Green River Day 1 5 October 2014

Finally, on the river!

After another early start, we reported to Tex's at 8am, filled our water jugs, got some ice, and transferred what seemed like a mountain of supplies into the trailer for the bumpy ride over the high tableland and down the switchbacks to Mineral Bottom. There we stacked all our goods, loaded our catamanoe (two canoes lashed together with a platform between them) and launched ourselves down river -- a much more orderly and efficient launch, I might add, than our first, in 2003. Well before noon we were floating happily down the river all by ourselves. 

The solitude, the warmth, the prospect of ten days of river, lay ahead. We paddled steadily to put some serious miles between us and the others hitting the river on this day.

The river flows at two or three miles an hour, so it doesn't take much paddling to make a mile. Even so, time stretches, flexes, stops...

Without much talking about it, Sienna and I were clear that a primary goal (after enjoying the solitude and simplicity) was to take really good care of ourselves. We drank water religiously, wore hats from dawn 'til dusk, slathered ourselves with sunscreen ... and were healthy as bears!

We surprised ourselves by arriving well beyond our first day goal with plenty of light left. We moored, unloaded our tents, set up camp, and had time to enjoy the light show as the sun went down and the moon came up.

 We set up our kitchen in the dusk and cooked our first river meal as the sun painted the mesa across the river.