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Lodore is sweet. Great camping, beautiful scenery and a some really fun rapids. My first time down the river was fluxuating between 1100 and 1700 cfs, depending on what they were doing at the Flaming Gorge dam.
The first rapid is Winnies Grotto. It's an easy class II but if you screw up and hit the rock in the middle, you're probably going to flip. Start center with your stern pointed at the right bank and pull back towards river right. Should be no problem.
Next up is Disaster Falls. There's upper and lower. Upper is a straightforward drop through a hole and some waves. There's only one line through - it will be obvious. There's a huge eddy on river left above the drop and there will like be other parties scouting. Scout from the river left bank.
Lower Disaster is fairly easy and generally run left of center. However, there's really no good way to scout the rapid so take it slow, read and run and you should have no problems. Be sure not to get too far right. At certain water levels (low water) there's a small island that separates the current. The right channel leads you into a nasty overhanging wall that could cause problems. The last time I ran Lodore, a raft ran right of the island, slammed into the wall and one of the passengers broke an arm. Stay left and watch out for the rocks (mostly small but lots of them at low water). The rapid is bony in places and can trip you up.
Up next is Triplet. There are essentially three distinct rapids in Triplet. Hence the name. The first is a shallow rocky stretch of water that's fairly straightforward. Generally you want to start right of center and work left. There's a prominent pointy rock near the bottom of the rapid and you want to be left of that rock. it's not too hard.
Second part of Triplet is more or less a slot between two rocks. It's an obvious route but be mindful of the wall on the right. Stay away from the wall.
The last part of Triplet is a hard left turn through two boulders. You want to start center and work left away from the overhanging wall/slot. If you go into the slot, known to some as the 'birth canal', it will be a royal pain in the ass. Just stay left and watch the rocks at the bottom of the rapid. You can get a great scout from the Triplet campsite on river left. Follow the trail downstream through the campsite and you'll be able to see the entire rapid.
Hells. Hells is fun. There's a huge pool above the rapid and a great scout on river left. There are several routes through Hells (depending on water) but the easiest is to follow the obvious tongue of water, missing the rocks on the right. At the end of the tongue is Lucifer rock. You can either go right or left, dealers choice, but the right is probably easiest. You'll have to pull hard to the right but it's not too difficult. Just set up early and be ready for the move. Hells is long and fun. Enjoy the ride.
Lower Hells is basically a rock garden that is read/run. A run more or less down the center should get you through.
That's it until Split Mtn. There you'll find Moonshine (easy), SOB (run far right), School Boy (straight forward) and Inglesby (run left of the giant rock).
Have fun...
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Linear Mode
