Green River

Vertical Slickrock

One of the first things I thought about when I learned that I was going to have the fall free this year was to do a trip down the Stillwater section of the Green River. This is a trip I had done twice before during Spring Breaks at school, but everyone I had ever spoken to described the Fall as the best time to paddle the river.

Another perfect campsite

Starting this past summer, I began recruiting folks who could take the time in October and I quickly had a group of six hardy souls ready to go. Predictably, two dropped out and we were four. Then another. And another. Soon we were down to a party of two, but Kim was game to carry on. Following some menu-planing and the requisite logistics, we were ready to put a canoe and my well-traveled kayak into the river. The Green is one of my favorite places to paddle and the reports of autumn paddling were dead on. What a fantastic place. We spent five days lazily traveling down the river, camping on sand bars and beautiful shore sites each night. Herons and Canyon Wrens greeted us as we drifted past the red rock cliffs. I got some fantastic pictures, only a couple I have space to post here. The weather was fantastic and we didn't see a lick of rain. A couple of nights were chilly, but the days were sunny and just a perfect temperature.

Face it, kayaks are more fun

With the river giving us a know or so of current, we didn't need to be on the water for more than five or six hours a day. This left plenty of time for lazy mornings, day hikes and an evening glass of wine or two. A very laid-back wilderness experience for sure. We visited the cool slot canyon of Anderson Bottom as well as hikes to ruins of both European settlers and Anasazi cliff dwellings.

Nice spot, eh?

We got pulled off the river and traveled up the Colorado via jet boat. It was then that we learned that the weather was supposed to turn with rain and even snow predicted for the following day. Talk about perfect timing! I have a long list of places I want to visit, but the Green is near the top of my "revisit" list for sure.