Ruby-Horsethief of Colorado

The map shows the general route from Loma to Cisco.

Participates were Lance, Laurie, Bunny and Jerry, Jim and Jody and Ken.

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Ruby-Horsethief Trip Report 20220325

The alarm went off at 4:15AM waking me at the Frisco Chalet. I packed the car with the cooler full of food from the garage. I left my suitcase with clothes and bedding used at the Chalet on the landing for Carol and Reed to take back with them. Later I realized I’d packed my dob kit with that suitcase instead of taking it with me. No teeth brushing or shaving for the next four days. I drove uninterrupted periodically checking for a Starbucks to acquire a cup of coffee, but kept deciding against them. When I finally did pull off I-70 in Gel wood Springs, the Starbucks was in a Target and not yet open at 7AM. Nearing Silt I changed tactics and searched for any coffee shop. Misty on Main in Silt looked promising wi5 4.5 stars so off the freeway I drove. The store wasn’t obvious to me until after parking I watched someone go into a place. Misty was very pleasant yet had an aloofness I associated with the wariness that comes from living in a small town where strangers are not part of the fold. The French press coffee was floral and the raspberry tart very good. I’ll be stopping there again. The car need gas as I reached Fruita with 5e information light warning of low fuel. I filled up and continued onto Lona and then the boat launch. There were a couple of other people preparing boats to launch. One f them, Tim, was putting a new Highside in the water. I was the first of my party. I proceeded to rig the boat. He place was muddy and soon my gear was christened and no longer new. The frame went together easily except for one end piece which kept getting cockeyed. The blower worked quickly and effectively. I only need a few more K-pump strokes to top the chambers off. Ken was the first other member of Bunny’s party to arrive. Jim, his wife Jody, and Laurie arrived next. Lastly Bunny, her husband Jerry, and their dog “Livie” arrived. The dog is a bit high strung, has separation anxiety, and sheds satchel full of hairs. Bunny, Laurie, and I shuttled my car and Jim’s car to the parking lot at Westwater returning in Bunny’s car. Some of Livie’s hair magically stuck to me as I sat in the backseat more doghouse then seat. I finished rigging the boat storing much of Bunny and Jerry’s stuff. Later it was revealed that Jim and Jody had jumped through the hoops with he ranger to clear us for the river. That was a good thing because Bunny couldn't remember what she’d done with the permit - she’d given it to Jerry fortunately. We set off down the lazy river around 11:45. Bunny and Ken were in kayaks following from the rear. There were occasional ripples where the biggest concern was staying in the channel with he deepest water. I saw what I believe were a mating pair of Canvasback ducks. We floated at about 2.2mph with only a little wind on the last corner as we arrived at 3:30PM at Cottonwood 4 campsite. Bunny wanted to cross the river and try to hike up to Steve’s loop trail. It was only the two of us as no one else wanted to go. I ferried us across in my raft sitting on the table since the cooler was in camp. We traveled upstream about 300 meters and then Bushwhacked or followed cow trails a half mile before giving up and turning back. We watch two guys in a tandem canoe pass down the river and waved. Jim and Jody made beyond meat brats with grilled veggies for dinner. The ladies roasted coconut coated marshmallows over Jim’s propane fired BBQ pit fire. Bunny has a 40+ daughter with three children the oldest of which is nine years old. She also has a 40 year old son engaged to be married to a 34 year old woman. His name is David and owns some land south of Salida that he leases for cattle grazing. I believe Jerry is Bunny’s second husband. She is a chaplain. Ken has traveled extensively. He was an electrical engineer once employed to work on the r audio telescope in Puerto Rico that recently collapsed. Jim and Jody lived in Alaska. They have two children The daughter is attending college and will be in the coast guard. Laurie lives near Norman OK. She’s sixty-ish.

20220326

The night brought a light frost. Still I slept warm without the rainfly. The sun just breaking over the horizon invited a few photographs. There was the usually for breakfast of oatmeal and blueberries. I added a scone. And of course there was coffee made from that Evelyn and Ned brought me from Columbia. I slowly adjusted straps for the cooler on the boat. A borrowed pan from Jim enabled me to use river water to clean some of the mud off the boat. I packed and loaded my things. Spinning the boat around made it easier to load Jerry and Bunny’s bags. We launched after 10AM. It never ceases to amaze me how long it takes to eat and break camp. There were a number of different birds on the river. Blue herons. Ring necked ducks, ducks with reddish brown heads, a jay like bird catching bugs just above the waterline, bird songs coming from cliff faces. The air temperature was very pleasant and no wind to be had. Jody spotted five Big Horn sheep in rutting battles on a hill on river left. There was some serious head ramming taking place! We stopped at a historic cabin on river left. A pan Amtrak train passed headed east as here the tracks follow the river. We arrived at our campsite Mee 1 about an hour later at 2PM. All hands worked to set up camp and after a late lunch Jim, Laurie, Jody, Bunny, and I hiked for about three hours up and back Mee Canyon. On the return we encountered about six Big Horn sheep females grazing on the new green grass. Jody and Jim made beans and veggie meat tortillas. We chatted telling stories until darkness descended. I told Jim I’d introduce him to backcountry telemark skiing next season.

20220327

I was the last to wake up this morning. I wanted to linger in bed. My stomach hadn’t happy through the night so I had a very light breakfast. The sun eventually walked down the cliff face across the river and found our camp. I spent time repositioning the oar locks to move them further from the cooler. The additional distance enabled me to push on the foot support and obtain a full stroke of the oars with my arms. I found it a much better fit for me. We encountered many people today. There were people hollering from cliff rims, passing us in rafts, and the Amtrak train engineer hanging out the door waving as his train sped along the river’s edge. Today we paddled Black Rock rapids. They were a known event at the level we encountered them I did manage to hit one of three rocks. It spun the boat around before releasing. I felt rather silly and inexperienced in that moment. The current pulled the boat onto the rock at the last moment as I worked to slip through a narrow gap. I guess more practice is a good idea. We hiked in McDonald Creek one quarter mile to see the pictograph. Paddling a short distance we pulled over with Jim’s interest in hiking up Knowles Canyon. I followed the cable of the car for crossing the river where there was a rough trail through the thick shrubs. Jim. Laurie, Bunny, and I hiked to the mouth of the Knowles cabin. I went another couple hundred yards until the dry creek bed intersected the trail up the canyon. From here I turned back. There was old evidence of beavers. We quickly arrived at May Flats. The wind was blowing hard. The bank at May Flats is almost vertical and about 8-10 feet high. Jim and Ken wanted to skip it instead paddling the remaining 4.5 miles to the Westwater takeout. That was the consensus. I would have preferred to have tried to unload the boats Continuing fit with Jim’s need to return to Denver for a late evening flight. So we paddled into a stiff headwind arriving at Westwater around 6PM. Along the way Jody spotted a Bald eagle on a nest in a cottonwood tree. We broke down the boats at Westwater. Bunny made a delicious chili dinner. We camped here for the night.