# getting a raft to the gunnison



## riverlyons (May 19, 2009)

Does anyone have suggestions for the best way to get a raft down to the Gunnison Gorge? I haven't done it, but understand it's over a mile walk in. Trying to get almost 200lbs of flaccid rubber down the trial is surely to be the crux of the run. I have wondered if it was worth draping it over a mtn bike, while we hold it from the sides, then riding the bike back up. Let the suggestions fly.


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## Flohotter (Jun 22, 2010)

In the past we have rolled the paddles/oars inside the boat like a joint and then got three people and carried it down. It works pretty good. Rolling the paddles inside makes the boat more rigid. Or pay for the mules


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## Flohotter (Jun 22, 2010)

Oh, forgot to add that we then run a few straps around the now joint looking boat to help keep it together. Throw it up on your all shoulders and start the walk.


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## lmaciag (Oct 10, 2003)

My understanding is that it is a wilderness area. Therefore, no wheels allowed. There are pack mule outfitters that bring gear down for a fee.

Found this while I was trying to confirm: BLM Colorado | Gunnison Gorge NCA | Gunnison Gorge Wilderness


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## g.soutiere (Jul 7, 2009)

the joint way worked for us a few years ago. just make sure you start your hike before noon or you will be off the river after dark.(our mistake when we went)


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## summitraftgirl (Jul 23, 2008)

Contact Larry Franks about renting a horse to carry it down, 970.323.0115. He's the only guy that does it. It's $90 per horse and worth every penny and you won't regret it. lmaciag is right, it is a wilderness area so no wheels are allowed. With all the other gear I'm assuming you'd need to carry down, you'll be happy you didn't haul your boat down there. For us personally, the cooler always seems to be the most difficult. We get there the night before and do a trip or two down when it's nice and cool. Then my husband is back on the road at 6am to get to Pleasure Park to pick up the shuttle guy and then is on his way back. While he's doing that I take another one or two trips back down. Larry shows up around 9am and gets the boat organized. He does several shifts during the day, so make sure you call about a week in advance so you can get the earliest shift possible. We are typically on the water by 11am. I should note that we use our oar frame set-up, so we have the frame, oars, chair, etc. to haul down. If you plan to do a paddle team, you wouldn't have to worry about all that stuff.


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## jennifer (Oct 14, 2003)

We got our raft down via horse several years ago. The Pleasure park folks at the take out did our shuttle and arranged the horse for us - probably through Larry that summitraftgirl mentioned. Worth every penny!


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## cuzin (Oct 4, 2007)

Make an Eazy-Lee and use gravity to your advantage. You will basically make a wheel out of your rolled raft. All you need is an aluminum pipe, a couple lengths of sturdy wire, four small U-bolts and a rope. Cut the pipe to just wider than the width of your raft when rolled normally (not lenghthwise like a joint, but normal rolling fashion). Run the wire through the aluminum pipe and use the U-bolts to make a loop on either end of the pipe. I like to use two wires (hence, four loops) to reduce the stress / friction on each wire. Then, roll your raft with the pipe in the middle, with the four wire loops sticking out the sides. You should end up with your normally rolled raft with a couple inches of pipe sticking out the middle and two loops of wire on each side. Tie each end of a rope to the wire loops -- the rope will be your reigns as you roll the raft down Chuckar Trail to the water (or once you reach the flats at the bottom, you become the horse, and pull the raft to the water). It's probably also a good idea to wrap the raft in an old tarp to protect it from sharp rocks on the way down.


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## F.A.A.C. Slim (Jan 14, 2010)

Larry is a good man but he has some lousy guys working the horses down the trail. And I believe he has a (3) horse minimum so the total cost is $270 unless he has another group going in at the same time; then you might be able to pay for fewer horses.


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## summitraftgirl (Jul 23, 2008)

We did the Gunny Gorge twice this year and used Larry both times. No minimum for our horses and we only used one both times. It carried our raft and two Pacos. Larry led the horses down to the put-in both times as well. Never had any problems with his other guys (and gal) and he's never mentioned anything about a minimum to us.


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## bobbuilds (May 12, 2007)

hey lenny, I went a few times and the two best free options would be to get there a day early and hike your shit down then walk back up camp and go back down the next day. or like a previous post said: to roll your raft tightly around a peice of pipe a few feet longer and carry it down that way. it will be a matter of bucking up and not looking back. 

It is tough to bring all the amenaties on a trip like this with out a sherpa or mule. I asume you guys will over night it and should probly just pay for some mules to fully enjoy the experiance it is alot less work.


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## riverlyons (May 19, 2009)

Thanks for all the input from everyone. We are going to try the joint technique with the paddles inside and straps outside. I did talk to Frank about a horse. He does have a 5 horse minimum, if you are the only trip that day, if not you can get one horse. Otherwise the guy who runs Pleasant Park is kind of jerking us around, between the shuttle and camping. He called just this morning to raise the price on us after we thought it was a done deal yesterday. I will have more to say be it good or bad after we get back from the trip.


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## lmaciag (Oct 10, 2003)

We had our price adjusted by the Pleasure Park as well (a couple years ago). They quoted us a price on the phone, but when we showed up with a credit card they said "sorry, that was the cash price." But, they didn't tell us there were two rate schedules until we showed up and were far away from the ATM.


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## summitraftgirl (Jul 23, 2008)

We were told by Pleasure Park over the phone for both of our Gunny Gorge trips this season that it's $75 cash or $85 on a credit card for the shuttle. We've never had any issues with them and they've always been awesome to work with.


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## Brian VN (Mar 26, 2009)

I have used Larry several times and well worth the expense to go in style. *Don't forget your fishing gear!* Be careful if it rains that road gets nasty.


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## matt cook (Dec 15, 2009)

Does anyone know Mort from Delta? He used to, and may still guide the gunny. I ran it with him and my buddy otter last year and he had talked about running shuttles and renting gear, he might be able to do them a little cheaper. I have also heard some less than flattering things about the pleasure park.


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## riverlyons (May 19, 2009)

I just wrote a longer reply but lost it trying to spell check, so here is a shorter one. We used the joint/taquito method and although it sucked at times, it wasn't that bad and I would do it again rather then pay the $100 for a horse. I am sore today, but don't know how much of that is from the portage to the put-in vs. just guiding the raft. Thanks again to everyone for the advice.


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