# San Juan at high water?



## markhusbands (Aug 17, 2015)

Wow. I've got a trip launching on June 27, and was mostly going off the planned releases, which were to maintain minimum flows of 5000 until June 23 and then decrease flows to 500 by July 6. 9000 sounds like a little more than I was looking for...


----------



## rubtheduck (Jun 20, 2016)

The take outs are non existent so be ready to get your rope around a bush or tree.. other than that its an awesome family trip right now.


----------



## superpuma (Oct 24, 2003)

Think about your camps, don't miss them. Put your best team first, give them some space so they can tie-off and catch the next boat. Great time to be on the River!


----------



## tetoncounty (May 19, 2016)

Just pulled in to Clay Hills 6/4 @ 8600. We launched @ 7600 5/27.
I've done the San Juan several times. This was the easiest in terms of the difficulty negotiating rapids, not that the river is very difficult, except for the rocks when it's low.
Previously, I thought that Eight Foot Rapid was the hardest. This trip it was a snoozer- we just slipped along river left.
Same with most everything else. high water made for a wide river.
Government had holes on either side. Just floated between them and pulled left out the bottom.
We were going 6+mph, which made for a fast trip with plenty of time for hiking.
We camped at Grand Gulch and made the 14 miles to Clay Hills in 2.5 hours with a stop at Trimble to take pictures. Sand waves the last 4 miles.
High water is easy and fast.
Big drawback: no eddies. As others have said, you have to be careful not to miss your landings.

Canoe may have problems: there are boils and reversals at cliff faces, and sand waves are pretty big. Government had a big, boisterous wave train that can't be avoided. Canoeists would have to be aware, but it would work. Most of my experience was in canoes.


----------



## yardsells (Jul 14, 2014)

Took out yesterday 6/7. ~8700cfs. 8 boats.

1. Camp eddies are difficult to hit for beginners or folks with no bow helpers. Kinda micro and current is fast.
2. Mosquitos.
3. Honaker camps are still good to go, the eddies at John's are up in the willows but hittable.
4. Slickhorn C&D are swamps. Very little access for larger groups. Slickorn A, B are good to go. Grand Gulch is probably the sweetest assigned camp at this level.


----------



## Chief Niwot (Oct 13, 2003)

Sand waves are fun!


----------



## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

The viscosity of the of the river is weird at high flows. More like pancake syrup than water. The sand waves are sweet but will crumble while you surf.


----------



## h20shed (Apr 26, 2005)

Ran it last year at high water - maybe 9,000 cfs - with 3 year old daughter. No problems. Our concern was more at camp if she wandered too close to the river. We made sure there was one person on the boat watching her with no other responsibility and the same on shore. Catching eddies and the blazing hot temps were the most difficult to deal with. River ranger was helpful about picking camps and timing. Have fun.


----------



## catayak (Apr 13, 2016)

I'm launching in a few days from Mexican Hat to Clay Hills & happy for all the info this thread has provided. Where are the mosquitos? How bad are they? Any further info on river right camps to seek out or avoid would also be great.

Thanks!


----------



## zen_ben (Jun 6, 2017)

Thanks tetoncounty! Our canoeist is competent class 3 boater and won't be loaded with gear. Really appreciate the heads up.


----------



## Hooter (May 29, 2016)

Buzzards, 

Had a wonderful time on the SJ from Sand Island to Clay Hills. Took out 6/8 at close to 9k I believe. Slick horn C and D appear to be swamped but we easily stuffed 6 rafts and a couple of IKs in D with little trouble. The flow was incredibly fast and made landings tricky. The mossies we're there but only to the point of annoyance. I slept out every night of a seven day trip, several with just a sheet and cot. Amazing. Guaranteed that they will get worse as the flows drop. Lots of water in lots of places. Biggest hits of the trip were above Ross in a section that is unmarked about 1/2 mile above. Everything else was read and run easy. Trimble, oljeto, and steer gulch are all under water and would only hold a small group (as observed mid current at 6 or 7 mph). Hope there is more room but it looked really skinny. We passed a really cool group from Durango of 13 and I have no idea how or if they fit into steer gulch. Never moved so fast in that section. Breaking sand waves until clay hills. Slick horn was surprisingly dry above the first pool unfortunately, johns was awesome and crowded, everything else was as expected. Second the advice of others who mention that hitting your designated landing site is key. Glad to have had awesome friends who caught my rope! 

Have a great trip! 

Hooter 


Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz


----------



## smhoeher (Jun 14, 2015)

Ran last weekend from Bluff to Mexican Hat. 3 boats and a sit on top kayak. 
The water is strong and fast, running around 5 mph, so camp sites, etc. can come up in a hurry. Eddies are there but smaller with more current - have people ready on the bows. Rapids were washed out a bit but still fun plus some fun unexpected wave trains. There are a number of downed trees and debris to watch for.

We camped at Lime Ridge, which is a huge site with a lot of room, and Mexican Rock View (Navajo side) which is a great site and even had a safe area for kids to swim and splash in.

We had good weather - temps into the 90s but the water is cold. There were no bugs to speak of.

Have a great trip!


----------



## Jim S (May 26, 2015)

We took off yesterday at Clay Hills, with a start at Mexican Hat. Flows were 8,000 - 9,400. As far as rapids, this level was the easiest I've ever seen - we usually run it at much lower flows. There was a large log stuck at the top of the first rapid after launch, river left - easy to avoid. We had two novice ducky crews swim in Government - no worries, easy swim. We had a difficult time finding a camp (high water, and quite a few groups) on the first night and ended up going past Ross (fun, easy run). On our second night we stayed at Slickhorn B, which had plenty of room for kitchen and to spread out for sleeping. Third night was at Grand Gulch, which is a great camp at higher flows. We had a few mosquitos at the put-in and at Slickhorn, but not too bad. The fast flows made it very easy to make miles. Hitting landings was a little difficult for novice oarsmen, but not really all that bad. Encountered a few scorpions. We saw a lot of trees and branches float by, so stay awake. Also, if you are into collecting mounted car tires you should be able to catch your limit.


----------

