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I can give a vague general idea of the trip. First off, BRING LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF BUG SPRAY!!! I have never seen more mesquitos then I have on Deso. I would very highly recommend bringing at least a bug net for your head, if not a full bugnet suit. Sandwash, the put-in, is the worst spot for it, and all the rangers there wear the suits pretty much all the time. I'd also bring a tent for sure, just for protection from bugs. I tried sleeping outside one night and it was horrid.
Anyways, on to the trip itself. There is a bit of flatwater at the top, which takes most of the first day. Its fairly leasurely though, don't have to paddle too much. The rest of the trip is mostly class II "run it down the tongue" kinda rapids. There are a couple of class III- rapids called Wire Fence and Three Fords that offer up a bit more challenge, but nothing too hard for even novices to do. The trip takes 5ish days, and its an awesome area. Its a good first trip for the timid, as its plenty long, the camping is good, as are side activities such as hiking and the like. There is some good play on it and its a great one to take kids on.
If you hit it during flood season, the bugs are much less of a problem, as the water needs to drop for the eggs to hatch. The shuttle is a bit fun or a bit long depending on how you look at it and how you do it. You can either drive your vehicles to this airstrip near the takeout, and they fly you back to the top and drop your cars off the day you take out, or you can just do it the old fashion way and do a real shuttle. Its a pretty long drive between the takeout and putin, so I think most opt for the plane.
Regardless, its an awesome trip. Awesome canyons, great water, and if you do it right great friends. Its a great one to start off on, and I can nearly gaurantee that it will get you hooked on canyonlands style trips. Alot of people that get Grand Canyon permits take their rigs on this trip to see how everything works. Definetly a fun trip and I would definetly check it out if you get the chance.
JH |
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