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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Verde Source to Mouth—The Upper Canyons
On day one, I set a personal record for packraft abuse. Some sections of "river" (can you call 20 cfs a river?) were idyllic fairy-lands of flowing clear water and [...]
Verde Source to Mouth—Ideas
It first entered my expeditions notebook as "Verde: Source to Sink," as in, kitchen sink. That's where the Verde goes; into the Salt River and one mile later into canals, [...]
Arizona Paddling 2026—Who says you can never go back?
A chilly take-out in '98 Twenty-eight years ago, my wife Lisa and I completed the first descent of West Clear Creek with the late Josh Lowry. Josh wore a wetsuit [...]
December Summertime – Packrafting in Chile
On the flight from Dallas to Santiago, my seatmates were a couple who lived in Chile during winter, Wisconsin during summer. He was a Cheesehead. She was Chilena. She barely [...]
Yukon Source to Sea – The Source
The Yukon River is one of the most sought destinations among source-to-sea adventurers. It has been motored, canoed, kayaked, SUPed, and swum. Most of these journeys start in the town [...]
Green River Source Pack Raft
There is something magical about river sources. British Columbia's Fraser begins in a shallow pond, on a pass amidst the soaring Canadian Rockies. Idaho's Selway emerges crystal clear and cold, [...]
