Mountain Buzz banner

How Chicken Raper Rapid got it's name! The true story!

8K views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  Phil U. 
#1 ·
1975 was an historical time for the Dolores River in Southwestern Colorado. On January 3rd, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed public law 93-621 amending the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This amendment authorized study of the Dolores River and 28 other study streams. Of the 29 selections, the Dolores was singled out to be an accelerated study and all findings were by law required to be submitted by January 3rd, 1976.

Shortly after the bill was signed, a study team in Colorado was formed and Don Bock was appointed to lead the team of Govenment Agencies. The study was to be conducted by foot, from horse back, by raft, by motor vehicle and from the air.

The rafting segment of the trip would be a four day trip from Bradfields Ranch to Bedrock, CO, examining 94 miles of the Dolores. A second segment would begin at Gateway, CO and go 32 miles to Dewey Bridge, UT in 1 day.This was definitely an accelerated study trip. Lots of river miles and a short time frame to get it all done. We at Rocky Mountain River Expeditions would become the river outfitter to provide the guides and equipment to do both segments of the Wild and Scenic River Study Trip by raft. On this trip, Chicken Raper rapid at State Line would get it's name. We had run the Bradfield to Bedrock segment before, but the 32 mile section from Gateway to Dewey Bridge had never been floated by anyone on the trip.

Nicknames on the river are as common as mud on the bank, but how people get nicknames ia as varied as water flows from year to year. Of course, Chicken Raper as a river guide nickname probably does need some explanation. Allow me to share how quickly a nickname can stick - good or bad!

In the early days it was great that young ladies had a desire to become professional river guides. Some of them became the best paddle boat captain's this side of the Mississippi. In this case a beautiful young gal named Chris Raffin applied for a guide position with Rocky Mountain River Expeditions. She had been on one trip, floating the Yampa River with a group from East High School in Denver. She very much enjoyed rafting and thought it would be fun on weekends. As with many bitten by the river bug, it became her passion.

She needed to get geared up and like most of us, she didn't have much money. She and her Mom enjoyed going to garage sales. Tent, sleeping bag, wool clothing, rain gear and a duffle bag was all found in someone's garage. Alright, ready for training on the Dolores River in early May, 1975. Of course, it is a very cold beginning for trips on the Upper Dolores. First night camp was time for Chris to get familiar with her garage sale treasures that would keep her warm and dry. The next morning about first light she came crawling out of her little tent. We were getting the fire going for coffee and breakfast, when "Big Mike" looked over as she walked toward the fire. She was covered in feathers from her garage sale down sleeping bag! Mike looked up, pointed at her and shouted, "Look, it's a Chicken Raper!" We had a hearty laugh and then a hearty breakfast. The name stuck and throughout her time guiding trips, her passengers affectionately referred to her as Chicken Raper.

Later that month we were contracted to conduct the Dolores Wild and Scenic River Study. Chris was on the trip and did an unbelievable rescue of one of the BLM guys at State Line Rapid. We renamed it Chicken Raper Rapid and the BLM guy ended up with a pretty good leg gash. We all survived an incredible Dolores trip that we will never forget.

Chicken Raper continued to be a professional river guide and other river nicknames came and went. She received the Boatman's Hall of Fame award in 1977 after a number of great river trips. In April of 1979 she was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. She would never be able to enjoy the river as she had before. We did go on trips as her health would allow. We married in October, 1981 and went to see the Frazier River at Hells Canyon in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her cancer worsened and she battled bone cancer over time until she could no more. She passed a year and a half after we married, on January 25, 1983. The River God needed a great river guide and Chicken Raper was her name.

Tune in to Cortez Radio KSJD on Thursday, April 11th at 8:30 AM. Jay and I (Dennis "D-9er" Schell) will talk more about the Dolores Wild & Scenic River trip conducted in May, 1975.
 
See less See more
#3 ·
That is a great story Jan, thanks for sharing. A bittersweet reminder of how fleeting life can be. You never really know what's around the next bend. She must have been one hell of a gal to be able to carry that nickname!
 
#6 ·
Jan,

That was beautiful and, especially for a story about that particular name, quite touching.

Thanks for posting it!

-AH
 
#9 ·
Thanks for sharing that with us D9er! I'm compelled to add that Rocky Mt. River Expeditions was one of the finest river outfitters around back in those days and I have terrific memories of my 4 years with the company! Folks today could hardly believe how we ran with wooden dryboxes, knowledge of how to tie knots (no cam straps available), cooked everything we ate on campfires and kept ourselves warm with wool! What treasured memories and what skills we had! Schutzie - - thanks for hiring me! D9er - - thanks for firing me too! Learned some great lessons and still running safely and with humility all these years later!
 
#10 ·
RMRE set a lot of standards in the day; first to run paddle boats commercially I think, certainly the first to hire women as guides, and first to run a J rig down the Dolores; more of a grading run than a float:D

But, "wooden dry boxes"? Wood yes, dry no!

And I remember a weekend on North Platte when the rangers rolled out the next morning wearing our T shirts over their uniforms...what was left of them...and grins on their faces. Doubt that could happen today. I didn't know it then, but I met my wife that weekend.
 
#13 ·
Thanks Jan....brings back memories of Dolores river runs back when it ran on a regular basis....pre-McPhee.....

I can just picture the early morning campfire....and Chris's emergence from the tent with no idea that she was covered in feathers...just looking for some coffee to warm her up after that cold night's sleep....then...the moment of her new river handle to be emerges from Mike's mouth on a whim.....Chicken Raper!

I'm rolling on the floor now just picturing it....

Then to have followed that up with the amazing rescue at Stateline which i can only imagine.....moments of peril followed by sighs of relief that nobody died....epic to say the least....

so cool that her handle got transferred to the rapid.....and so fitting....

now if we could just convince the the McPhee dam controller to open the gate, I could go down for my dental check up at Snaggletooth.....I schedule the appointment every year, but the dentist never calls me back!

Thanks for sharing
Rando
 
#15 ·
I wasn't going to add this Post Script to the story, but what the hell............

Later that year, when we were running pump house every weekend (every damn weekend!) and the bar at State Bridge was doing landslide business on Sunday afternoons, we rolled in with our usual suspects.

After a round or two of Jelly beans (do not be fooled by the name, my spirit left my body the first time because of incautious contact with them) Chicken Raper was sitting at one of the tables in the bar, as usual, without trying, being the life of the party.

Now, this is in the bar. Not the "restaurant". The restaurant where they served everything but eggs and chicken. Honest. I don't recall ever seeing any poultry on the menu, around the place, and for damn sure, no eggs. None. Zip. Zero.

In any case, Chicken raper said something about the restroom and got up from her chair. And big Mike pointed to the floor under her chair. Where a broken raw egg was oozing into a rancid puddle.

Any doubts about her river name were instantly dissolved. And the mystery of how that egg came to be there, under that particular chair where Chicken raper chose to sit, remains unsolved.

She always accused Mike of leaving the egg, but the fact is, Mike had no more ability to carry an egg unbroken for two days than I could run Snaggle tooth without breaking something.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top