We’re organizing a trip for later this summer on the Green river below Flaming Gorge Dam. We’ll put in at the dam and run the length of browns park pulling out at Lodore.
Does anyone have any information on reliable shuttles?
I have been on that section
a number of times on rafts. Are you canoeing, kayaking, or rafting? The flows are scheduled to be average pretty much 1000 cfs through the summer, which should be a pretty reasonable flow for the section you are doing. The trickiest part will be red creek rapid. There are a few boulders and some rock garden to get through, but shouldn’t be too hairy at that flow if you have a bit of experience.
As far as a shuttle goes, there are quite a few raft outfitters that do that run and bunches of trout guides that haul dories. Maybe you can hook up with one of them to bring you back to the put-in near the dam. You might try…
Flaming Gorge Lodge: http://www.fglodge.com/shuttles.htm
I have used Hatch River Epeditions before to outfit trips: http://www.hatchriver.com/river-rafting-expeditions.shtml. Since one of their common whitewater trips (along with about 10 other outfitters located in Vernal, Utah) puts in at the head of Lodore Canyon, maybe they would be willing to shuttle you back to your put-in for a nominal fee.
Have fun, enjoy the trip, and consider bringing some fly gear to try for the lunker trout that reside in that section of the river!
Thanks Doc…
We’re going in solo ww canoes… hopefully light loads. Other than Belknap’s guides…are there any better guides available with real descriptions of the rapids?
Thanks for the leads!!
Solo Canoes
sound like they would be fun, but I have only done it in a raft or a dory. The section you are doing is not real hairy whitewater, but there are a few things to watch out for, such as a few drops (should be pretty easily runnable at that flow – the trout guide dories get through just fine!), the chute at the end of red canyon, and Red Creek Rapid. You’ll want to scout that one – there is a place to eddy out on river left at the upstream end and a trail (pretty rocky as I recall) you can use to scout or portage. If you go to http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v285/fishdoctor/, I posted a few images of Red Creek Rapid when it was at about 800 cfs (it’ll be at least 1,000 cfs when you go, but shouldn’t be a huge change). I hope the link works… There are a few other named rapids, but it is generally pretty clear how to run them. The Belknaps guide is the best commercially available map that I know of. I have a photocopy of a map I got from some of the fish biologists at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. I might be able to e-mail a PDF version if you are interested, but it still does not show much detail on any of the rapids. There are also a bunch of Forest Service and BLM campgrounds along the way. They are pretty nice if you are planning to camp (not sure about permit needs for that section).
Apparently that link doesn’t work
but I think that this will… 4 photos of Red Creek Rapid
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v285/fishdoctor/Red_Creek_Rapid1.jpg
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v285/fishdoctor/Red_Creek_Rapid3.jpg
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v285/fishdoctor/Red_Creek_Rapid2.jpg
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v285/fishdoctor/Red_Creek.jpg
Doesn’t look like much here… a couple of chutes to chose from and a rock gardent to navigate. Once you get into Browns Park, it is pretty flat in some places. The bigger rapids are down in Lodore Canyon.
