desolation and grey canyon.... info please

onebakedpotato · 08-14-2005

running from sandy to swazzy.

What is average run time right now (days)?

Any must see's or must camp's?

Any fishing?

Any info would be great (I already know about the mosquitos)....

jester · 08-14-2005

You are brave to be heading out there at this level. I guided this commercially for 10 years and have seen it everywhere from 2,000 to 36,000 cfs. Right now is a pretty low flow and wind is quite common on that stretch. Depending on how much wind you have it could make for a long trip. As far as trip length, you could do it in 4 days if you wanted, had no wind, and didn't mind long days on the river. More likely I'd plan on 7-9 days to have an enjoyable trip.

All the camps will be good now b/c of the low water but a few not to miss would be Firewater, Lion Hollow, and Rabbit Valley (right side). There are tons on other great camps as well. It's a wonderful canyon, especially on a private trip...enjoy.

zbaird · 08-14-2005

dont be scared off by the low flow and bugs. i did it on a 5 night trip at 1800 with no long days on the river. i went 2nd week of aug and the skeeters are horrendous at the put in but look on the bright side, there are less and less of them every day. the put in road is the only serious obstacle. it would have been real easy to bust an axle on my overloaded trailer if i didnt pay attention. one of the cool things (being a colorado boater) is the warm water. i would wake up, hike 100 yards upstream and float back to camp for an early morning bath. you could just sit in it all day, hell i think i loggeed more time in the river than at the oars. dont get to do that much here. we had kids one 3 one 4 two 9 and one 13. you couldnt keep the little ones out of the water. i only remember two or 3 easy class 3's. one being 3 fords and the others i think were nefertiti and rattlesnake. most is just real slow with just enough class2 rapids to keep the kids happy. great family trip, cool scenery transition, and lots of great beaches.

onebakedpotato · 08-16-2005

Thanks for the info...

Now what about the fishing. Was thinking about taking along the spinning rod. is it worth bringing along? What can you expect to catch?