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Ruby Horsethief vs. Cisco to Moab

8K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  yetigonecrazy 
#1 ·
I have done a lot of overnight rafting trips in the past, but this is the first time I am going with my wife who has never been on an overnight trip. My goal is to have great time on a very scenic part of the river so we can do more of these.
I am thinking either Ruby Horsethief or Cisco down to Moab. Any recommendations on one over the other? Which do you think is more scenic? Which has better camping? Has better side hike opportunities? All around a good time. I don’t think I can go wrong with either, but thought I would ask the experts.
Thanks for the beta.
 
#2 ·
Not sure how long your planning on going but those are 2 very different lengths of trip. Cisco to Moab I think would probably take 4 days. I have done Dewey Bridge to just past the Moab Daily TO. And that was 2 days but we had wind that pinned us down. RBHT is a 2 day float.The water is mostly slow moving on both sections but I think that Cisco to Moab is probably slower. Camping is a little harder to find in this section as well. It is also primarily roadside. Drawbacks to RBHT is you have to deal with the permit system but you'll get a guarenteed campsite. Overall I would say RBHT is better trip. Both have great scenery. Go with RBHT and then hit the other section some other time and decide for yourself.
 
#3 ·
Ruby/Horsethief has better hiking and camping. It does require a permit now.

The section between Hittle Bottom and say... Take-out Beach is very scenic too. There are a couple of good camp spots river right near Onion Cr., but there isn't much good hiking that I know of. FYI... Cisco to Moab would take more than one night under most circumstances.
 
#6 ·
It's been a while since I was down there, and we used to go midweek in late March (spring break), so we had the place to ourselves...

First night at Cottonwood Grove (or whatever they call it).
Second day, short float to Mee Canyon. Go for a long hike up Mee.
3rd day, float all the way out, stopping for a short hike and lunch up a side cyn river-right to look at petroglyphs (the name slips my mind).

We'd see bald eagles in big nests built in dead cottonwood snags and bighorn sheep up Mee Cyn.

We usually avoided Black Rocks. It's pretty, and there are some neat potholes to poke around in, but we liked the Mee hike better.
 
#7 ·
I like to make it a 3 night since I drive from Boulder and usually arrive late in the day. Bull Draw is just a couple miles from the put in and is your own private canyon. Another short day to Cottonwood. Great swimming. Another short day to Black rock. The last day is a bit longer but still pretty short. So if you want 3 nights this could be a nice way to break it up. Have fun.
 
#8 ·
If you do a 2 night trip Rattlesnake Canyon is a couple miles down on the river left. It is a sweet small camp right on the river and an epic canyon to hike up. If you hike a few miles up you will see as many or more arches than in Arches.

If you are a light sleeper you might want to bring earplugs for the train around blackrocks. It is not that bad and doesn't bother me but every time I wake up there my wife says she heard 3 or 4 trains in the night. I don't use earplugs. I prefer tequila.
 
#12 ·
If you do a 2 night trip Rattlesnake Canyon is a couple miles down on the river left. It is a sweet small camp right on the river and an epic canyon to hike up. If you hike a few miles up you will see as many or more arches than in Arches.
I did this hike earlier in the summer and be aware the trail has washed out in several places. It's still possible, but difficult. Felt like a couple thousand feet in a couple miles... the arches are awesome though.
 
#9 ·
ditto

agree with the other posts. the rbht is a great first timer trip, very scenic with some nice wild and no long tedious stretches. cisco to moab is great also but there are some bits that can get old. if you do that section, the island camping is great though.

also agree that stretching RBHT to at least 3 days is great idea to give yourself time for a good long hike up Mee or something. layover days are always the best!

have fun
 
#10 ·
Gonna go against the flow here, and vote Cisco down. Both are nice enough trips if you're in the right head/on the right timeline for low water slooooooow going floats. I prefer the Cisco trip because so few other people run it. HTR can be an absolute shitshow these days

Also, the rapids at the end of the Cisco-down stretch (Moab Daily) really aren't much at this flow, but at least they're something for a few giggles

Ruby has the train, which somepeople don't like, but I kinda do; and it has pretty good scenery. The Moab stretch around FIsher towers (especially if you camp at Onion, and see it in the late fading light) is really beautiful

Either way, enjoy. Hope you get her hooked
 
#14 ·
No. I didn't see any signs of fire. It was the hottest part of July when we were there. It looked like the area had seen some significant rains though. We did some mountain biking while out there also and many of the draws showed evidence of recently running. I wouldn't be surprised if there have been a couple more erosion events this monsoon season.
 
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