2014 Desolation questions.... Bears, bugs, fires

31532 Views 94 Replies 51 Participants Last post by restrac2000, Oct 13, 2014

gbalko

Discussion Starter · May 14, 2014

Doing first Deso float June 9th and had a few questions.

What is the best route to take into sand wash? How long does it take to reach from pavement?

Should I spend the night in a motel the night prior to launch or camp at sand wash?

How bad will the skeeters be then?

Any other advice is greatly appreciated

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Sleepless

· #2 · May 14, 2014

It's 40 min from pavement to put in according to the shuttle company. I remember it being longer but we it in after dark and took it slow the last few miles.

Have and plan on camping at the put in this year. Might as well get an early start to get a jump on the flat water start.

Bugs. Get a screened camp.

cataraftgirl

· #3 · May 14, 2014

+1 on the screened cabin at the put-in. Life saver. We use River Runners Transport for shuttle. Melanie is great and she will answer many of your questions. Bring buy spray/bug hat/bug suit and hope you don't have to use them. Scout Joe Hutch aka Cow swim. Have fun.

panicman

· #4 · May 14, 2014

So, i here all this bug talk. what kind of bugs? Skeeters,Knats, or biting flys?

readNrun

· #5 · May 14, 2014

Lots of talk on the bugs. There also seems to be a prevailing opinion that the first week in June will be high enough water that the bugs won't be that bad. Thoughts?

cataraftgirl

· #6 · May 14, 2014

Mostly skeeters.

I have done two June Deso trips. June 11 launch, and June 13 launch. Bugs were really bad both time. I came home covered in welts the first time. The second time I was prepared with a bug suit & tons of spray. I didn't get bit too much, and it was a more pleasant experience, but not great. We also booked a screen cabin at Sand Wash the second time which was a life saver. I have vowed never to do Deso in June again. If you catch it on the way up or peaking, it won't be too bad. When it's peaked and is on the way down, that's when the mosquitos are bad. Standing water + moisture + heat = skeeter mania. Timing & tolerance for buzzing critters will determine how you enjoy the trip. Go prepared, and be pleasantly surprised if it's not bad.

ENDOMADNESS

· #7 · May 14, 2014

Never do a June Trip again !!

This is my first time doing Deso also (end of June) is it REALLY that bad? i have been on rivers for the last 17 years and would never give up the oppurtunity to do a river at a better flow....i've seen black flies and skeeters before but never enough to be scared.

Is it like Alaska National Geographic TV show bad?? and its mostly the first 2 days correct? (20 miles)

kazak4x4

· #8 · May 14, 2014

Bugs are bad the first 27 miles of the trip. After that you get into the canyon and bugs are much less.

cataraftgirl

· #9 · May 14, 2014

ENDOMADNESS said:
Never do a June Trip again !!

This is my first time doing Deso also (end of June) is it REALLY that bad? i have been on rivers for the last 17 years and would never give up the oppurtunity to do a river at a better flow....i've seen black flies and skeeters before but never enough to be scared.

Is it like Alaska National Geographic TV show bad?? and its mostly the first 2 days correct? (20 miles)

Never in June is my personal choice. My tolerance for getting bit or living in a bug suit for a week is low. On my two June trips, the bugs did not disappear after the first few days. They were less than biblical after day two, but still there, and still biting me. I now do Deso in late April or early May. It's much more enjoyable to me, and the flows are just fine. I don't need high water to have fun on Deso. This is my personal choice.....YMMV.

okieboater

· #10 · May 14, 2014

Deso Gray float is in my opinion, a lot of fun -- after you get down stream of the put in.

My best advice is rig the day before, get a screened in hut to camp (higher up the hill the better) plan for a early departure. Eat a fast to prepare cold breakfast in the screened in hut, put on bug spray, put on a mesh bug suit (full coverage is super, coat/hood with sox-long pants etc ok) and make a dash to the rafts and push off.

For what it is worth, buying a bug suit is the best comfort item you can buy if you plan to rig at the put in. I also think some type of mesh bug free tarp setup for the cook and eating area is great insurance for the first couple of days. We had flows in the 12,000 cfs range and it was easy to get in the middle of the river and make good time to avoid bugs and make plenty of miles that first day. This was a mid june launch if memory correct.

If you get lucky and no bugs at the put in, give thanks for your good luck. Be prepared with a bug suit and full coverage pants, shoes, shirt etc under the bug hood just in case the bugs are there in force.

I remember at afternoon rig time, looking down at my arms (bug hood, long sleeve shirt and tons of bug spray on my hands - wish I had the cotton work gloves for my hands) and my arms were just covered with bugs doing their best to penetrate the mesh.

It is a great trip, just bug city at the put in - unless you get lucky or it is too cold at launch for the bugs to get going.

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readNrun

· #11 · May 14, 2014

So - anyone have a suggestion on a good bug suit they are happy with?

johnovice

· #12 · May 14, 2014

I've read good things about thermacell (follow instructions -- can take 15 minutes to be effective). However, there is an acknowledged altitude issue for some of their products beginning around 4,500', and Sand Wash (a bit over that) is just high enough to make me wonder. Some of their products don't have that issue (I think the ones you light with a match). As said, I've "read" good things (and not just from the manufacturer), but no personal experience -- I'm thinking about it -- I too am on a mid-June Deso. A thermacell in the middle of the raft while rigging might just work.
Effective Mosquito Repellent for Outdoor Areas | ThermaCELL

Osprey

· #13 · May 14, 2014

I’ve had great luck with Thermacells even at altitude.* Put one in the kitchen area and you are pretty much good to go.

*

We almost always do June trips, just the nature of having teachers and people from different parts of the country in our crew.* Yes, the bugs are Alaska/Canada type thick.** Personally, I find them to be more swarming than biting type but you get some bites.** Use some permethrin (do it yourself BugsAway) on your clothes beforehand and I particularly like Ultrathon by 3M.*** Headnet is about all the further I’ve gone but those can get annoying I usually just deal with it.*** Those little fan things with the repellent in them work ok for the kids too.

*

I’ve never gone without getting a cabin or at least sleeping in the back of the car.** *Not too big an issue once you are out on the water but if you try to camp before Jack Creek they are still pretty brutal.* After JC, you tend to get more biting flies and worst of the mosquitoes dies out.** Sometimes I take some of those bug candles too for around the kitchen.* Thermacells are great though and cheap.

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cataraftgirl

· #14 · May 15, 2014

Would the Thermacells work on yellow jackets? We've never had big issues with them on the Main Salmon, but all those reports of killer swarms from last summer has me thinking????

I found a pull over bug jacket with a hood that you could cinch closed around the face. I wore that, with long pants and socks & shoes. A bug jacket when it's hot really sucks. It keeps them from biting, but the constant buzzing around my head & face made me crazy.

Osprey

· #15 · May 15, 2014

No idea on wasps, etc. Sorry, never used one in a place with enough to gauge it.

MrScamp

· #16 · May 15, 2014

Bugs on Ladore in June bad as Deso?

I have Ladore trip first week of June. Are the notorious Deso bugs as bad up river during the same time frame?

gbalko

Discussion Starter · #17 · May 15, 2014

Is it unheard of to get a motel in Roosevelt or vernal to avoid the bugs at sand wash and show up fully rigged and put in ASAP?

David Miller

· #18 · May 16, 2014

Bad idea! If you show up late and get a late start you'll camp right in the worst of it. Life is fine in the bug houses and the bugs are not as bad in the morning as they are in the evening.

Some times the rangers will get you checked in the night before and you can haul ass in the morning. Get an early start and row your brains out the first day!

gbalko said:
Is it unheard of to get a motel in Roosevelt or vernal to avoid the bugs at sand wash and show up fully rigged and put in ASAP?

restrac2000

· #19 · May 16, 2014

It can be done. Long morning drive but much of it is paved now.

Not sure I would want my rig bouncing around on that dirt road myself. A good portion of the road is in a flood basin, i.e. wash; they grade it regularly but its still a rough road for inflated rubber. As well there is not a classic ramp so you would still need to do a partial derig to get the raft in the water. Its a long thick muddy shallows at the put-in so driving the trailer far enough into the river to float your rig is unlikely.

Best of luck.

Phillip

quinoa

· #20 · May 16, 2014

It is totally possible to do that. A few years ago the majority of our group camped at Sand Wash. A friend and his family stayed in Roosevelt and met us in the morning at the put in with their boat rigged and on their trailer. The road is bumpy, but I know of many people who have traveled it, including me, with rigged boats on their trailers. It shouldn't be a problem to get your boat in the water if you have enough people to help. Get an early start. Have a great trip!

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