Low Water Run of the Yampa River, Part 7: Running Warm Springs Rapid

Dear Reader, Warm Springs is the biggest rapid on the river; a jumble of house-sized rocks that’d tumbled down off the rock walls, leaving fresh scars up above. At high water, the Class 4 rapid is scary with big holes and waves. The river races and crashes and turns back on itself as it gets constricted between the huge boulders. But at low water, the danger is different: It’s getting pinned on a rock without enough water to wash you and your boat over it. Arriving at Warm Springs On Day 4 we arrived at Warm Springs Rapid. We’d been …

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Low-water Run of the Yampa River, Part 6: The Art of River Camping

Dear Reader, Having the river all to ourselves was something to be cherished. And having such a slow float was a different type of treat. Crabby at Camp But by the time we got off the river, we were sun baked and tired. And we had chores still to do: boats to unload, gear to carry, kitchen and bathroom to set up, tents to erect, sleeping pads to inflate and dry clothes to change into. Tepee Camp was our first night. It’s a steep climb up from the shore. John and I were already cranky after a truck-breakdown night of …

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