Concur with your advice and water ideas
I’ve done Ruby to Spanish three times now - yes it is that nice.
Drinking water will be a major concern. If you settle out the Green River water, it can be filtered. Using alum you can settle out a 6 gallon bucket in about an hour or two.
Buy those 2 1/2 gallon plastic rectangles of water and have your outfitter bring them to mineral bottom at the halfway point on agreed-upon date. We had a 10 gallon resupply at our midway point.
Get a small cooler perhaps 20 quart size. Find 1 or 2 liter plastic water bottles that will fit it. If you bring them frozen, they will act to provide you refrigeration for your first three or four days. Afterwords they are a nice clean water supply.
Bring two collapsible buckets. One can be used to settle out for filtering water, The other is settled out and used for washing. Take A plastic Coke bottle and cut off the very top. Poke holes in the bottom and now you have a dipper that is a shower. Do all your soaping out of the bucket by using the dipper and your second bucket will stay pretty clean.
Layover days are good filtering days and a gravity filter makes it especially easy.
Absolutely stunning trip - well worth doing
Water
I was thinking about going again this Sept. Didn’t work out but I did make an inquiry at Tex’s about water.
They said they could (for a price I assume) do a water drop at some inconspicuous prearranged spot near Mineral Bottoms, since they do frequent put-ins and take-outs there anyhow. That’s about half way. Perhaps that suggests something to you…
Done it twice
In April there was plenty of settled water in side canyons and the occasional spring. We used a gravity filter but did bring 2 2.5 gal water jugs after they were empty we used them to sete and decant water.
The water filter did not clog. And we just did ten days on Superior and used the same filter
Sept is decidedly more unpleasant (our first trip was in Sept). We had to use alum to clump the sediment then let settling and filtering happen. While not fun then it IS still possible to filter and drink the Green
Native Utahn Here
I would just carry plenty of fresh water to drink and avoid cooking that uses water. You can put lots of bottles low along the keel and behind the seat, we actually just use plastic water jugs.
You don’t know if there are going to be storms that can turn side canyons into muddy messes. Filters will clog and the water tastes like s__t.
good thought
I was thinking of asking if that were possible.
Yeah, with the wind that sweeps that
open water, it can’t hurt to have a hunnert pounds of Walmart plastic water bottles as ballast.
I have a nice water bag too, but it’s actually more trouble to use. The Walmarts, once empty and resealed, are just more flotation, all in a mesh bag.
Green R
It is very interesting to hear of others’ experiences on the Green. I did town to Mineral Bottom. Fall is the best time to go. Bring a copy of JW Powell’s journal and read it around the campfire at night.
I am not sure where all of these ideas come from about carrying water on canoe trips. I used a regular water filter and settling. Alum is a great idea.
Big boats are the norm on the Green and big loads. The afternoon wind can be fierce, sometimes building to whitecaps as there is a lot of fetch in the canyon.
Water bottles
I’m surprised at all the recommendations for buying bottled water. Why not just fill up empty water bottles or milk jugs? Never understood why anyone would pay for water and waste all that plastic.
Alan
You can do that
You probably will be using a shuttle service. There is a hose at Tex’s for filling water jugs.
Plus the local City Market on weekends is often plumb out of bottled water. When the California crowd comes or the UTV convention, supplies are depleted fast.
direction ?
wind blows down canyon with current or up canyon aganst current… ?
now, of course we know the answer but from experience ?
so why does the wind always blow up the canyon against our travel direction with current ?
Inside Passage
sail and motorboat manual…the $35 tome with map on cover…lists taverns within walking distance from the dock.
Sailboats on the Green?
As usual I think you are out of touch with reality.
River Guide
I just got my copy of Belknap’s Waterproof Canyonlands River Guide.
It has more info than I’ll ever use.
So I am making notes here and there on places to see, etc.
Anyone have this guidebook and opinions?
I do wish that it were spiral-bound at the top soI can remove the parts that I won’t need this trip, and replace them later.
Yes
Stik it tabs are handy on the river to find sections you highlighted
The Belknap is lacking detail though. I keep mixing it up with the Kelsey which we found much more interesting and useful..
Its well worth the investment if you don't want to miss some great hikes and sights.
no “RiverMaps” for that stretch
Just for the good of the order:
These RiverMaps are great -- easy to use and detailed about sights, camps, rapids (where applicable) -- I never use Belknaps; but sadly they don't have one for your stretch.
http://www.rivermaps.net/map%20&%20guide%20books.html
The Belknaps will be "good enough" maybe with the addition of poking around on the internet -- there seems to be pretty good info out there.
Kelsey?
Can you give me the title so I can order it?
this page has a few
including kelsey
http://www.amazon.com/Labyrinth-Canyon-River-Guide-Edition/dp/0963479962
bare barrel
http://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/gmap.php?map=riw
the zoom box changes area
thanks for the reminder ! I’ll sign up and ride some slick rock after stopping at REI for a gravity filter.
and a Geiger counter
You’re gonna love it!
I’ve done both stretches multiple times. It was my first river trip experience and my first time running a canoe.
It’s a gentle river for the most part. (only time I experienced angst was a May trip with lots of rain north of Green River so the flow volume ramped up while we were on it. (That was the mineral bottom to spanish bottom section).
Carry water. Period. You’ll need it - especially if you have not paddled a desert river. I would only filter as a last resort - and even then I’d probably boil that for good measure.
Bummed myself…I was scheduled for the entire section over 10 days late September, but it got cancelled.
Regards from somewhere on Colorado’s Continental Divide!
fotomatt