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High water Ruby Horsethief Camping

12K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  chato 
#1 ·
I am taking a small group of newbies down in 2 days and flows are way up. Wanted to see if anyone had input on campsites. right now I have Cottonwood 4 and BR 7. Are either of these tough landings or buggy? Any preferences for campsites at high water?

I helped a group 2 years ago that weren't able to stick the landing in Black Rocks but is has been awhile since I have been on at these flows. Thanks for the input.
 
#3 ·
Pay attention at Cottonwood, the eddies get really small in high water and there is a chance it will be buggy. I have not noticed to many bugs yet but we are getting close to that time of year. The eddy line at BR 7 can be strong so set up early and paddle hard.

Depending on which Salt Creek you have, Salt 2 can be harder to land in high water and be careful pulling back out as there is a pile up of branches, trees etc you need to get around before starting down river. BR 3 usually has a good eddy but some of the beach will disappear so you may have to camp higher on the bank.
 
#8 ·
Just got off yesterday, cotton wood camps can still use camp markers as tie offs, we still used sand stakes. Cotton wood 4 is the camp with the one lone tree about 100 ft from the river backed up by many other trees, still nice thou. Salt creek 1 looked like a bad landing, 2 looked nice. we camped at black rocks 4, no problem getting in, 5 will probably be some work(I always prefer 4 or 5). Blk rk 3 is kinda all by its lonesome, very little trees and rocks, I've never camped there but id say bring shade and yes there is a eddy there and very nice.
 
#12 ·
Putting on Fri with little kids. Could see maybe 30k? Wondering if Beaver 2 and Blackrock 7 will be fun for kids?
Beaver 2 does not have a lot that would be fun for kids, but is a good campsite. BLM has marked the sites really well, so just start looking for Beaver 1 across from and after you go past Rattlesnake. I stopped there last weekend when it was half of 30k, and there could be some extra foliage to park in at higher water, but should otherwise be good. Easy to find if the sign is not under water. Good shade and nice main campsite.

I am trying to remember exactly which camp is BR7, but if I have it right it should have an eddy, even at high flow, and some rocks to play around. Not a ton of shade though, so plan to bring some along. BR area gets a lot of whirlpools and really weird water at high levels. I would not worry in a raft, but be very careful if anyone (especially kids) wants to play in the water.
 
#15 ·
I'm headed down to run Ruby section tomorrow, as a day trip and will post with an update on campsites.
A lot of camps will be washed out at these volumes (22k+ this morning). Mee Corner will be under water. Mee 1 is a good camp. Mee 2, 3, 4 are OK, but no shade. Mee Canyon is good at this level. Excellent hiking up Mee Canyon with pools for swimming. At this volume, the Mee camps are a cinch to make time-wise.
The water is cold now, plus the current and hydraulics are big, fast, and powerful now, so please be vigilant with swimming.
Cheers.
 
#19 ·
ruby-horsethief trip

Greetings. I've found Cottonwood camps to be buggy, with often a heavy dew in the mornings. I'm in agreement about the last camp there, CW 4 or 5 (?). at the current flow (15,800 this morning) there's not much of any eddies, so plan on having tie-off rope ready and a "hot landing". Fault Line camps are good at this level.
Thin eddies at Salt Creek as well, but the camps should not be flooded yet.
I'm also in agreement with previous comments on the Mee camps. I've camped at Mee Canyon in 2011 at almost 40k and it was great, with a pretty easy landing. (think about using a two line tie-off to secure your rigs).
Black Rock camps will be good, but as someone noted before beaches will be slim. The trick will be to recognize the sites from BR 4-9, so you can pull in against the currents. BR 7 is a nice camp and should not be under water yet either. Have Fun!
Cheers
 
#20 ·
BR high water

Came off river 6/15. Bugs were showing up in eve down in BR area. All the ones that held on during the wind event last week. High water pull in at BR 7 was not really possible in the wind. Watched several boats trying to get in... could not pull into the proper landing with wind and high water. BR 5,6,8,9 all looked great and were easy to pull in at between 22,000 and 24,000 CFS.
 
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