Blog post with links to slideshow covering my September 2010 trip on the Green River.
http://thedamntrueexperiment.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post.html
cool!
Great report True! I’ve also found solo trips can become strangly emotional and challenging in other ways as well. Glad you did it! Great photos too!
greg
One of the better TR’s I’ve read.
Thanks for posting un-edited.
Very Nice!
So here I am sitting looking out the window at a world of snow and reading your report and enjoying the photo show. Beautiful.
I paddled the Green for the first time two years ago and I doubt I’ve gone more than three days since without remembering that trip. The place is simply magical. Thanks for taking me back.
Nice report. Thanks for not editing it.
enjoyed your trip report.
I do not know if you heard but the road to Mineral bottoms washed out and that was why there was nobody around. Those cars might be there for awhile. I heard from other river runners that the river traffic is way down because that was the major take out for the upper river.
Mineral Bottom
Yeah, I was aware of this. They told us the whole story on the trip to the drop-off. Here is an update from Tex’s regarding their Green River service for summer 2011. I’m in no way affiliated with them, but I’m on their mailing list and thought the info might be of use to anyone considering a similar trip.
Tex’s Riverways: Mineral Bottom Road Update
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So the last time you all heard from us it was late in our 2010 river season and we were being tested by Mother Nature, flash floods and washed out roads to service our busy fall calendar without the ability to get clients to or from The Green River at Mineral Bottom. When it was all said and done and with much thanks to the people who used are services this fall we have successfully passed that test and are gearing up for a "new and improved" season in 2011.<br />
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With the coming of the New Year, the news on the Mineral Bottom Road is promising. In impressive fashion our local, State and Federal agencies have moved very quickly to expedite repairs on the road. Funding was secured and a contractor was named in early November. Actual on-site repairs got going before Christmas with the plan of completing the job as quickly as possible... weather permitting. Just after Christmas we had a fairly significant snowfall in Canyonlands and since then our weather has been less than cooperative. With any luck the weather will warm up soon, the snow will melt and repairs will resume. Some initial estimates of a completion date had the road open again by the end of March 2011 but without any doubt the weather will take precedence over estimates. The bottom line is that things are headed in the right direction and that a lot of energy is being generated and effort being made so that we can provide you the service you have come to expect and so that you can enjoy a vacation on the river so many of you cherish.<br />
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In a spirit of perseverance it is clear to us that many of you are moving ahead with your 2011 river trips with or without Mineral Bottom as an option. Our telephone is still ringing and our email box is as full of reservation requests as we have come to expect. As we mentioned in our email to you last fall we have no plan of shutting down our operations just because the road to Mineral Bottom is closed. We have a very good "Plan B" in place to use an alternate launch location up river from Mineral Bottom at a place called Spring Canyon. Admittedly Spring Canyon will present some challenges to us that the Mineral Bottom does not but as a temporary solution to our problem it is a challenge we welcome. However our permit with the BLM is specifically for launching at Mineral Bottom and we are being granted short term permission to use Spring Canyon only until Mineral Bottom is available.<br />
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We encourage all of you who are planning a trip with us this year to continue with that plan. We are booking all Mineral Bottom shuttles with the idea that Spring Canyon will be that actual launch point so long as access to Mineral Bottom is an issue. Based on the efforts being made to reopen the Mineral Bottom road it seems likely that the number of people who will indeed be launched at Spring Canyon will be relatively few. In looking at the reservations we have already booked for this year it is clear to us that whether we are driving people to Spring Canyon or to Mineral Bottom the demand for our shuttle and outfitting service is unchanged. We still have shuttle dates that are filling up and some dates that are no longer available not only in the springtime but throughout our 2011 season. If you are waiting for the Mineral Bottom road to open up before you book your trip you may find that the dates you want have already been booked by others.<br />
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Thanks for your patience,<br />
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Darren Vaughan<br />
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Co-Owner/Office Manager<br />
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Tex's Riverways<br />
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Website:<br />
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<a href="http://www.texsriverways.com" TARGET="_new">http://www.texsriverways.com</a><br />
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Email Address:<br />
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info@texsriverways.comGood to hear they are on it.
A lot of people depend on that road so it is good to hear they are getting it fixed. A trip down the Green is one of the best River trips in the US.
Thank you!
It is on my wish list of destinationa.
Minneral Bottom Road repaired!
Mineral Bottom Road Re-opens
After an interesting few months of trials and tribulations, we are finally able to send an email with nothing but good news to share
GOOD NEWS # 1
As of March, 29th 2011 the Mineral Bottom road has been reopened for public use.
Mineral Bottom Road Repaired
For those of you who have been following our previous emails you undoubtedly remember that late last summer we lost access to Mineral Bottom on the Green River, due to a huge flash flood and significant damage having been done to the Mineral Bottom road. In what we can only describe as an amazing effort on the part of The Bureau of Land Management, our local government officials here in Grand County, and a local road construction company called K-SUE, the road that we thought would be out of commission for quite some time has been repaired and is in better shape than it has ever been. Not only was the road repaired in an unbelievably short period of time (around 3 months of time on site) but it was done in roughly half the cost of what was originally projected.
For more detailed information please see the article that appeared in our local newspaper on March, 31st.
http://www.moabtimes.com/view/full_story/12572381/article-With-construction-complete–Mineral-Bottom-Road-is-reopened-to-vehicle-traffic?instance=home_news_right
What this means for Tex’s Riverways and our clients is a return to “normal” where Mineral Bottom is concerned. We will no longer be using Spring Canyon for any launch or pick-up activity. Our routine of utilizing Mineral Bottom as a launch and pick-up location is what you can expect for trips that have already booked a trip that involves Mineral Bottom or for those planning a trip for 2011 who have yet to book. We are sure that there are some of you who might have been looking forward to Spring Canyon as a “change of pace” for your 2011 river trip. Unfortunately our use of Spring Canyon was permitted by the Bureau of Land Management on a temporary basis only and was conditional on the completion of repairs at Mineral Bottom. With those repairs now complete we are no longer authorized to use Spring Canyon for river access.
We would like to thank all of you for your patience and support with this situation.
GOOD NEWS # 2
Our engine and jet upgrade to our large jet boat is complete and the results are more pleasing than we ever dreamed would be possible. The work that we had done over the winter is ideally going to end up being a good thing for us as a company and hopefully for all of you clients who will use our services in the future. Our boat is now more powerful, more maneuverable and all-around better able to do the work we need it to do. Our new engines are turbo charged diesel engines that are both more fuel efficient and “noticeably quieter” in the opinion of clients who have already been on our boat this year. With this added power our new engines won’t have to work as hard as our old engines did to do the same job. As an added bonus the boat is also now much faster which will make the ride home more timely and leisurely.
This upgrade represents a significant reinvestment in our company for us, one that will hopefully result in an improvement in the quality of service that we are providing. These last few years we have been working hard to improve all aspects of our service with a new SUV, a new bus, new vans, new Old Town canoes and now the upgrade to the jet boat. All of these improvements are done with you mind as we try to maintain the high standard of service and reliability that you have come to expect.
Thanks for doing business with us and we hope to have the opportunity to work with you again. The rivers in Canyonlands are ready and waiting.
The Boys @ Tex’s Riverways
Website: http://www.texsriverways.com
Email Address: info@texsriverways.com
Tex’s Riverways
P.O. Box 67
Moab UT 84532
(435) 259-5101
(877) 662-2839 toll free
Good news indeed!