A Trip into Cataract Canyon

I had the great fortune recently to take a trip down the Colorado River into Cataract Canyon with my friends and colleagues. Many of them were visiting from out of state and needed to borrow gear for the trip. Fortunately, I have a garage full of a wide assortment of every piece of river gear just about anyone could ever need. Thanks to Salamander, I had some critical pieces of gear that I could loan out to make everyone's trip easier and safer. I loaned out three of my favorite kayaks and with each one I was able to lend my friends 1) a throw bag that I knew would be bombproof (the Ultra Dry Throw Bag) and 2) an awesome UltraNighter stow float, which would serve as a great in boat dry day bag and also as a float bag in case they were separated from my watercrafts in the rapids (fortunately no one ended up swimming in my boats ha, but you know just in case). Most people haven't had a chance to try out these cool and innovative pieces of gear, and my friends were no different, so it was fun to discuss with them the benefits they found in using these items. 

We had one heck of a trip, enjoying the unplugged river time, dark skies and wild rapids that make any trip down this section of the Colorado River a highly memorable experience. We also spent a lot of time discussing the future challenges for the Colorado River basin as we move into an era marked by a dwindling water supply, growing populations that rely on that supply, and the looming hard choices that will need to be made surrounding Lake Powell and the River directly above (Cataract Canyon) and below (Grand Canyon) Glen Canyon Dam. It's a place steeped in history, from our cultures desire to tame the river to provide water and energy via the engineering of behemoth dams, all the way back to the remnants of the ancient people who first inhabited this surrealistic landscape centuries to tens of thousands of years ago. It's a land of deep beauty, contradiction and uncertainty, but for me above all, it is a sacred place deserving of all the praise and prose from great authors to touring journalists. 

"Night and day the river flows. If time is the mind of space, the River is the soul of the desert. Brave boatmen come, they go, they die, the voyage flows on forever. We are all canyoneers. We are all passengers on this little mossy ship, this delicate dory sailing round the sun that humans call the earth. Joy, shipmates, joy." – Ed Abbey