TR: I Bought Me a Boat

.. And a truck to pull it.

Bought a raft in June of last year. Glad I got it on the front end of the metaphorical wave of everyone buying rafts. '97 Avon Pro and I've logged over 600 river miles on it.

Picked it up on Sunday 6/14/20.
Launched San Juan 6/17, Sand Island to Mexican Hat, thanks to a cancellation pickup from LoneStar
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Four people, Four Boats.
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Maiden Voyage for the MiniMax, too
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Oops
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And Howdy
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Sure is Purdy
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I got so excited that I picked up a Split Mtn trip for 7/3 and took my homies out for a rip
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Whoops, had to go back 7/25
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Time to step up a bit. Cataract Canyon. 7/31 launch. 4 days, no motors, 4500 cfs. Only way to survive is a handle of tequila, an oz of mushrooms, and float by the moonlight.

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Might as well float upstream of cat, too. Moab Daily 8/15
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Then off to Alpine, WY for a few laps on Greys and the Snake. 9/12
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Capped off the season with a Gates of Lodore, 9/27 Launch
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Hell of a place, I tell ya.

Bought a motor after having done cat twice without it. Started it off with a test on Utah Lake.
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Graduated to Westwater.

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Dinged a rock and broke a shear pin literally in 30 seconds. Pulled it, replaced it, good to go.

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Aight, it worked. Time to go downstream to Cat. 4/29 Launch
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Sick Sick Sick.
Quick rip to the stomping grounds where I learned to boat - Hudson River Gorge, NY 5/13
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Back to UT and a little North. 9 Day Middle and Main Salmon, 5/29 Launch. 3.4' at Boundary Creek putting on, 32k at Whitebird when we took off.

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Went back to Moab 6/11 for a Westwater and Moab Daily. No river shots, but we got rerouted for some fires already starting in Utah.
Price Canyon
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Put in Hangin
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Pack Creek Fire
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& Back again to Ruby Horsethief Westwater. I had brought a good friend down Lodore last fall and she was hooked. I brought her and her newlywed husband on this trip for their wedding gift. Steep hits at 3000 CFS.

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We ran two row rigs and a paddle raft.

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Deso 7/17 Launch. 6 days, low water (1300 cfs). Turns out there aren't any rapids on this stretch of river. Who knew.
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Next up: 8/14 Lodore and 9/18 Rogue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by m2711c

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Well, shit.

Test?
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Thanks

nice. pics were worth the wait.

All working great from here.

And WOW! Awesome reports and pics so far. Keep em coming!!

Awesome stuff and some amazing photography.

This is so great, Tbatt. Looking forward to your next installment.

Outstanding.

I’m so jealous. With what covid is doing to the hospital I’ve only done a handful of day trips


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FKNA
Top tier stoke and pics

WTF outstanding, thank you for the stoke, pics and commentary, so good!! You are living right!


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Great photos and adventures.
“A handle of tequila and an oz of shrooms”
Quote of the adventure

good shit maynerd
way to git the float on some cool waters
been thinkin bout a motor
whats the state chargin ya to register that now motorized vessel?

FKNA! Looks like you are living right, excellent adventures.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skifishbum

good shit maynerd
way to git the float on some cool waters
been thinkin bout a motor
whats the state chargin ya to register that now motorized vessel?

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Something like $50/yr.
If you have the cash for it, get a propane motor. The LPG sailpro by Tohatsu (who makes Mercury and Nissan) is slick. Don't waste your time with a Lehr.

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Originally Posted by tBatt

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Solid work to get the stern of a Z to stay down! Great boat... My old go to river runners are becoming more play boats as I get older and heavier.

Lodore 8/14-17

Buncha newbs and felt like I should've been getting paid.
Weather was nice. A bit of lightning but minimal rain.
Only one swim with a minor medical.
Water temps 60-65°F
Air Temps 50-80°F
Made 12 mile days in 4-5 hours
Didn't get to do many side hikes due to time
No Toilet paper at the 3.2 mile hike into the Jones Hole vault toilets
Butt Plug Falls was a riot
Cove camp sucks, Shoulda gone farther downstream and found an undesignated sandbar to camp on.
Last day 9 am launch for 14.5 miles. Takeout at 2:00 pm, On the road at 3:00 pm, in Jeremy Ranch at 6:05 pm so my homie could make an important dinner. Count it.

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Camped above Triplet Night 1

Triplet
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Steamboat Rock
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Camped at Seacliff night 2

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Why does light up bocce blink?

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What's the difference between a Chickpea and a Garbanzo bean?

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Stateline Camp blew out
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Buttplug Falls

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Dead brown people shit

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Chop Chop, Last Day

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More smoke than the last

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Spliff Mountain
(we came up with that)

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Looks like a blast. Awesome pics to boot, captured the scale well


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Always is.

So good, in fact, that I drove back Thursday after work for Spliff Mtn Daily.

24 people and even more beaters. Again no one died, though, so that was dope.

Brought the bikes, too.

Downright scary greasy road from the takeout to the Rainbow Park put in on Thurs Night.

Float Friday

Camp Redfleet Friday night
Party on the JBOY cliffs
Bike Saturday morning and go cliff jumping Saturday afternoon at the Dino tracks.
Back home Sunday morning.
Off to the Dutch John A section tomorrow afternoon to row my homies boat while he fishes.

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this is stoke of the highest order.

Deso?

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Originally Posted by Tap

Deso?

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Deso was 7/17, Gates of Lodore was 8/14


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no rocking horse?

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Originally Posted by ml242

no rocking horse?

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No, I think that thing died years ago.

Snuck in a 3 day Cat trip.
Woulda been alright if it weren't for the two all-nighters leading up to it.

Weds 9/8 go to the shop and rig. Ended up helping fabricate a frame until 4am. Drove an hour home, had to work at 7a.
Thurs 9/9 back to the shop. Still welding. Still not done packing until about 10p.
Got to Potash Boat ramp at 3:30 am.
Somehow people weren't done rigging until 8:30am. Started motoring at 8:45am.
Destination: Spanish Bottom (54 miles)

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Got to camp around 9:15pm (dark).
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A guy on our trip's dad was running another trip. We camped with them on an extremely muddy beach with 40 people and 17 boats. They didn't have a hand wash station or trash strategy other than burn it. I woke up to them piling plastic milk jugs on the fire. Someone was trying to ditch a watermelon in the woods.

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Rapid 10 has a SUPER fun hit at this level (4500cfs)

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Left line Big Drop 2

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BD3

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Dancin' with the Little Boy's Room

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These guys had never been in whitewater before. TL loaned them a boat. I thought it was reckless. They thought it was cool. No one died.

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He didn't pull it off. He was also in the hospital for liver failure earlier that week.

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Camp 2 Waterhole Canyon. We had lightning and rain. I was spooked about flash flooding. I also guillotined my thumb in the motor.

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Takeout still sucks, and now is augmented with a bunch of blown out debris from the Dirty Devil hitting 20k cfs earlier this month.

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And apparently fire lining isn't the way to unload boats and even though I was significantly bleeding out of three places between my two hands, I was a piece of shit for not being in the fire line.

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My cooler was missing when we got back to the shop. Apparently one of the people in the other permit took it upon themselves to bring it home, but also decided it was the perfect place for their moldy cantaloupe, rotting cheese, and spoiled potato salad.

Better luck next time, I guess.

I was supposed to leave for the Rogue today but the trip got cancelled. I was just invited on a Columbus day Hell's Canyon trip or I might put together another Cat trip... this time my permit, my timeline, and more people I like.

Awesome as always Tbatt. Keep ‘em coming.

New boat goofin

One more hoorah.

Cataract Canyon
5 Day
10/22 Launch
10/26 Takeout
6 boats, 10 people, 2 motors.
5900 CFS

Drive and Rig at Potash Thurs night. Launch around 10 Fri morning.
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MOTORINNNN'
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Dead brown people stuff across from Lathrop
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Camp 1 at Corner Pocket - 14 miles from the confluence
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Dank chili bread bowls for lunch
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Obligatory sign in box photo
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Dollhouse
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Camp 2 - Brown Betty
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At this point only two of us had fallen in the river as a result from drinking too much. Probably should've worn a PFD 24/7.

BG finding one of the holes in #5
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Rapid #10 is a riot.
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Scouting Big Drop 2
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Scouting BD3
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BG plugging the hole
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10 footer getting squirrley. No swim.
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Suzie Q
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Something's Missing...
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Camp #3 - Ten Cent
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Hiking Imperial
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Camp #4 - Best Western (187.4)

Lovely place to rip a piss.
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Got blasted by wind for a bit
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Tried to Juggle
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Finally, got really, REALLY blasted with winds and rain around 2:30 am. Thought our whole package was gonna tear out multiple sand stakes and go up river. Lighting. 2" of rain by morning. Calmed down for a bit, just long enough to make breakfast, then started dumping again.
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Things cleared up and we got a show of some waterfalls.
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Must've been chilly up high
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El Fin.
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Time to plan out dates for next year's permits.

Holy shit tBatt, phenomenal pictures. Thanks for sharing some stoke. Looks amazing.

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Yep, awesome

Glad you’re enjoying river livin’… thanks for the pics!

Hey look I see myself in one of those photos... lol.

We should talk about Deso in July my guy.