EX DRAGON CRIMSON CANYON

Written By: Airtpr Ward

After various delays, leading to almost thirty hours of travel, we arrived at Grand Junction, a small town on the Utah-Colorado border, eager for our hotel beds. There were still miles to traverse to our starting point and after another day of driving we finally arrived in Moab, Utah, the gateway for expeditions in the Utah desert.

Our plan was simple; canoe 125 miles down the Green River to its confluence with the Colorado River. There was much preparation to be done: nine days with no resupply and only what we could carry in our already heavy boats meant we were very restricted on equipment and provisions. A miscalculation would pose a very real danger down route where there would be no phone signal for days or viable means of resupply or extraction.

As the day of departure broke grey skies greeted us. The weather forecast for the next two weeks was not much different and as we loaded our boats on a muddy bank in sideways rain, the challenge that lay before us became painfully real.

Less than 500 metres after setting off there was a stretch of grade 2 rapids – a baptism of fire for us novice skippers. As water flooded in over the bow, the prospect of a capsize and wet equipment for the foreseeable future seemed likely – fortunately, all boats made it through upright. After a long day of paddling into the wind and rain, a steep and treacherous bank made getting to camp an exhausting and dangerous endeavor. As we sat under tarps in torrential rain, we all thought surely the weather couldn’t get any worse?

As the days progressed our confidence and skills improved, along with the scenery and weather (or so we thought!) and spirits were high. A wide range of backgrounds and ranks made up the group, making for entertaining moments to say the least!

Day four started sunny and mild and the scenery was some of the best any of us had ever seen. Near the end of the day clouds rolled in and we all geared up for rain, however, the sky gave us some of the heaviest hail anyone had ever experienced. Not only was this freezing and felt like being shot with a BB gun, it also made paddling very laborious. Despite it being an incredibly tough day, we were past the halfway mark!

During the next few days we really hit our stride, covering 20 miles in one day alone. As we got deeper into Canyon Lands National Park, we were in one of the most remote places in the USA, seeing breathtaking scenery only accessible by canoe.

We woke on day seven to grey skies and the sound of raging water. Just downstream from our camp was a vicious grade 2 rapid section. After watching a demonstration from one