers are heavily dependent on stocking by the Ohio and Pennsylvania fish and wildlife programs. Descendants of ocean going Steelhead originally imported from the west coast, these fish have become naturalized to the great lakes ecosystems and provide a great sport fishery with huge numbers of 10-20 lb fish caught each year in the fall-spring.

Thanks to Ky for these beautiful pics! Sorry mine were a bit out of focus.

Salmon River Steelhead - 10/08

2008-10-25T18:11:00.019-06:00

Pacific steelhead and salmon are in a crisis - not because we do not understand the causes for their declines. Instead, we know perfectly well what needs to be done but have insisted on following management practices that we know are harmful: excessive harvest, inadequate escapements, hatchery introductions, land use practices that are both unsustainable and detrimental to steelhead, and so on. We have further compounded the crisis by focusing our money and efforts on the stocks that are at the highest risk, while largely ignoring other stocks less at risk, all the while continuing to apply management regimes known to be harmful.

In my angling lifetime, we have learned how to effectively fish for steelhead during winter, spring, summer and fall. During that same angling lifetime, we have also greatly diminished our angling opportunity. Preserving that opportunity means rescuing whats left of wild runs and unbroken rivers. It will involve a colossal fight. Are we up for it?

Peter W. Soverell
Edmonds, WA
January 2006
From "A Passion for Steelhead." Dec Hogan, 2006

My own quest for steelhead began several years ago on Oregon's North Umpqua River, where my friend Ritch and I plied the swollen and off-color currents for a fish that neither of had ever seen or even knew much about. We both had come many miles in hopes of that chance encounter with this special fish, a fish that had traveled much further in its own quest. We left Oregon without even seeing much less hooking a steelhead, and this could easily have been the end. But that trip changed me. I became obsessed with steelhead: their humble beginnings in their natal rivers; their early lives as resident trout and their transformation to a brawny ocean fish; their shadowy life in the oceans, which may take them as far as Japan and Russia; and most of all, their incredible spawning escapement to the rivers and streams of their birth.
I've spent the years last few years seeking out and absorbing everything I could about steelhead, their life, their range, their rivers, and their habits, and the tackle and techniques used in catching them. Trips followed to more rivers - The Deschutes, the John Day, the Grande Ronde. And I quickly became entranced not only by this incredible fish, but by the places it inhabited. Still, I continued to come back empty handed. Sure, I wanted to catch a steelhead, but the catching is a lot more than a chance at a free meal, more like a chance at a brief interaction with one of the most powerful life forces on the planet, a creature that would otherwise slip by unnoticed and unknown in the currents.

Luckily I had some incredible resources at my disposal. Local steelhead fanatics like Steve Schmidt and his crew at Western Rivers Flyfisher in Salt Lake filled my head with stories of fishing the great rivers: The Skeena and it's tributaries, The Dean, The Salmon and Clearwater, and others. They introduced me to Dec Hogan, fabled northwest steelhead guru and now a Salt Lake local, who shared with us his love for this fish, the rivers they inhabit, and the beautiful, traditional flies that transfix the steelhead, and us. Steve and his crew also sold me my first Spey rod, a 14' for 8 wt rod, and held my hand while I struggled to learn to cast it. All the while, I felt I was gaining the understanding and outlook I had lacked in my previous outings, which would make that first steelhead that much more special. And I was right.

So, just as I have for the last several years when the leaves begin to change in the fall, I packed my bags and headed for steelhead country. This time, to Idaho's Salmon River near the town of North Fork, only 6 hrs from Salt Lake. And again I was accompanied by my friend Ritchy who had been there at the beginning. Steelhead fishing, especially with a fly rod, is not for everyone. Long hours, days, years in the water withoug hooking a fish can turn off even the most dedicated angler. But Ritchy, like myself, is always just happy to be out on the water. Catching a steelhead would be merely the icing. Just knowing they were there was enough to justify the price of admission.

On our first day on the water, Ritch and I both achieved something that had eluded us in all previous outings for steelhead. We had steelhead rolling on and biting at our flies. In the first run I fished on the Salmon, on probably the 10th cast, I rolled a steelhead near the surface on a green butt spey fly I had tied for the trip. From then on, I was fishing with a new found determination. I tried to make every cast, every mend, every motion count. And we continued to get enough action to keep us on the edges of our seats. We fished floating lines with surface and subsurface flies for the first four days on the river, and we continued to move fish. But still no hookups save a pair of beautiful Bull Trout I hand landed in the first couple days. Of course, I had already been more successful in these four days than in my previous three years of steelhead fishing. I was ecstatic! And yet, I knew that I could hook a fish, and I was determined to do so.

The nights got progressively colder as we camped on the banks of the Salmon, and the water temps began to drop. The river was still within ideal temps for fishing floating lines and unweighted flies, but I couldn't help but think that switching to sinking lines and deep swimming flies might improve our chances of actually hooking a fish. So, on our last day on the Salmon, Ritchy and I switched over to sink tips and I tied on an Ed Ward-inspired green and black Intruder.

We had fished a run the day before that just screamed steelhead. I had moved at least one fish as I swung flies through the run. As we rested at the bottom of the run after fishing through, another pair of anglers moved into the top of the run and one of them proceeded to hook and land a large hatchery steelhead, which was unceremoniously thrown up on the bank, no doubt destined for the smoker. I was a little put off because we were about to fish back through the run, and I was convinced one of us would have hooked that fish, but we moved on knowing that we had found a run that definitely held fish.

So we returned to that run on our last day on the river, and as I followed Ritchy through the run, it all came together. My fly suddenly stopped mid-swing, and my fly line came alive with a bolt of electricity. I slowly dropped the loop of flyline I held in my hand, and the line came taut to a fish. I knew right away that this was not a Bull Trout. I had hooked my first steelhead. I calmly muttered "fish on" and Ritchy turned around to see my fly rod bent and pulsing. He scrambled down to the boat to grab the camera as I suppressed my urges to start doing back flips. I still had to land the fish, after all.

The real McCoy - a glorious wild Salmon River steelhead. This is what we must save.

"To hold and cradle a living, breathing animal so vibrant and alive is both an honor and a privilege never to be taken for granted." Dec Hogan, A Passion For Steelhead

"Even the small ones are larger than life." Dec Hogan, A Passion for Steelhead

At long last I got my first glimpse of a steelhead in the water, and instantly my eyes were drawn to a distinguishing feature - the intact adipose fin, indicating that this fish was of wild origin, a native fish. I was literally brought to my knees. With her tail in my hand, the barbless fly dropped easily from the corner of her mouth. And as quickly as it had begun, the encounter ended with the fish being released back into the currents, to continue on in it's epic journey, hopefully to find a mate and produce a new generation.

A reverent silence quickly gave way to whoops and high fives. Smiling from ear to ear, I collapsed onto the bank to savor the experience. All roads had lead to this run, this fish. I was overwhelmed. Putting together and executing a plan, and hooking a fish on the last day of the trip was like a fairy tale. And what more, a wild fish. One of only a handful that had made the journey all those thousands of miles, past countless obstacles, dams, and other fishermen.

What seemed like an unreal day only got more sublime as Ritchy, with dark falling on our final day on the river, hooked a fish as well. With our boat beached at the takeout and darkness quickly setting in, I heard Ritchy utter my name from behind me in the run. I turned to see his rod bent and pulsing. I couldn't believe my eyes. This time, I ran down the bank to grab the camera, and returned to see Ritchy's line still tight to the fish, which with some coaxing finally came to hand. I snapped a few pictures in the falling light, and we shared looks of utter disbelief. The fish was of hatchery origin, it's adipose fin clipped before releasing. But the fish was no less beautiful. We were free to keep her, but the thought of killing his first fly-caught steelhead was out of the question for Ritchy, and I shared his sentiment. The fish was released back to the currents.

Some might view fly fishing for steelhead as a selfish persuit, but I truly believe that in order to save these fish, we must continue to interact with them, and continue to allow ourselves to fall under their spell. If no one fished for steelhead or salmon, we could easily wipe out their remaining stocks without thinking twice. Instead, it is the anglers who spend their days on the rivers persuing them, and their nights dreaming about that next chance encounter, that will make ir break the future of these species. It's up to us to ensure that our future includes wild runs of steelhead and salmon, not only for the sanity of people like me, but for the health of our planet. I can't help but wonder, as Mr. Soverell penned in the afterword to Dec Hogan's beautiful book "A Passion for Steelhead," if we are up for it? I hope so.

Highlands

2008-10-13T17:47:00.008-06:00

Fall in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Highlands, North Carolina.

S. Holston River, Tennessee

2008-09-27T20:01:00.003-06:00

A lovely southern tailwater, with prolific sulfur hatches and lots of healthy, wild brown trout. The river has the character of a spring creek, with slow moving, gin clear water and big educated fish. A week before I got there, a fisherman and his guide landed an 8 lb. brown on a size 26 midge, using 7x fluorocarbon tippet matterial. I didn't manage anything approaching 8 lbs. but did manage to hook several nice browns on dry flys (using mono) in a nice setting.

The river is nestled in the Smoky Mountains, and the day I fished they were capped by low hanging clouds and mist, creating a magical atmosphere that transported me in my mind to more familiar western trout rivers, like the Green on a rainy fall day. And rain it did, but like the blue wings back home, the sulfurs seemed to be encouraged by the blustry weather. The trout didn't seem to mind either, as they greedily fed on emergers and duns for 2 hrs as the rain came down. In between the gusts of wind, I was able to hook several fish on size 16-18 comparaduns and size 22 befus emergers. It was a really nice day on the water, for Everett and myself.

Durham

2008-08-27T10:42:00.003-06:00

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Erie

2008-08-19T10:31:00.004-06:00

Four leggers.

Sunset from the deck of Ky's parents place on Lake Erie; Cleveland, OH.

Wagons East!

2008-08-18T20:45:00.004-06:00

I am, unequivocally, a "western" kid. I say this because I was born, raised, and until recently, resided in the "west." That is, the western United States (of America), and specifically the state of Utah. (Utah is a terrible place - don't ever go there. Especially the rivers. They are dorky.)

But now the time has come to cast off the bowline and begin the next great adventure in my life: a year-long wilderness experience, in the most terrifying wilderness I can fathom -

the "east."

Actually, I couldn't be more excited. My better 2/3rds is gearing up to finish her Masters degree at Duke University in Durham, so we are off to explore new rivers and lakes, new forests, new mountains, new cities and new people, new food and new experiences.

You won't see many desert trip reports for a while, or many dory shots. But if you check back now and then you will see a glimpse into the world of a "western" kid pointing the wagon east.

Happy trails to you.

Hermit

2008-08-15T21:19:00.013-06:00

When we got to Granite Falls, the water was high (17K?) and the right side run just looked unreasonable. The first couple waves at the top fed this big, nasty hole and being late in the day, we decided to stop and drink the hole away.

We ran Granite the next morning on lower (but rising) water, and the run was textbook for everyone. Seriously steep and deep!

When we got to Hermit, the water was back up (15-17k?) and the waves were going off. I figured a huge chance of a flip, so I decided to try and cheat the left side with Whit in my boat. Larry and Iris were going down the middle. Ray, Bug, Mikey and Dave would watch, shoot pictures, and decide which way they wanted to go after seeing how we fared.

Larry and Iris had a great run down the gut, with Iris at the oars.

Larry and Iris between waves 4 and 5. Ray Bloxham photos.

My run was a little more interesting. I pushed hard from right to left over the tongue and firmly into the left side.

Kept pushing...

and a big lateral wave from the left side pushed me right into the middle of the tongue.

So I went with it, and ended up having a big, fun run.

Whitney getting a front tube to the face in the 5th Wave. Ouch! Sorry Whit.

Taking some heavy tailwaves.

Grand Canyon 2008: Lees Ferry to South Cove

2008-08-12T17:14:00.019-06:00

Little Dorky

2008-06-26T14:10:00.007-06:00

A little more than a week from now, with thanks to my good buddy Dave, I'll be at Lee's Ferry getting ready to push off into the Colorado to float 297 unbelievable miles of river with 7 friends, taking 21 days.

Dave's dory "Hellgrammite" will ride again, after a flawless on-sight run last year. I'll be rowing the gear barge - my 16' Achilles HD bucket boat, with the help of Ginger the Kid. Larry will split duty with Iris rowing brother Al's NRS cataraft, and Bug will be rowing Blue Boy. Whitney and Dave's pop are also along. A fine crew, almost everyone an experienced boatman.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

Big Water Rescue w/ Carbon Rec

2008-06-09T18:13:00.006-06:00

Had a fun weekend of flipping boats, swimming rapids, righting boats, rescuing swimmers, learning knots, setting up z drags, and gaining valuable in-stream experience with situations I hope to never, or at least rarely, encounter on the river. The class emphasized big water situations typical of the rivers we run around here, as opposed to swiftwater techniques which rely heavily on shore safety, etc. The Green River provided the perfect big water classroom, humming along at 26000 cfs as we ran our scenarios.

The class was organized by Steve Christensen at Carbon Rec in Price, and taught by his son Bo. I would highly recommend it to anyone spending time on the rivers. Check out Carbon Rec for more information on upcoming workshops and other programs.

Photo Copyright Steve Christensen.

The wild and free flowing Yampa

2008-06-02T22:05:00.034-06:00

Following Photos copyright Ray Bloxham.

The YAMPA is WILD!!

2008-06-02T21:58:00.004-06:00

Yampa/Green Rivers
5/25-29/2008

Deerlodge Park, CO to Split Mtn Takeout, UT

12-17,000 cfs

Jeremy Christensen, Kylan Frye, Larry Hedrick, Paul Leo, Dave Inskeep, Bug Inskeep, Scott Olsen, Cory Weir, Dan Lustig, Ron Weigel, Jeff Peak, Brad Weaver, Ryan Weaver, Karen Webster, Ryan Pearl, Cory Hart, Ray Bloxham, Bob Mitchell, Scott Braden, Franklin Seal, Krissie Killoy, Josie Byer, Allen Inskeep.

“Day Zero”

As memorial day weekend approached, hot weather in the headwaters was pushing the flows on the Yampa up and up, bringing it terrifyingly close to its all time peak of nearly 28,000 cfs recorded in 1984. When I left Salt Lake, the flow had peaked at close to 25,000.

We stopped into River Runner Transport in Vernal to talk with Melanie about our shuttle. She told us that two of her trips in the last 2 days had backed out when they got to Deerlodge. Commercial guides had been into her store looking visibly worried, buying up her steel carabiners and rescue equipment.

Seeing the Yampa swollen beyond its banks when we reached Deerlodge Pk. on the 24th was incredible. The campsites and the boat launch were under 2 ft of water. Seeing the river flowing around old growth cottonwood trees and through the picnic tables of the camps was truly humbling. We gathered in the parking strip along the road and ate pasta with beef bourguignon, drank beer and rum and fell asleep with the big water weighing heavy on our minds.

There was a point where the thought of bailing on the trip was very real. But we trusted the hydrographs and predictions we had from NOAA that the river would drop over the next couple days, and decided to chance it. It was the right decision. I would have regretted bailing on this trip for the rest of my life.

“Teepee” (Day 1)

The next morning, the Yampa had regained its banks. The flow had dropped to 17,000 overnight. I had planed to try and be on the river by 10 to make our 22 miles to Big Joe, but the other group launching that day had monopolized the boat ramp; so we leisurely rigged and waited our turn. They finally departed; we put the dories in the water, had our safety talk, and pushed off into the current. It was incredible to be moving that fast on the river – probably 7 mph the first day. In no time we were out of Deerlodge and into the canyon.

The first 22 miles of river was a nearly continuous class II wave train. A couple named rapids were nowhere to be seen, and dozens more materialized.

Our first bit of excitement occurred at Teepee rapid, which at normal flows is supposedly a read and run class II. At 17,000 cfs it was a stout run with a 20'+ wave hole in the left-center, bigger than almost anything I have seen before. In an instant, the wave-hole flipped Bug’s 16' Achilles, 2 boats ahead of Ky and I in the dory, end over end (the long way), ejecting she and Karen. They both swam for maybe half a mile through continuous smaller waves before being rescued.

Ray, rowing our 16’ Achilles, was lined up right behind her. He and Bob saw the flip and Bob blew his whistle - 3 sharp blasts - just as I was rounding the corner and setting up to run where they had. Seconds later he and Ray drifted into the same wave-hole and almost flipped. Ray was washed out of the boat by the wave crashing over, but he was pulled immediately back into the boat and wrestled with his loosed oar the rest of the rapid.

Hearing Bob’s whistle sent me into full alert, and I managed to make the pull to the right, avoiding the wave-hole while watching it almost flip Ray. I actually thought he had flipped until after I passed the hole, which I peered at in terror as it passed by my bow. Then I saw the boat somehow upright, and Ray back in his seat after swimming.

Allen was rowing Dave’s dory (“Hellgrammite”, a 16’ framed Tatman with a Grand Canyon interior) ended up running the hole as well. They hit it straight on and sailed over it like nothing. This to me says a lot. I think if I would have set up and ran the hole in my dory that I would have been fine as well. But glad I didn’t try it.

The swimmers were scooped up, paddles and flotsam were collected, and the flipped boat was finally wrangled, though not without nearly pulling Scott (it’s wrangler, in an 18’ self Hyside) into a nasty strainer on river left. It was a scary moment.

It was nearly 2 miles after the flip that we were all able to eddy out and gather our wits. The flipped boat was eddied and righted. The only lost gear was an 18 pk of Tecate, what we saw as a fitting sacrifice to the river, seeing that everyone was safe and uninjured. Tired, cold swimmers were put into dry clothes and given a bite to eat. With daylight slowly waning, we collected ourselves and continued downstream to our first camp at Big Joe, a gorgeous stream fan camp at the head of Big Joe rapid. Dinner was perfectly poached salmon, garlic bread, steamed asparagus, and cinnamon rolls from the dutch oven.

“You Christensen?!” (Day 2)

The next morning we all slept in. Ray and Bob made burritos. Lots of bacon which made Ky and I happy. We had only a few miles down to Mather’s Hole that day, so we took our sweet ass time rigging. Around noon, our friends from the put in showed up, somewhat put off by our presence at their day’s camp so late in the morning. Unwilling to let them dictate our schedule, we continued with our business until we were ready to leave, around 1pm. As Ky and I rode some big, pushy, fun waves down through Big Joe, their permit holder came up to Dave and a couple others at the scout.

“You Christensen?!” he cried. ”Nope, he’s downstream, purple and green dory” Dave answered. “Well, it’s a little rude for you guys to still be in camp at 1pm.” “Dude,” Dave exclaims, “we’re only going 6 miles today. No reason to be in a hurry.” The guy huffs and puffs for a minute. Turns out they were only going about 4 miles the next day. Dave asks him if he’s going to get everyone up at 6am to get on the river and make 4 miles down to Anderson (which would take about 30 minutes at these flows.) The guy thought about it for a minute, and decided that maybe sleeping in wasn’t such a bad thing.

We didn’t encounter them again until Jones Hole. The same joey and his wife were yelling at us, asking if breakfast was ready or something as we finished rigging on the beach, again around noon. Then they told us how hard it was going to be making it through the parks and Split Mtn. in the afternoon winds. Thanks mom and dad.

We had a nice mellow day on the river down to Mathers. Tricky pull in around the point of an exposed island (probably the beach at lower flows), ferrying across a swift channel against the bank. Some of us stopped on the island to bask in the sun and drink, then lined our boats around the point and up the channel a ways in order to make the ferry and have a nice spot to park. What an incredible camp, in an unspeakably beautiful part of the canyon. Ky and I made white chili with chicken, cornbread, and vanilla pound cake. Not a single crumb or drop was left.

“Warm Springs” (Day 3)

I was nervous waking up at Mathers Hole. Warm Springs was on the brain. But I was also really excited to see the Grand Overhang, and the Tiger Wall.

The Grand Overhang was hands down one of the most impressive features I have ever seen. Tiger wall was impressive as well, in a much more understated way. I feathered the dory in close so Ky could lean out and kiss its varnished face for good luck.

Spotted another dory parked at one of the camps on the river – an open, framed boat that looked like a Tatman or something. No flotation, nothing. I had nervous thoughts about that boat, which unfortunately seemed to come to fruition as that crew made it down the river. From what I’ve pieced together, I guess they ended up flipping in Warm Springs, and again in Moonshine in Split Mtn. after smashing into the rock wall. We saw them dragging the boat off the rocks a ways below Moonshine, and they caught up with us at the takeout, the dory in tow behind a raft. Smashed up bow post, cracked hull, cracked gunnels, busted up interior, and some crusty old boatmen with another story to tell.

We spent way too long scouting Warm Springs. I was terrified. The whole run reminded me of Crystal in the Grand; that maytag hole was every bit as big. It was crankin', and the must make line looked nearly impossible. What’s more, Dave convinced me I needed to go in backwards and “Powell” stroke to build up enough momentum to bust through the powerful lateral, which was guarding the right hand sneak of the massive “maytag” hole in the center of the current. Several people helped Josie portage her kayak.

I put Ky in my drysuit and helmet, went through the line again in my head, and powered the “Desolation” out into the entry. 0-60 in no time flat, and I caught some of the big upper waves. I tried to stay to the right of the initial wave train but underestimated the power of the current leading into the meat. I got slightly sideways in there before ferrying left to right, busting through the lateral a little right of where I wanted to be, and completely filling the boat with water; but that was better than being left. We pivoted around and watched the maytag hole pass by our bow. I let out a war cry and we pulled into the eddy at the Warm Springs camp.

I threw up a couple times in the eddy, juiced from adrenaline after running my first truly big water in the dory. And one by one, our boats came through right side up. All 10 of them. Everyone made the cut. No carnage at Warm Springs.

Continued down to camp at Box Elder 3 where all hell broke loose for the ABWS party. Dinner was Larry’s – we had pasta with meatballs and sausage, DO French bread, and an out of this world cobbler.

“Confluence” (Day 4)

A Sherri Griffiths group camped upstream at Box Elder 2, slightly put off I think by our late night antics, woke us up at 6:30 am with what sounded like artillery shells. Turned out to be some paco pads being slapped on the sand, echoing in the canyon. Thanks guys. Sure do appreciate it.

Rallied the troops and floated down to Echo Park. Seeing Steamboat Rock appear at the confluence was awesome. Being memorial day week, I kept looking up and imagining houseboats, waterskiers, and jetskies zooming around a couple hundred feet above my head. Incredible how close we came to losing this special place to another fucking dam. Unfortunately, Glen Canyon was the trade off.

Things are a little hazy after this point. Alive below Warm Springs, our crew delved into full on party mode. If you are (un?)lucky enough to find yourself around the campfire with some of this crew, you might hear some stories about our night at Jones Hole that will make you blush. You will probably also hear that it was one of the most fun nights of their lives.

“Conclusion?” (Day 5)

Thursday was bitter sweet. We had a nice long day of leisurely barge floating through Rainbow and Island Parks, finishing off with 7 miles of continuous class III through Split Mtn. But no one was ready to take off. We took our time leaving Jones Hole, tied the boats together, and napped, ate, drank, and smoked our way through the long flatwater sections. This was nice, I love long river days of which we had very few on this trip.

We approached Moonshine Rapid, the first of several in Split Mtn, with some trepidation having heard that in the higher flows that had proceeded us, it had been pretty gnarly. We all took one look and got back in our boats, charging the big fun waves right down the center, being sure not to edge too close to the wall and hole on the right. Split Mtn was beautiful, but before we knew it, it was over. At least for most of us...Dave would continue on through the Uinta Basin and down through Desolation Canyon in the following weeks, joined to Ouray by Scooter, Cory and Ron.

One for the history books.

Wowza.

2008-05-23T11:44:00.003-06:00

Sweet baby Jesus. This is going to be an interesting week.

Life and Death and All That

2008-04-16T15:58:00.002-06:00

"Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one." - Cactus Ed

A close friend of mine took a nasty fall while rock climbing last week, and is extremely lucky to be alive. It is a miracle, in fact. Funny how you might not believe in miracles until something happens that is inexplicable except in uncertain terms. This is one of those cases.

The report said she fell 80 ft. In her words, it was a miscommunication. She thought she was on belay, and she wasn't. When she shifted her weight to the system, the system did not resist and she took a deep breath and hit the ground, sustaining incredible injuries.

I quit climbing several years ago after some scary experiences on the wall. I didn't feel like I had enough knowledge or the technical mastery to be safe. But my friend certainly did, and this is the scary part. It could have been my brother, or any one of my close friends who excel in climbing and pursue bold ascents confidently and safely. Even the best have momentary lapses, and in climbing this can be enough to ruin your day.

Keep climbing and doing whatever it is that you do out there in the world. But goddammit be careful.

Sweetwater

2008-04-03T11:03:00.019-06:00

Pics from the Yellowstone Valley, MT - Sweetwater Travel guide school, and some extra curricular fishing on some Yellowstone River tributaries.

Pics by Jeremy Christensen, Ritchy Hemmingway, Sean Hines and Charlie Robinton.

Westwater Canyon Dory Boats 3/8/08

2008-04-02T11:33:00.002-06:00

River Log: 2008

2008-03-16T22:48:00.007-06:00

Updated 1/16/09

Oh, the memories...

Colorado River, UT - March 8*
- Westwater Canyon; 17 miles, Class IV. 3500cfs

Colorado River, UT - March 15
- Moab Daily - Onion Ck. to Takeout Beach; Class II

Yampa River, CO/UT - May 25-29*
- Deerlodge Park, CO to Split Mountain takeout, UT; Class III-IV. 17000-9000 cfs.

Colorado River, AZ - June 7-27
-Lees Ferry to South Cove, Lake Meade; Class IV. ~10000-17000 cfs.

Salmon River, ID - October 19-23
- Daily floats: 4th of July Creek - Wagonhammer, Wagonhammer - Deadwater, 4th of July - Badger, and Tower - Badger; Class II.

*Dory

The Westwater Report

2008-03-12T12:37:00.003-06:00

I had the great pleasure of spending the weekend on the Colorado River with some fellow dory builders that I met through Sandy's website. Lincoln Frye was nice enough to host us on his Westwater permit on Saturday the 8th. We had 4 distinctly different wood dories on the trip, including my 14.5’ Honky Dory, Dave Inskeep and his 16’ Tatman Grand Canyon dory, Lincoln and his "kayak with oars" personal 10’ whitewater dory, and his son Kyle with his one-off 12’ dory.

It was an exciting day for me. I managed to put three holes in my boat - one, a fairly significant chine hit at the scarf joint, occurred in the 2nd rapid, just above the several mile continuous class IV section. After a quick patch, and some anxiety suppression, we pushed off and tore down through the rest of the canyon. I had good runs through the meat, but managed an encounter with the "magnetic wall" in "Sock it to me."

The camera was rolling through most of the run, so once it’s downloaded and processed, I will be sure to post the results.

Thanks to Lincoln and his family for sharing the river with us. Lincoln has raised quite a family of boatmen/women. Kyle, Lincoln’s son, is one of the best boatmen I’ve ever shared the river with. That guy can move a dory like nothing else. I believe he’s off to OR to defend his title in the Clackmas driftboat races. Iris, Lincoln’s daughter is no slouch either - and is getting ready to build her own dory for a Grand Canyon trip next year. And Lincoln is one hell of a cool cat, and it shows where his progeny gets their boating skills. Iris told me that Lincoln has done a river trip every month for the last few years.

Pics and video to come...

Lightning Strikes Twice

2008-02-19T09:44:00.002-07:00

I came home from happy hour on Friday to find a letter from the National Park Service - Dinosaur National Mounment. I picked it up and my first thought was "this is a pretty fat letter for them to tell me I didn't get a permit."

Yampa River - May 25th, 2008

Yeeee, and might I add, haaaawwww!

Green River 2/9

2008-02-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend I, as Steve Schmidt so eloquently put it, "dealt chanced weather and treacherous road conditions, and was rewarded with some nice fish and a solitary river."

I-80 was a mess with trucks jackknifed all over the place. I have a way of convincing myself that "it won't be that bad" but it was really bad. I wouldn't have gone if I knew it would have been that slick. It was dumb. But cabin fever forces you to do irrational things. Once I got there all was forgotten, as I felt the sun beat down and watched some nice fish work the surface.

Dory Builders Unite

2008-02-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in dories, be sure to check out the driftboat builder's discussion forum over at www.montana-riverboats.com. Hosted by Sandy Pittendridgh (who designed my boat) and sponsored (and contributed to) by a who's who of dory builders, this is the place to get your questions answered.

And check out Sandy's cool new logo - based on a photo I took of Dave Inskeep in his dory "Hellgrammite" charging Granite Rapid in the Grand Canyon in March of 07. Thanks Sandy!

Ed Abbey: Jan 29th, 1927 - March 14, 1989

2008-01-29T22:27:00.002-07:00

"Benedicto: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you --- beyond that next turning of the canyon walls. "
- Cactus Ed

Classic Steelhead Flies with Dec Hogan

2008-01-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

The last two Wednesdays I had the opportunity to hang out and tie flies with renowned steelhead guide, author and fly tyer Dec Hogan. Thanks to Matt and Steve at Western Rivers for putting the class together. This was a real treat.

The first night we tied a simple purple hair wing fly that Dec calls "No name summer fly" and another fly I am really excited to fish, the stealhead Muddler. Both are featured in Dec's new book "A Passion for Steelhead."

The second week we tied a traditional Spey style fly with a bronze mallard wing, and also learned how to tie hackle tip wings, as well as Dec's own unique and simple marabou creations.

It was an honor to hang out with Dec and tie some really beautiful flies. Dec firmly believes that beautiful fly patterns enhance the experience of fishing for these incredible sea run fish, and his patterns reflect a wide range of styles, from classic to modern. Not only that, these patterns consistently take fish from Alaska to Idaho, the Gaspe, even the Great Lakes.

If you fish for steelhead, go buy Dec's book. If you don't, do it anyway. This book is destined to become the bible for a new generation of anglers looking to make their steelhead dreams come true (like me.) Dec also has a fly tying DVD coming out soon, which we got a glimpse of, and it's really cool.

A New Year

2008-01-01T22:33:00.000-07:00

2007 was perhaps the most exciting year I can remember. Highlights included winning the Grand Canyon lottery (Jerry power!), completing my 1st Grand Canyon transit as a passenger (in a home built dory no less), finishing my own dory, and successfully piloting it through Desolation Canyon literally hours after it's completion. Of course, none of this would have been possible without a lot of help and guidance from my friends: Larry, Dave, Bug, and countless others. I can't help but feel blessed, to have been able to accomplish everything I have this year.

2008 is already shaping up to be another incredible year. The permit gods have smiled on me and my friends once again, granting Ray a sweet mid-April Deso launch, and me one of the most coveted permits of the year for Desolation Canyon - Sunday, May 25th - the day before Memorial Day.

But with all the good luck I've been having I decided to aim high, so I also submitted an application for a permit to float the Yampa, during this same early-season, high-water, memorial day time-frame. If this permit falls in my lap (HIGHLY unlikely, but then again so was winning the Grand Canyon lottery on my first try) I will of course have to forgo the Deso launch and float the Yampa. But having the Deso launch now in the bag, I am very excited for a great start to the boating season.

In March, I will be attending an intensive week-long fly fishing guide school, where I will (hopefully) pick up the skills and make the connections I need to land a good first gig as a guide, when the time comes to move on from the Wilderness fight.

2008 may very well see me start a new dory project as well, which I am equally excited about, and I will likely sell the "Desolation" boat to a worthy boatman, if one can be found, to make room.

This is just a peak at what lies in store for 2008. I hope you will check back often and follow along with what promises to be another incredible year.

Thanksgiving on the Colorado

2007-11-26T15:43:00.001-07:00

Fishing beautiful water, well.

2007-11-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this video teaser for a film coming out called "Drift." This steelhead segment was filmed on the lower Deschutes, where I just returned from (read "The Myth of the Steelhead.") There's a line in here which really sums up steelheading for me, and for that matter, all trout fishing.

"Fishing beautiful water, well."

That is all we can expect from fly fishing, and exactly what I strive for: fishing beautiful water well, and thoroughly. It's not just about the fish, it's about the place and the experience. If the fish are there, and they're happy, you may hook up. But if not, you move on to the next beautiful piece of water, and fish it. Well.

Bow-chicka-wow-wow!!

2007-11-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

A day of fishing on the Strawberry quickly turned to a day of watching the brown trout spawn. There were a lot of empty redds, so it looked like we missed the main event, but some of the redds were really happening.

These were some LARGE fish, not the size you would normally see in the river. At least not the type I usually see. So my questions are:

Where do these fish live during the year, when they're not upriver getting some lovin?

And more importantly, how do I catch them?

que the Barry White...

Combat Fishing: Middle Provo River, UT

2007-11-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is not a term we often use to describe the conditions on the rivers here in Utah. Alaska, sure. I actually enjoyed this experience in Alaska, standing shoulder to shoulder with dozens of anglers at the Sheep Creek Slough, shooting the shit while you wait for a tug. But bring this to the Middle Provo, and you have the potential for serious conflict. For one thing, this is trout fishing, not salmon fishing. And this is a relatively small river, not a huge Alaskan slough.

When you go to the Provo on a weekend, you've got to expect some crowds. But I have never been to the river when I simply couldn't find a decent reach to fish. This is incredible, seeing as how the Provo lies within an hours drive of over a million people. And the fishery seems to be doing remarkably well, despite the amount of pressure put on the resource. But my experience this weekend has soured me to this river, and I can hardly imagine returning any time soon.

Follow me back to this past Saturday...

After spending the evening at Bob's cabin in the State Park above Midway, I drove into town and found my way to the River Road access at the bunny farm. Several cars were already parked there, but such is to be expected. I was rigged and ready to go when I arrived, so I moseyed up river past several anglers until I reached an empty run, with Everett dog sauntering ahead through the fields. I began fishing the tailout of the run and managed to pick up a nice 10-12" Brownie on a midge nymph, just as I began to see the splashy rises signaling an emergence of some sort. I stopped to tie on a small befus emerger, and that's when the rodeo began.

As I was tying on my tiny fly, three men, led by a conspicuous guide-looking fellow weighed down with what looked like a combat vest, pockets bulging with tackle, approached the run I was working. They gestured and discussed their options. In my head I thought "they wouldn't...would they??" But the thoughts turned to utter disbelief as they waded across at the head of the pool, and positioned themselves within casting distance right in the meat of the run I was working.

The guide-looking fellow rigged what I thought to be his client's rod, and demonstrated an appropriate cast and drift (no use in mentioning that he was casting across a large back-eddy current which produced a nasty line drag scenario on each "demonstration" cast.) At this point, since my drop-jawed look of utter disbelief had failed to register a reaction from the other anglers, I proceeded to confront them.

"Hey, are you a guide?" I asked of their leader. (To me, what they had done would be completely inexcusable behavior for a professional guide and a significant breach of etiquette, and I was hoping to find out who he was working for.)

"No." he exclaimed.

"OK, then, do you know anything about river etiquette?"

"What is your point?" he replied shortly, obviously annoyed with my implication that somehow he was in the wrong. "I passed you wide and waded across, up-river."

"Obviously not." I uttered, answering myself. "You cut me off! You waded right into the run I was fishing!"

I don't remember what he said after that, but I was so pissed that I simply muttered "Asshole" as I walked on upstream in search of a quieter piece of water.

But, already my day had been ruined by the encounter. My mindset was shot. Instead of tuning into the river and enjoying myself, I found myself reliving the encounter over and over in my mind, stewing over it, and becoming increasingly frustrated. No way to fish.

At this point I had fished through the tailout of another run, and had made my way right into the meat. Fish were rising to emergers all around. I had hooked & "farmed" (to borrow a term from steelheading) a couple nice fish, but I had forgotten my bottle of floatant so I was struggling to keep my size 22 befus on top of the water. I was about to leave, when it happened again. I was, for the second time in so many hours, cut off from finishing out the run. This time by a young guy who came out from the bushes within casting distance and began pitching lures into the shadowy depths of the run. The rising fish were instantly put down. And I just didn't have it in me for another confrontation. So I spooled my line, whistled for Everett, and sulked back to my car.

When a river receives as much pressure as the Provo, those who visit it need to be respectful of other users, be they anglers, bird watchers, or anyone else. And while you can not expect to have the river to yourself anymore, you certainly don't need to bully your way into it either. Give each other some space for gods sake! If someone is fishing a run you'd like to fish, talk to them. Communication can go a long way in these instances. Ask if they mind you dipping in BENEATH them in the run, as most trout fishermen fish up-river (unless you're steelheading, then you would enter the run above, as you most often fish for steelhead down-river.) Or patiently wait your turn.

When this happens to me again, I hope I have the fortitude to use it as a teaching opportunity, instead of making it into a confrontation which ruins my day and probably the other person's as well. But to the folks on the Provo this weekend, if you are reading this (you know who you are): For Shame! Learn the rules or don't play the game.

Myth of the Steelhead

2007-10-31T15:02:00.002-06:00

I've heard stories of ocean-going rainbow trout that every year return to their home streams in the northwest to spawn. Stories are told of fish reaching 20 or more pounds, and 30 or more inches. Fish that will take a skated dry fly, or a carefully swung offering of marabou or rabbit fur. Fish that will run up and down river and leap acrobatically. Fish that will destroy fly rods and reels.

But I still don't believe they exist. Not until I catch one for myself.

This was the second year I've ventured to Oregon in October to chase Steelhead as they make their epic migration from the open ocean to the rivers and streams of their birth. And for the second year I came home empty handed, which is pretty much what I expected. This, I've been told, is how steelheading works. You have to put in your time. Which is exactly what we did. One day I hope to be rewarded, but until then I'm having a great time learning a new aspect of a sport I love.

Last year was the North Umpqua, this year the Deschutes, John Day, and Grande Ronde rivers. We fished our asses off for 5 days and didn’t catch a thing. But seeing that country was a real treat. Incredible rivers, and I can’t wait to return.

The Deschutes near Maupin was just begging to be floated. Sweet daily sections, some class IV peppiness. Sweet dory float at or around 5500, which is what it was running while we were up there. But no place to take lightly. This was big water, and hard to fish. People were hooking steelhead while we were there, we just didn’t manage to hook up.

The John Day at Cottonwood Canyon is a classic desert river. Unbelievable scenery, and just a beautiful river. The water was low. Would have made for a bony float at this level, but with some spring runoff, this is also begging to be floated. Supposedly an incredible small mouth bass fishery in the summer months when the water is warmer. In the fall and winter when the water is colder, it gets a strong run of wild steelhead. We fished for a few hours with no luck. One guy we talked to from Steamboat got a powerful hit on a marabou leech fly. The fish took about 3-4 inches of Marabou off the end of his fly, but didn’t manage to find the hook.

We ended up on the Grande Ronde near Troy. A more beautiful place to fish for steelhead I can hardly imagine. But once again we didn’t manage to find the fish. People were hooking fish all over, we just didn’t get on them.

Steelhead fishing on the fly is an interesting pursuit. Get up at the crack of dawn, and if you're me, put on leaky, cold, frozen waders and wet socks from the day before. Wade into 30 deg. water up to your balls, cast out as far as you can, and hope for the tug of a lifetime, all the time fighting frozen appendages. Over and over again. It’s a very slow game. But the slight possibility of hooking up a fish that could melt your face just looking at it, is enough to make me want to come back. I can’t wait to go again.

Dory building on the cheap

2007-10-04T21:12:00.001-06:00

Brad Dimock, Colorado River guide and author, along with his good friend, Dan Dierker, built a drift boat to the lines of the original McKenzie using plans in the book "Drift Boats and River Dories" by Roger Fletcher (www.riverstouch.com). The hull was built in six days. Yes. Six days. Brad then took another couple of weeks to design and complete the interior, all designed with camping in mind. He oiled the hell out of it using a gallon of pine tar, linseed oil, turpentine and Japan drier. He writes, "The boat drank the whole dang thing. Smells good and looks great."

http://www.riverstouch.com/DimockAndDierker.htm

Moab

2007-09-26T21:05:00.000-06:00

After floating the "A" section on the 21st, I had to highball down to Moab for a weekend retreat that I was helping to facilitate for the Young Democrats of Utah. They asked SUWA to help with the campsite logistics, set up a service project, and brief them about our work on behalf of public land wilderness. They agreed to bring food and cook. Everything was fantastic, except for the Folgers instant coffee. But we'll forgive them.

It was an interesting weekend. We camped at a beautiful site above Hell Roaring Canyon, at the edge of the Labyrinth Canyon proposed wilderness. The Young Dems received a crash course in both the beauty of the wilderness, and the fickle nature of it's weather patterns.

Saturday morning was beautiful. We spent a few hours reclaiming illegal off-road vehicle tracks off the Spring Canyon road.

In the afternoon, we attempted to hike down into Hell Roaring to check out a Barrier Style rock art panel, but our route proved a bit ambitious for some of crew members, including a couple of the dogs. So we brumbled around the rim (well...I brumbled, the others were mostly just hiking) and made our way back to camp in time for the rain to begin. That evening, the heavens opened up and spewed several inches of rain overnight. A certain SUWA staffer (who shall remain nameless to protect his ego) was flash-flooded out of his tent after pitching a little close to a wash. He was overheard mumbling "I gambled and lost." But the next morning, we were treated to an incredible double rainbow.

Sunday, we cleaned up our campsite and drove into Moab to drop off the groover and some garbage, grabbed a bite to eat, and headed to the put-in on the Moab Daily. So the dory was introduced to the Colorado River. It was a gracious meeting, and there was plenty of water ( 5000cfs +/-). It felt great to be boating on a muddy, red river again.

Wild & Scenic Rivers

2007-09-25T23:18:00.000-06:00

Utah has many wild and scenic rivers, but no "Wild and Scenic" rivers. The latter, a federal designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. The law states:

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Congress declares that the established national policy of dams and other construction at appropriate sections of the rivers of the United States needs to be complemented by a policy that would preserve other selected rivers or sections thereof in their free-flowing condition to protect the water quality of such rivers and to fulfill other vital national conservation purposes. (Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, October 2, 1968)

Wild and Scenic designation is a powerful and dynamic solution to river protection. W&S designation affords river segments protection from dam building, diversions and development, while allowing the public to utilize the river for boating, fishing, and other uses which don't harm the river. A perfect candidate for this designation is Utah's Green River, including the Red Canyon section below Flaming Gorge Dam ("A" Section), Desolation Canyon, and Labyrinth Canyon.

On Friday, Sept. 21st (after spending the night at Dripping Springs listening to the elk bugle) I had the privilege to float the "A" Section below Flaming Gorge as part of a publicity event and press tour in conjunction with the Utah Rivers Council (www.utahrivers.org) Wild and Scenic Rivers campaign for Utah, as an adoptee of the Green River through URC's "Get Wild with a River" program. We were joined by several staff and board members from URC, Denny Breer (owner of Trout Creek Flies in Dutch John), members of the press, representatives from the Dagget County Commission, the Governor's office of public lands planning, and the Ashley National Forest district ranger. We took turns speaking to one another as we floated through the serene canyon, and traded our views on the benefits and drawbacks to protecting a river.

Hard to say what will come of this. Already there is stiff opposition to any form of federal protection for rivers in Utah. Some land managers and local government officials feel their hands will be tied by any sort of new management framework.

I feel like we are rapidly losing our wild and scenic rivers to development. Some, like the White River, are more threatened than others. But all of these rivers deserve protection. Whether its W&S, or Wilderness, or something else. We need to think of our wild and scenic rivers as resource, not to be impounded and drilled and scarred by off road vehicles and motorized use, but to be shepherded and stewarded for future generations.

Press Links: Updated 10/3/07

Salt Lake Tribune, October 3, 2007
Wild & Scenic Green River - Multimedia
http://166.70.44.68/multimedia/2007/1003_greenriver/index.html

Salt Lake Tribune, October 3, 2007
In the name of rivers
http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors/ci_7072218?source=email

Deseret Morning News, September 26, 2007
Wild & Scenic Green River
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695213194,00.html

KSL.com, September 21st, 2007
Group Wants Utah's Rivers Federally Protected
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1847941

Rock Me On The Water

2007-09-25T22:00:00.000-06:00

Before today I had never heard of Renny Russell, but now I feel like he is somehow my cosmic doppelganger, add 30-40 years. Today I got an email from a coworker, letting me know that this dude was going to be speaking tonight at Ken Sanders' book store, about Desolation Canyon and building dories and other things that sounded interesting. So I wrote a message to myself on my left hand: 7 Ken Sanders, meaning go to Ken Sanders at 7. Well, Ray called me at about 7 and said he'd be drinking in the garage and did I want to come over and drink in the garage too. Of course I did. So I left to go to Rays. But when I got in my car, I looked at the clock and it said 7:14. Something clicked. I looked down at my left hand. 7 Ken Sanders. So I turned west and went to Ken's book store instead. Glad I did. (Sorry Ray.)

If you grew up in the sixties, maybe you've heard of this guy Renny. He wrote a book called "On the Loose" which I'm told was a cult classic. But I was more struck by the story he told of the tragedy of his brother's death at Steer Ridge on the Green River in Desolation Canyon, when the boat they were in flipped. Renny walked 75 some odd miles out of Deso to the town of Green River and basically disapeared off the face of the earth. His brothers body was found in the eddy above Florence Creek a few days later.

His new book "Rock Me On The Water" tells the story of "a life on the loose," the loss of his brother, and of Renny's return to the river by way of building dories. I can't wait to read it. He read some passages, and showed some unbelievable slides from a life of river running. One incredible picture caught my attention, of a dory guide in the Grand Canyon posing in front of a mangled wooden dory, missing half it's bow. Literally, the entire right-front panel of the boat (where the name is painted) was literally blown out, gunnel and all. The missing piece, proudly being displayed by the guide. Big smile on his face. It turns out, the boat had been flipped in Crystal rapid, and had become pinned in the rock garden below, with the guide underneath entangled by his life jacket. He escaped. The dory was recovered, and to my amazement, repaired! I am told it is still in use today. The boat's name was "Wooden shoe." I would love to see it on the river some day.

I must confess, I picked up a copy of his book from Ken's, and after speaking with Renny for a few minutes and having him sign the book, I walked out of the store without paying for it. Sorry Ken! I'll be in first thing tomorrow to settle my tab.

Genesis in Pictures

2007-09-17T19:26:00.001-06:00

Dave Inskeep Photo. www.inskeepimages.com

Drift Boat, or Dory?

2007-09-17T14:52:00.001-06:00

Depends on who you ask. It seems that people who use their craft specifically for fishing, tend to call them drift boats. Those who use them for general river running tend to call them dories.

Roger Fletcher, of Rivers Touch (www.riverstouch.com) has dedicated himself to "preserving and promoting the quiet wakes of drift boats on water, the most elegant of river craft." To this end, he has produced an incredible book which documents the evolution of the dory, their history, design, construction, and use. I bought a copy of this book the day it came out, and all I can say is that I wished I'd had it when I was building my boat. Visit Roger's website and order yourself a copy. It includes plans and construction tips for several boats, including the square-end "Rapid Robert," the classic Single and Double-ender MacKenzies, the Rogue River hull, and the Gerry Briggs Grand Canyon Dory.

River Log: 2006/07

2007-09-15T16:19:00.000-06:00

Updated 11/26/07

2006

White River , UT – May 5-7
• Bonanza Bridge to Enron, 32 miles; Class I-II

Green River , UT – June 1-3
• Browns Park – Indian Crossing to Crook Campground, 30 miles; Class I-II

Green River , UT – July 29-30
• Flaming Gorge dam to Indian Crossing, 15 miles; Class II-III

Green River, UT – August 26-27
• Little Hole to Indian Crossing, 8 miles; Class I-III

2007

Colorado River , UT – February 17
• Moab Daily - secret put in to Takeout Beach, 15 miles; Class II-III

Colorado River, UT – February 18
• Moab Daily - Hittle Bottom to Takeout Beach, 13 miles; Class II-III

Colorado River, AZ – March 4-24
• Grand Canyon - Lees Ferry to Diamond Ck., 225 miles; Class II-IV

Green River, UT – May 20-24
• Labyrinth Canyon - Ruby Ranch to Mineral Bottom, 45 miles; Class I

Green River, UT* – June 8-14
• Desolation Canyon - Sand Wash to Swaseys, 84 miles; Class II-III

Green River, UT* – July 30-31
• Flaming Gorge to Indian Crossing, 15 miles; Class II-III. 800 cfs

Green River, UT *– August 11-12
• Browns Park - Indian Crossing to Swallow Canyon, 11 miles; Class I-II. 800 cfs

Green River, UT* – Sept 1-3
• Upper Desolation Canyon – Pariette to Sand Wash, 24 miles; Class I

Snake River , WY* – Sept 8
• Alpine Canyon – Pritchard to Sheep Gulch, 16 miles; Class II-III, ~6000 cfs

Snake River , WY* – Sept 9
• Alpine Canyon – Elbow to Sheep Gulch, 10 miles; Class II-III, ~6000 cfs

Green River, UT* - Sept 21
• "A" Section - Flaming Gorge to Little Hole, 8 miles; Class II-III, 800 cfs

Colorado River, UT* - Sept 23
• Moab Daily - Rocky Rapid to Takeout Beach; Class II-III, 5000 cfs

Colorado River, UT* - Sept 30
• Moab Daily - Onion Creek to Takeout Beach; Class II-III, 4300 cfs

Colorado River, CO* - Nov 23-25
• Horsethief & Ruby - Loma to Westwater; Class I-II, ~3600 cfs

*Dory

What's in a name?

2007-09-13T18:21:00.001-06:00

des o la tion
noun

a state of complete emptiness or destruction: the stony desolation of the desert.

Martin Litton named his armada of dories, all painted in bright and distinctive colors, after natural wonders which, in his eyes, had been foolhardily despoiled by man. The names of women, royalty, mythology, and the heavens have all been thoroughly seined for depiction upon the bows and transoms of thousands of boats. But for me, Litton's approach seemed fitting, and organic.

His boats took the names of Hetch Hetchy (a canyon north of Yosemite described by John Muir as the holiest temple ever consecrated by the heart of man, and later flooded to feed the burgeoning city of San Francisco as it struggled to pick up the pieces after the devastating 1906 earthquake. www.hetchhetchy.org); Music Temple (a feature in Glen Canyon on the Colorado River first described by John Wesley Powell in 1869. Powell wrote of this place "When 'Old Shady' sings us a song at night, we are pleased to find that this hollow in the rock is filled with sweet sounds. It was doubtless made for an academy of music by its storm-born architect; so we name it ‘Music Temple." The temple entrance was lined with majestic box elder and cottonwood trees. Inside there was a clear, deep pool of water. A one second note was said to resonate for eleven seconds. In 1963, Glen Canyon Dam was completed, flooding 186 miles of the Colorado River and a spectacular region that had been proposed as a National Park before WWII. The 125 major side canyons of Glen Canyon, comprising the biological heart of the Colorado River, was flooded as Powell Reservoir backed up over the next 17 years. David Brower summed up the feelings of many when he called the loss of Glen Canyon, "America's most regretted environmental mistake." www.glencanyon.org); and Sequoia (for the worlds largest trees, endangered by development and harvest. Litton is often attributed as the Father of Redwood National Park, which exists in part because of his consistent drum beating on behalf of the mighty trees. www.savetheredwoods.org)

And that brings us to Utah - the center of a three- decade-old debate over wilderness protection - and the Canyon of Desolation:

North of Green River, Utah, the 2,000-foot-high escarpment of the Book and Roan cliffs marks the southern perimeter of a million-acre wilderness of exceptional geographic and biological diversity. Bounded by a 250-mile-long thousand- foot-high band of cliffs, the longest continuous escarpment in the world, the Book Cliffs Region is one of the largest unprotected natural and predominantly roadless areas in the western United States. This region is rich in wildlife habitat, ancient cultural remains, and current recreational opportunities. Because of its size, lack of human intrusions, and the diversity and abundance of its habitat, the Book Cliffs Region is an important sanctuary for wildlife. An estimated 375 vertebrate species-half the number found in all of Utah-are found in this region. Its historical significance to humans is marked by numerous archaeological sites, including rock art, rock shelters, campsites, and burial grounds. Today people float the region’s White and Green Rivers, hunt its canyons and mesas, or simply enjoy observing wildlife bound over silver-green sage and early light burn on redrock cliffs. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently called the Desolation Canyon
area “a place where a visitor can experience true solitude - where the forces of nature continue to shape the colorful, rugged landscape.”

"Wilderness At the Edge" - Utah Wilderness Coalition, 1989

After barely surviving the Canyon of Lodore, and traveling through the vast open expanses of the Uinta Basin, Powell and his remaining crew must have felt some apprehension upon approaching the rising walls of signaling their descent into yet another unknown canyon. Powell's writings reflect this anxiety:

After dinner we pass through a region of wildest desolation. The canyon is very tortuous, the river very rapid, and many lateral canyons enter on either side. The region is cut into a wilderness of gray and brown cliffs. Piles of broken rock lie against these walls; crags and tower-shaped peaks are seen everywhere, and away above them, long lines of broken cliffs; and above and beyond the cliffs are pine forests of which we obtain occasional glimpses as we look up through a vista of rocks. We are minded to call this the Canyon of Desolation.

"The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons" - J.W. Powell, 1869

In some ways, little has changed since Powell first surveyed the Canyon of Desolation. But in many ways, everything has changed. What was once an impossibly unreachable wilderness is now traveled by thousands of people every year; so many that the BLM has been forced to implement a permit system for anyone wishing to undertake a private trip through the canyon.

But river runners are far from the only impact to the region. U.S.Geological Survey estimates a mean of 21 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas and a mean of 60 million barrels of undiscovered oil in the Uinta Basin. According to the federal government’s Energy Information Administration, the state of Utah holds approximately 2.5 percent of the country’s proven natural gas reserves and a mere one percent of the country’s proven oil reserves. Only a fraction of that lies beneath proposed wilderness. In fact, government figures show that “technically recoverable” (but not necessarily economically recoverable) undiscovered natural gas and oil resources on proposed wilderness lands amount to less than 4 weeks of natural gas and roughly 4 days of oil at current consumption levels. Such a trivial amount will hardly make or break our nation’s energy independence. But it sure can make a few people rich, and as so it is being exploited. The White River, and the Canyon of Desolation being squarely in the center of this most incredible proliferation of extractive industry and it's accompanying infrastructure of roads, pipelines, pumps and compressors. The worst has yet to penetrate the depths of the inner canyon in Deso, but one only needs to look at the White River and Upper Deso to see what the effects would be if it did. Paradise, lost.

And so, following in the footsteps of Martin, I offer up my tribute to one of the greatest natural treasures of our world: Desolation Canyon. In lament of the reaches already lost to development, and in hopes that the rest remains wild.