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Cataract Canyon Campsites below Imperial

2K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  kazak4x4 
#1 ·
Lat year when I ran Cat in early November the last camp available was a muddy little bog at the Cove and Lake Powell started right after that. Dark Canyon was not workable and everything else was under water or mud. Anyone know what it's like now? Is there anywhere to camp for a small group at Mille Crag or below? Does the current give up just above Dark Canyon still?
T H A N K Y O U F O R T H E I N F O
Steve Skinner - Carbondale
 
#2 ·
Just ran it last week. Our last campsite was a flat silt bench on river right a short distance below Clearwater canyon, and maybe 6 miles above Dark Canyon. At our flows, it was about a 2 foot vertical drop off from the bench to the water, so we had to lift things up off the boats a little to get onto the bench. But it was a large, dry and nice camp by reservoir standards. There are also good camps upstream in the Gypsum area on both sides of the river. We motored out from Clearwater the next day, so I didn't really pay attention to camps below this. Dark canyon at the mouth was an uncampable mudpit, and the tammys at Mille Craig were underwater, so I suspect its slim pickings.

Have a great trip!

Ben
 
#4 ·
hi,

we ran it in the end of september with five boats. ran the rapids and camped right below imperial.

we found a do-able camp at the begining of narrow canyon on river left about mile 175. the river makes a bend to the left. we saw a couple spots just as the bottom began but motored just around the bend. we camped just past the bend on the left in a little bay. it had a bit of that sticky muck right at the shoreline but was not too bad just past that. enough room for a kitchen and sleeping. there is a bench right above it that was completely dry,also. most of us slept on the boats or on roll-a-cots. i put my tent up.

not the pretttiest camp in the world but it was only about 6 miles to the dirty devel side take out. we had never taken out on that side before. it wasn't bad. no motor boats to deal with.

there really was not any current below the last rapid. (seems like there was 3 or 4 rapids below imperial). we'd shut of the motors once in a quite and drift. it was really, really slow.

hope that's helpful.

bob
 
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