Monday, June 22

At the Holiday River Expeditions (“Go with the flow”) office, we dropped off our bags, had a last look around the office/store for last-minute items we might need, then loaded up in two vans for a ride to the airstrip.

At the airstrip, our bags were loaded into two 10-seater airplanes and then off we went for a 30-minute (or so… all times are “abouts”) flight to our starting place.

We flew over amazing scenery — hills, canyons, plateaus. They pop up out of flat countryside, unmistakable and compelling.

Turns out, our starting place was at the top of a plateau. As we landed at the dirt airstrip, I couldn’t shake a feeling we were going to run right off a cliff into a canyon below! No worries, though, we came to a stop with plenty of plateau to go. 🙂

Two other vans met us to load up our bags, which we retrieved from the plane. The van folks gave us our sleeping bags and pillows, which we put into our big bags. Then they took off to drive to the put-in at the river below, while we started our hike down from the plateau after an intro to the landscape/area from one of our guides, Annie.

This turned out to be quite a hike! We thought it was “about a mile,” but turned out to be at least a mile and a half, maybe closer to two. The path wasn’t bad, except for being steep and very slippery with loose rock. And some steep steps. I was so glad to have brought my hiking poles!!

Made it OK, though, and except for a lead group, I was in the front for the rest (I was going slow to be really careful, and let’s face it, I’m just a slow hiker). Because I was in front, I saw several lizards keeping a wary eye on us. At the bottom, Jen said this was the most difficult of any of the hikes we’ll do this week, so whew! That’s done.

At the bottom, at the put-in place, was our last “4-walled” bathroom. Along with others, I took advantage of that, then joined everyone at our rafts. There were 4 rafts, 3 “duckys,” supplies, life jackets, all our bags, tents, chairs, etc. Plus 14 women, 2 trip leaders, 4 guides, and a bunch of Holiday River drivers/helpers. It was quite an operation to get everything sorted.

Each raft is loaded about equally–no supply raft. 4 rafts, 4 of us to each raft, plus the guide.

We got our life vests fitted, picked up our day bags, and got a safety briefing about how to stay safe on the river and around the rafts. The three duckys are one-person kayaks. Three people decided to start off in those and the rest of us loaded into the rafts. Finally we were off!

It’s hard to describe the river experience. It’s quiet and busy at the same time. On this trip, there’s the added element of so many people to get to know.

The scenery is gorgeous. Tall cliffs, greenery along the edge of the water. Sand.

This day we’re on “flat water.” No rapids or falls for the first couple of days. Just water, sun (and heat), and getting familiar with the rafts and each other. It’s a good intro to the trip.

Our guides (also all women) are amazing. They row all day long. I mean, row continuously. There’s a current, but it would be too slow alone, so they row. Can’t imagine. Today I’m in Ada’s raft.

When it got really hot, the guides broke out some umbrellas to shield us somewhat from the sun. These worked for the first couple of days, but as the wind picked up, they were no longer practical. We enjoyed them while we had them!

After about 5-6 miles, we stopped at a sandy beach for lunch. Interesting fact: all our stops are on the right side of the river. The entire left side is part of the Ute Reservation, and no stops are allowed there.

Again, the guides were/are amazing. They’re our cooks as well as rowers and packers and guides.

The afternoon was about the same distance, maybe a little bit more. Our stop for the night didn’t look like much; a small sandy beach, but that was just our gathering place. All the campsites were up the hill. We got our tents and poles, and then it was just, “find a spot.”

Jean A. and I were paired up again this night. We found a spot and laid out, and raised, the tent. Since both of us had done this before, it wasn’t too difficult.

To keep everyone from having to haul everything up the hill, we formed a line where everyone passed everything (bags, tents, sleeping pads, etc.) from one to another up the hill. I was grateful for that since my flexibility and strength ware not what they once were…sigh.

The guides set up the bano (toilets) in a secluded place and explained the protocol. Liquids in this one (eventually to be dumped in the river), solids and toilet paper in the other. Old ammo case for toilet paper. Wash station for hands. Board for signaling if it’s in use (green is OK, red is occupied). All well thought out. And while it’s out of sight of the camp, it’s open to the river so we had a great view!

We had a couple of hours before our next activity, so I unpacked the big bag and tried to remember where I’d put everything! That’s the hardest part of this experience so far. I’m sure I have what I need, but I don’t always readily know how to put my hands on it. I usually find what I’m looking for, it just might mean searching through a few packing cubes. I’m starting to remember, though. I expect by the end of the trip I’ll have it all down.

After the hike and float, I figured it was time to get cleaned up, and test my bath scheme.

I had put the essentials in a half-mesh bag and added a tether so I could attach it to something. That tether turned out to be a great idea, as I attached it to a boat the ended up using it to keep me attached to the boat. There was enough current to wash me down river!

I had tried to envision the best outfit to wear while washing and ended up with a spaghetti-strap short dress. This left most areas free to wash (and pee) and such. Jen asked if I’d do a video explaining this setup, so here’s what I did to explain it.

All that worked great (yay!). I washed my hair and body and felt great. Now, keep in mind that the only water for this is river water which, you can see from the pictures, doesn’t look very clean. Even though it has sediment in it, that doesn’t stick on you, so it felt like fresh water. Then I just sat in one of the camp chairs, combed my hair, and air dried.

It was nice to visit with others sitting around. We’re all getting to know each other in bits and pieces; like, one interaction at a time.

The only unwelcome pests are the flies. They’re like miniature flies. They don’t bite, but they buzz around our faces continually. I couldn’t figure out what they were doing; if not biting to get nourishment, what? No idea. But they were continuous companions for this day (and the entire trip, turns out). We just got used to waving them away.

Shortly before dinner, I changed into long pants and a dry shirt and was good for the evening.

After dinner (which the guides did a great job with, of course!), we all got together and did our sharing for the evening. And after that, Caryn and I got together to read the Weekly Bible Lesson and talk, which we did until it got pretty dark.

Then a last visit to the bano and into the tent. It wasn’t yet 9:30! Jean was already there and asleep. I found and changed into my nightshirt, then laid awake for a while but eventually drifted off. Full day!