We Kayaked!

May 20-21, 2012

Can you spot the climbers and the dog?

Missy on the San Juan River

Tina on the San Juan River

Sunday was the final recovery day for Missy.   She said she’d be ready for kayaking the next day.    We spent a couple of hours being entertained by a group attempting to scale the cliffs right by us.    I guess their goal was to get to a small cave.   The uphill climb there is severely hampered by the loose rocks and steep incline.    2 women persevered, and along with them they had a small boy(!).    We were scandalized.    One small misstep and you would not be able to control your tumble down the hill.   (Oh, and they had an AWESOME dog with them.  This dog was not scared at all, and he nimbly traveled up and down the hill at will).    After 1.5 hours in the merciless sun, they made their goal.   Then they had to try to scoot down the hill.   One woman just went down on her butt.   However the other woman was hampered by the child, whom she was wearing like a backpack on her back.    I was sure there would be a mishap, but she had a neat trick to getting down.  She faced the hill, grabbed a big rock between both hands, and skidded down using the rock to break her momentum.    Very impressive technique!    So they all made it safely down.   I have some pictures of them (with the neato dog), but it’s sort of a Where’s Waldo exercise to find the hikers.

Sunday night we were treated to getting a new neighbor.   I don’t know why it is, but it’s strangely entertaining to watch other people when camping.    So a big fitty made its way to the other side of our clearing.    The fitty is actually in the same model line as ours…only it’s a triple axel and maybe a little bigger.   There was a couple, and they had 2 small dogs with them.    It took these people about 4 times as long as us to get unhitched and level.    I couldn’t believe how laborious they made the process.   The wife was no help at all.   The poor husband had to keep getting out of the truck to check his backup job.   After they got parked, they left in their 2^nd vehicle.   And they didn’t return.  Very odd.   I surmised that they were just trying to hold a spot, but thought it was strange to do this on a Sunday night.   It wasn’t until  later that we realized that this weekend is Memorial Weekend, so perhaps that’s why they would hold their spot so early.    I hope that it doesn’t get too loud and busy this weekend…

Monday-  WE FINALLY WENT KAYAKING!!!!

It wasn’t too eventful, as it turns out.    We left camp at 9:30.    We got to town and decided to wait by the public restrooms.   We dropped our kayaks and gear, and Missy checked directions to the takeout one last time from the internet.   Then she took off in the truck to set shuttle.   I had the small computer and my phone to tether, so I was able to do some blogging and facebooking.    Missy left for the takeout at 10, and got back at 11:20.   She said the scooter ride back was only about 30 minutes.   (the extra time was because she made a wrong turn).

We had lunch before we left.   Got suited up and on the river shortly after noon.    It was still running low, but at this point beggars can’t be choosers.     The run is about 13 miles.   It’s mostly class 2 with a few 2+/3- ledges that sneak up on you, but are easily handled.   The scenery was unbelievable!   Snow-capped mountains in view behind us almost the whole way, and pine tree covered hills and cliffs all around.   We’ve kayaked in some gorgeous settings before, but what made this special was that since it wasn’t a hard core run, we had ample opportunity to sit and soak it in.    The run took us about 3 hours, so that should tell you how nice and fast the river was running.   For the last 4 miles or so,  we loosened our backbands and laid back on our back decks.   It was fun!    That position makes all the little waves and bumps more exaggerated.    Plus, it helps alleviate dead legs.

Now that we have one run under our belts, we’ll be considering the creek run right by our camp.   The river is still running low, so we’ll decide whether or not to try right away, or if maybe we’ll wait and see if rain is in the forecast to bump the river up.