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Max raft size for an August Lodore Trip

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august
3K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  asleep.at.the.oars 
#1 ·
We have an August 6th launch for the Gates of Lodore. We met some people in the Snoasis bar at The Park who predicted dire consequences for such a late run. "You will have to drag your rafts down the river" one said.

Looking at Flaming Gorge data, the average August flow since 1964 has been 1840. (with some drastic swings admittedly).

So here's my question, assuming average or slightly below average flows, what is the biggest raft we should take? I have a 12' Trib that will be perfect. We also have access to a 16' cat. Is 16' to big for the Green this time of year?

Any other thoughts on a low water Lodore trip?

Thanks,

John
 
#3 ·
If you have “average” flows you would have no problem taking anything down there. More realistically though for August don’t be surprised if it’s minimum flows which are 800. No problem taking a 14-16’ raft down, especially if you are good at reading water. Just expect to get hung up a few times here and there and someone ready to hop out and swing or push you. It’s not like you’ll be dragging the raft over beaches of sand though. Although the put-in was a bit silted in last time I was down last summer.

Like Alex’s video showed in that other Lodore thread, even at 2500 you can get a little pinballed around regardless in places like HHM. I wouldn’t worry about it much, just go for it.
 
#4 ·
I've cleaned (i.e. not even a detectable nudge on a rock, with the exception of a single move in lower Disaster, and another in lower Hell's) every section at 800 cfs in an 18' w/ 4-5 passengers, although I was never able to put together a clean trip top to bottom. A damn good guide running a 20' had a couple moves that were planned hang ups, so I would say 18' is the limit. I've seen 12' boats hung up. At low flows, it's just a matter of staying where the water is and knowing how to get unstuck when you don't.

If it were me, I would rather have a lightly loaded 16' than an overloaded 12'.
 
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