We just got back from five days on the Green River through Gates of Lodore, and it was one hell of a trip.
We met up at the Lodore put-in Monday evening with a great group of folks coming from Salt Lake City, Denver, Cortez and a few places in between.
A bunch of rain had come through the night before and continued into Monday, and you could definitely see it in the river. The Green wasn't very green when we launched — it was full-on chocolate milk.
River levels kept us guessing a little all week, bouncing around between roughly 1,800 and 2,800 CFS.
Into Lodore
Our first night was a short float down to Wade and Curtis Camp. After getting boats unloaded, camp set up and dinner going, we settled into what would become the routine for the week — good food, a few drinks, cornhole, Cub games, picking some guitar and plenty of sitting around camp talking trash.
Day two was the big rapid day.
We had great, clean runs through Upper and Lower Disaster Falls and Hell's Half Mile. It was a fun water level for the canyon and a great day to be behind the oars.
That night we pulled into Rippling Brook Camp #2. One of the highlights there was hiking up from camp to the waterfall. It's one of those places where you could easily just stay at camp, but it's absolutely worth getting off the boat and doing some exploring.
Hiking, Wildlife & River Time
Our third night was at Sea Cliff Beach, followed by Jones Hole #4 for our final night.
We managed to get in some great hikes during the trip, including Winnie's Grotto, the waterfall at Rippling Brook and about a four-mile round-trip hike up Jones Hole to Butt Falls.
After spending most of the day sitting in a raft, stretching the legs on a good hike feels pretty damn good.
We also saw plenty of wildlife along the way, especially bighorn sheep throughout the canyon.
Jones Hole really put on a show for our last night. Two bald eagles hung out across the river from camp while a couple of beavers went about doing their Jones Hole thing.
Once it got dark, we had a few more visitors.
A family of skunks wandered through camp, followed by a family of raccoons that seemed to really enjoy scampering around the boats.
So, a little advice if you're camping at Jones Hole: keep your food tight. The locals definitely know where the river camps are.
Nobody Went Hungry
And, as usual, nobody went hungry.
Dinner during the week included pork Bolognese with pasta, dumplings and slaw, jambalaya, and chicken fajitas.
There's something about eating a big dinner next to the river after rowing and hiking all day that makes everything taste about twice as good.
Camp time was pretty simple. Get the boats tied up, unload, set up camp, make some food, throw some cornhole bags, play a few games of Cub, pick a little guitar and enjoy where we were.
That's pretty hard to beat.
And, of course, no private river trip would be complete without...
Room with a view.
The Long Way Home
Our last day was the big push — roughly 20 miles to the takeout.
Luckily, the weather cooperated. Anyone who has done this stretch knows that the long flat-water section can become a completely different animal when the wind decides to blow upstream.
We got lucky with pretty mild wind and were able to keep moving before reaching the beginning of the Split Mountain section.
After five days of muddy water, rapids, hikes, wildlife, great camps, too much food and a lot of laughs, we finally hit the takeout.
Gates of Lodore is one of those trips that gives you a little bit of everything — big canyon walls, whitewater, hiking, wildlife, great camps and enough flat water at the end to remind you that you probably should have been rowing more during the week.
Great river. Great crew. Great trip.
Already looking forward to the next one.
Planning your own river trip? Stop by High Desert Life Outdoors in Cortez. We're always happy to talk river gear, camping gear, maps, straps — or just swap river stories.