The Cosmos is calling and we must go
The lack of young, strong team members was hurdle #1. The closed road and locked gate was hurdle #2. The 3 a.m. realization that we'd forgotten to disconnect our draining [...]
Little Colorado River – The Enigma
The Little Colorado River is an enigma. It is often dry, but carries huge floods. It begins in mountains of spruce but flows through deserts of sand. In springtime, its [...]
Silt Kayaking — Monsoon season comes to the Colorado Plateau
The water was milk chocolate brown, with a slippery texture that required an extra tight grip on the paddle. Close your eyes when splashed or you'd feel the grit in [...]
Elwha River Source to Sea Packraft
Sinuous vertical walls reflected the Elwha's emerald green water. Dramatic and beautiful, yes, but unsettling. Weren't we supposed to be done with the gorges? My research—intentionally incomplete (isn't the mystery [...]
Gros Ventre kayaking with women of whitewater
We gathered in an eddy, craning necks toward the whitewater below. The run was billed as a float trip, but the splashy river before us was class III or IV—we [...]
Salome Grotto – Arizona Bushwhackin’
Ed Price Photo Two hours before sunset, we found a campsite and water; slimy green water, so thick that I'd sooner drink my first-night beers and call it good. Salome [...]
South Fork Trinity—California’s longest un-dammed river
The longest continuous ridgeline in the lower 48 is a forested escarpment in far northern California called South Fork Mountain. The longest undammed river in California is the South [...]
Verde Source to Mouth—Below the Dams
I was dropped at a vacant beach below Horseshoe Dam. My companions rolled away toward the mad, overcrowded world beyond the hills while I slid into a clear, cold river. [...]
Verde Source to Mouth—Wilderness
Getting from Camp Verde to Beasley Flats was a slog. A large part of the problem was the beer barge I'd created out of a once svelte backcountry craft. With [...]
Verde Source to Mouth—Verde Valley
About 10 miles below Sycamore Canyon, water began coming out of the river. Not that it had much to spare at 70 cfs. Nonetheless, the first siphon ditch came near [...]
