The desert can be an inhospitable home. However, when you
learn to play by its rules, the grandeur it reveals is rarely rivaled by other
environments. Fortunately our Adventure Learning crew has spent many starry
nights and sweltering days wandering the deserts of Utah.
May is a great time to do just about any activity in Utah's desert country, but a river trip will often find
its way to the top of the list. Our goal was to float Labyrinth Canyon on the
Green River; a 68-mile journey starting in Green River, Utah and ending at
Mineral Bottoms, the river-entrance to Canyonlands National Park. To complete
this task we spent a lot of time in preparation; we monitored water flows,
rented dependable canoes and drybags, weighed the pros and cons of clothing
options, poured over mileages on maps, and made sure we'd have adequate water
and food for the varying weather conditions that would affect our bodies. While
our trip leader had been down this section multiple times, it is always good to
treat the outdoors with respect and prepare for the worst even with confidence
that the best will appear.
Our 6 a.m. launch time was met with rain showers that
turned to blue skies within an hour. After 30 miles of floating, we reached our
camp at Trin Alcove, or Three Canyons. Almost immediately after getting camp setup, 40mph+ wind
gusts rolled through camp for nearly an hour and a half followed by heavy
rains. When you are in a safe spot, watching rain accumulate over sandstone and
cascade off the nearest cliff is a very memorable experience. From our perch
above the river, and with 270º of visible cliffs, we counted 25 significant
waterfalls pouring off the rim of the canyon; it was a-once-in-a-lifetime type
of experience.
We didn’t have nearly as much intensity and excitement
over the next few days as our first night, but we were never shorthanded on
light hearted conversations, pleasant weather and beautiful scenery. In total
we spent almost 25 hours lazily floating down the river, passing food around
the boats, and taking cat naps while the river dictated our path. Being Memorial
Day weekend there were a few other large parties on the river and we ensured we
would get the camps we wanted by putting on the river by 6 a.m. Not only did
this give us a head start on the day when the temperatures were cool, but we
also got to enjoy the symphony the local bird populations produced in the
growing light.
This was a very memorable trip for us and we believe our
attending students will also look back on this trip with fondness. A few of
them even mentioned how they would enjoy taking their parents down this stretch
of river. Overall, we really couldn’t have asked for better conditions. The
heat and bugs were quite manageable, the race to lay claim to premier camp
spots was uncompetitive, and the surprise thunderstorms ended up being a great
reward rather than a detriment. There is something special about rivers and we
hope we gave our students a strong chance at experiencing that for themselves.
Mike Bodrero, Adventure Learning
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