Green River, Day Four—To Mineral Bottom

Last night was the worst sleep I've had in a long time! For starters, the ground was harder than it looked, with an inconspicuous hump beneath my back. Then, during the night, it was either like a sweat lodge inside my sleeping bag, or a mosquito fest if I was poking out. Even if I went a few minutes without any pesky bugs, without fail, one would soon be buzzing at my ear or sucking blood from my arm.

Somehow I survived, and this morning we all awoke at our usual time, just as it was light enough to see. (No one brought any kind of chronometer on this trip, so telling time was always a guess.)

We ate oatmeal and bagels, which is the same breakfast we have eaten all week. Then we rolled up our bags and packed away the food to load on the boats for our final sojourn along the river.

I think that most of the group was anxious to get home, so no one (except me) wanted to stop anywhere. My one wish was to visit the other inscription from 1836 of the French trapper, Denis Julian, located in Hell Roaring Canyon, which was near the end of our route.

Finally on the stand-up (or sit-down) paddleboard.

Today was my day on the stand-up paddleboard. It was my first time on it, and I liked it from the beginning. It floated lightly on the river, barely piercing the water more than a few inches. The lack of friction helped it glide easily. Rather than stand up, I sat down and used it like a kayak.

At early morning, the sun still bent low in the sky. The ocher hue of the cliffs reflected in the water. I would paddle for a while, then stop for a moment and let the current slowly carry me while I searched as far as I could along the cliffs for anything compelling. I found a few arches and interesting pinnacles.

We passed Two-mile Canyon where I had walked yesterday, then Horseshoe Canyon, which was much wider and open than I had expected. We had settled into two groups, with one canoe and the raft well behind us.

Sometimes while on the SUP, I would drag a paddle so that it turned the board, leaving me to spin in a slow circle. This gave me a panoramic view from behind.

Other times I just laid down on the board and closed my eyes. I bobbed gently like on a water bed. I could hear the subtle wake behind me, and birds chirping in the willows. If I didn't have to keep looking up to see where I was drifting, I could have fallen asleep.

As for the Denis Julian inscription, I was disappointed. Dave wasn't able to spot the right canyon and we floated past it, completely unaware. I guess I'll have to return another day.

Dave and Christian in placid water.

Coming around a bend, we spotted the small launching site of Mineral Bottom. For the last time we paddled our vessels to the bank of the river and pulled them ashore. A short time later, the rest of the group caught up. Now came the busy time of loading things back onto the truck.

Today we traveled 10 miles, bringing our total trip mileage to 68.

While we were busy strapping the canoes to the T-rack, we heard a heavy clap in the air, and then a loud voice, either hollering in panic or excitement. I walked up the small slope to see what it was and saw what looked like a para-glider in the air. Then, just a few seconds later, I hear another yell, and then near the top of a tall cliff, I heard another heavy clap and watched a parachute come out. These were base-jumpers! They swirled around in the air for less than a minute, then landed in the same graveled parking lot where we stood. Looking at the top of the 1,000 foot cliff, we could see other people. Two more jumped down within the next two minutes.

Sinuous and steep is the road coming from Mineral Bottom.

The road out of Mineral Bottom is steep and sinuous. It is picturesque to the photographer, but wary to those scared of heights. There are no guard rails and many places that are wide enough for only one car. Just for the fun of it I chose to run up from Mineral Bottom. It was well worth it. I got passed by three cars, who kicked up small amounts of dust.

One of our dilemmas of shuffling the vehicles is that we knew that Dave's truck only had six seat belts for our seven people. I volunteered to ride in the back of the truck until we got back to my vehicle in Green River.

Once I completed my trot up the hill, I climbed into the bed of the truck and laid back on bags, with a rolled up foam pad to rest my head. I had a cool breeze blow across, and best of all, no mosquitoes! This was the most comfortable bed I had had in four days. ♠


The Standup Paddleboard
Green River Trip, Day 1
Green River Trip, Day 2
Green River Trip, Day 3