Two Fools and a Canoe-A Stillwater Canyon Adventure

[b.stark]

On May 2 through 7, @futurafree and I canoed from Mineral Bottom to Spanish Bottom on the Green River (and a little of the Colorado). We came up with the plan maybe 2 months before the trip was to begin and were surprised to be able to snag some spots with Tex's to rent a canoe and get a jet boat shuttle.

We scheduled for 5 nights, which is a night longer than most people take for this trip. It was perhaps a bit too long, but it made for a very relaxed trip. We only had to canoe at most about 12 miles in a day.

The last few months (actually about 2 years for me if I'm honest) have been full gas and pretty stressful, so the relatively short days of canoe travel and lots of time in camp worked out well for me and I enjoyed getting to actually relax for several days in a row (apart from some occasional sporty canoeing in wind or a couple riffles). We were done canoeing by 2 or 3 in the afternoon at the absolute latest, and usually got on the water around 10AM, though on the last day we got on the water I think just before 8AM. The afternoons were quite warm, so it was good to find a little shade and read a book.

Day 1

Our trip started at Tex's Riverways in Moab. I think 2 other groups were on our shuttle to the boat ramp. Two groups (including us) using canoes, one group had inflatable kayaks.

The switchbacks down to Mineral Bottom are impressive... hadn't been down them myself before.

We noted a couple people standing at the edge of one of the cliffs while driving down... base jumpers! We were treated to a show when one went for it. Looked like a successful jump.

After having our permit and gear checked by an NPS employee we were off. Water was pretty much glass calm and it was a mercifully easy day to get used to being in a canoe again. I'd consider myself moderately experienced as a canoe paddler, though I don't get out as often as I used to.

We paddled along until arriving at Fort Bottom. We found a takeout (surprisingly access to the shore is not good along the Green due to tamarisks) and decided to explore.

First stop is this old log cabin. The fireplace is made with impressive craftsmanship, but the walls are made with some rather rough carpentry.

The next stop was the "fort" that is the namesake of Fort Bottom.

Views from the summit of the butte were fantastic.

We ended up making camp at Fort Bottom, and started getting used to being off the water quite early. We weren't sure this was where we would stop until after checking everything out and checking for any other campsites in the area (there really weren't any).

Day 2

Our next day of paddling was much the same... glass calm with easy paddling.

We noted Buttes of the Cross

And traffic on the White Rim Road

We took a campsite at Anderson Bottom, which we had planned to stop at, and after a break took off to explore a couple interesting spots in the rather large bottom area.

First stop was an old cowboy "cabin" that had been blasted into the side of a cliff in an alcove.

They had blasted back into a seep to create a decent water source. It had been piped down to a trough, but the piping had seen better times and unfortunately didn't give us any fresh water. I climbed up to the hole that had been blasted to collect water. There was some in there and in a pinch it would do as a water source, but we were not in need so didn't get any. It was shallow and pretty mossy so it would have taken some work to collect water.

Next stop was an old cattle trail that had been used to move livestock down to the bottom.

The view at the top of the trail is a bit of a puzzler... who in their right mind would think this was good cattle grazing country?

A wide view of the bottom from closer to camp.

That night we were treated to some tremendously gusty winds and even some rain showers. Fortunately camp was pretty protected from the wind, and the rain stopped early enough in the morning that everything was dried out by the time we packed up to get back on the water.

Day 3

The day started off with some pretty easy canoeing again. We made a stop at Holeman Canyon.

There's a huge pour off and alcove in Holeman Canyon. It has some nice seeps that in a less dry year would probably be nicely decorated with vegetation (and might even provide a decent water source). As it was, things were pretty dry though there were some places you could stand under a slow drip of water.

Our next challenge happened going around Turk's Head. Some showers moved through the area, which didn't bother us, but what did was wind. It wasn't awful wind, but enough to make the canoeing... challenging.

After some sporty canoeing in the wind, we made it to a campsite at Deadhorse Canyon, where we stayed for the night. Thankfully the site actually had a very nice side channel with a great landing out of the wind. We made a hike to some interesting sites in the area, including impressive beds of chert.

A ledge above our site had a great view of Turk's Head

We had a nice sunset and I finally took a decent picture of my campsite.

Day 4

Apart from an excellent sunrise, Day 4 was pretty mundane. Wind was a factor at times, but not as bad as the previous afternoon, and we made camp quite early after a stop for a short side hike to a "worm rock."

"Worm rock" has fossilized tubes of some kind of ancient aquatic worm. A bit anticlimactic, but it was an excuse to get out of the canoe and stretch the legs a bit.

We made it to camp at Jasper Canyon quite early. At this point we were thinking that the extra day we had decided to take wasn't entirely necessary, but it was nice to sit in the shade as this afternoon was quite warm.

Day 5

This was our final day in the canoe. We got on the water quite early... for the first time ever, I got an accurate forecast from my Garmin InReach and it began raining pretty early in the morning. We got on the water I think around 8AM, maybe 8:30AM, and paddled through the rain. Perhaps not the best decision, but I didn't really want to just stand around in camp and get soaked when I could be making miles and getting soaked. I took very few pictures, though it did stop raining by about 9AM or 9:30AM. We took a long break to dry out and warm up, then continued on to the confluence. Again, I didn't take any pictures as the wind was pushing the canoe around a bit and also the currents and sandbars at the confluence required a little concentration to navigate.

Somewhere upstream of the confluence

With the early start, we got to Spanish Bottom pretty early. Upstream of Spanish Bottom on the Colorado, we talked to some NPS staff that were doing work in the area. We ended up picking the middle Spanish Bottom site... access is kinda meh, but the site was nice. Chris did the hike up 1200 feet to the Dollhouse, but I was content to wander around use trails on Spanish Bottom and hang out in camp and read.

Remains of an old brush fence

Spires of the Dollhouse peeking up above the canyon rim

Down that way lies Cataract Canyon. You can hear the first rapids that are just out of view around the corner.

Day 6

This is a fun day. Back in 2017 I did a hiking trip in the Maze District of Canyonlands NP using the Tex's jet boat shuttle to and from Spanish Bottom, so I was looking forward to another ride on the jet boat. As a bonus, they've gotten a fancy new jet boat since I'd last taken the ride.

Flows on the Colorado (and Green for that matter) were quite low, so sandbars were an issue for the jet boat, requiring some sporty driving to get us through. I'd say it was a really fun ride, though other passengers might not have agreed.

Overall, it was an excellent trip. The relaxed nature was just right for me, though even I admit that some of the long afternoons in camp did get to be a little much. We expected more opportunities for side hikes, but they were in reality a bit limited, and we did end up skipping a couple due to rain/wind. My canoeing skills aren't tip top perfect, but we made it through so I'll take it as a win. I made slightly different gear choices for the trip and everything worked out pretty well, so no complaints there.