Trip Report by  Bernie

The five kayakers for this adventure were:  Stan (W9FQN), Loren (KF6LRX), Jeff (KG6AXR), Julie (KG6BPP) and Bernie (N6FN)

Trip Organizer: Bernie

"No words, nor even pictures, can describe the beauty and grandeur of Canyonlands National Park"
- Bates Wilson

Superlatives are indeed inadequate for describing the exhilaration of kayaking the Green River through Canyonlands National Park.  Located in the midst of Utah's scenic national parks: Arches, Canyonlands and Capital Reef, the route from Mineral Bottom to below the confluence with the Colorado River lived up to its billing for being a once-in-a-lifetime type of trip.  This 56 mile section of the river, which courses through towering sand-stone buttes and sheer-walled red-rock canyons  dotted with Anazazi Indian ruins and pictographs, is wilderness travel at its best.   

Explored by Major John Wesley Powell in 1869 and settled by early Mormon pioneers in the 1870's, the area's history is captivatingly recounted by Michael Kelsey in his book "River Guide to Canyonlands National Park and Vicinity."   Through research of historical records and colorful "oral history" obtained through interviews with local old-timers, Kelsey recounts the heartbreaks and joys of cowboys, ranchers, river boaters and miners who tried to tame this land.

We extensively relied on Kelsey's book to research places to visit on our journey.  Being forewarned by our outfitter, "Tex's Riverways" we did not overly rely on the accuracy of Kelsey's river markers and day-hike distances.  The topo maps and river mileage markers in Belknap's "Canyonlands River Guide" are superior for pin-pointing places.  However, Kelsey's book is clearly the reference of choice for providing back-ground history, place-name descriptions and hand-drawn maps for locating points-of-interest.  If you intend to do this trip, both books are highly recommended.

Our group of five kayakers and six other paddlers and their canoes would be traveling together for the trip to the drop-off point thirty miles from Moab.  The outfitter's transportation consisted of an old school bus towing a trailer piled high with boats and gear.  

Our route to the river took us across the high plateau separating the Green and Colorado Rivers.  Upon arriving at the edge of the cliff overlooking Mineral Bottom, our guide asked us to get out and walk down a steep series of very tight switchbacks.  This was for our own protection in case he lost control of the bus and trailer while making his descent.

After picking us up below the switchbacks, it was but a short ride to the launch area.   

Click here for a map of the area.

Launching - Mile 52 - It was a little past noon by the time we unloaded our gear from the trailer and packed the kayaks.  Our kayaks were fully loaded. In addition to camping gear and food to last six days, it is necessary to bring a minimum of a gallon of drinking water per day.  The river water is too silty to drink or even filter very effectively.

After eating lunch we pushed off into the current.  Our guide had warned us that due to a heavy snow pack and hot weather, the river was running high and fast.  Higher than it had been in seven years.  It turns out that this would one one of our problems; the high water covered the usual sandbars and beaches, obliterating most of the normal landing and camping spots.

Horsethief Canyon - Mile 45.5 - With only a half day to paddle, our first camping spot was Horsethief Canyon, only 6.5 miles down river.   Here we found a nice flat sandy area, shaded by large trees.  It was probably the best campsite of the trip.   Because of the high water levels, we reached the campsite by paddling up what normally would have been the canyon's dry wash.  An interesting day hike up the canyon leads to several alcoves, some with flowing water.

Fort Bottom - Mile 41 - Walker Rock Cabin and the Moki Fort Indian ruins are the highlights at Fort Bottom.  Built around 1900 or earlier, many river runners refer to this as the Outlaw Cabin, but its doubtful outlaws actually used it.  Great views of the river can be had from on top of the bluff near where the Moki Fort Indian ruins are located.

After exploring Fort Bottom we headed down river, passing by Millard Canyon, and the remnants of the Targreen Ferry Cable Crossing.   With the current running from 3 to 4 miles per hour, paddling the remaining distance to our next campsite at Anderson Bottom was fairly easy.

Anderson Bottom - Mile 31 - Anderson Bottom, originally known as Townsite Bottom, has a number of interesting things to see, the foundation of an old building, now referred to as the "dance hall", Indian pictographs and granary, and perhaps more importantly, a reliable source of drinking water at the spring in the alcove next to the "NPS storage cave."  One of the early cowboys used dynamite to blast a hole out of the side of the cliff to improve the spring.

View from the bluff at center of Anderson Bottom

After spending the evening and following morning exploring the area around Anderson Bottom we continued down river towards Valentine Bottom.

   Buttes of the Cross, shown above were named by John Wesley Powell during his expedition through the area.  When viewed from a distance, the two buttes, one in front of the other, resemble a cross.

Valentine Bottom - Mile 28 - Only three miles downriver from Anderson Bottom, Valentine Bottom has several Indian ruins and some pictograph panels to explore.  They are spread about and some detective work is necessary to find them -- part of the fun.  While there we spotted two desert bighorn sheep which were not overly concerned about our presence.

Continuing downstream we spent quite a bit of time finding the old Tibbits cabin located at Cabin Bottom, Mile 25.   The area recently burned and after much searching we finally found the remains of the cabin.  There is not much left, just a bit of rubble and a depression outlining the floor line of the cabin.

Our next stop was Lower Horse Canyon, Mile 14, where we spent the night after arriving late in the afternoon.  Just at dusk several of us hiked a short ways up the canyon to a dry waterfall and plunge pool which prevents any further travel up the canyon.  As it was getting dark, a full moon came peeking over the edge of the cliffs.  What a beautiful scene: sandstone cliffs lit orange by the falling sun with a bright full moon rising over the narrow canyon.

Water Canyon - Mile 4.5 - Water canyon is a good place to stop for water and take an interesting hike.  To go up canyon, wade across the pool of water shown on the right and scramble up a rather slick water fall to gain access to the upper reaches of the canyon.