# Take out at Pearce Ferry??



## flite (Mar 31, 2013)

Hey you salty buzzards!! What do you hear about the ramp at Pearce and taking out there? I'll be down that way in March and will be taking out there instead of Diamond. Thanks for any information


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## zbaird (Oct 11, 2003)

Whaddya wanna know?

I hope to never takeout at diamond ever again. The road beats the shit out of everything, its more expensive than another couple days on the water, you get some more rapids, couple good hikes and helicopter alley gives you flashbacks to 'Nam and recalibrates you to accept society once again.

Ramp at Pearce is nice. Two concrete lanes if you are loading straight onto a trailer and a bunch of dirt for de rigging. You can drive your rig right to your gear pile. It can be a little muddy if you are at low water but you're gonna have to clean all your shit anyway. There are shitters there.


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## T.O.Mac (Jun 6, 2015)

couldn't agree with Zach more!


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

zbaird said:


> There are shitters there.


Last time I was there...there was 18 layers of clogging sewage in every one of the toilets due to lack of water in the cisterns... I'm pretty sure the turd I was forced to add to pile was the cleanest thing in that bathroom. Hopefully its better now...but its never been pristine. 

Other then that...I agree that I heavily prefer Pearce over Diamond. I've never taken out at Diamond in the four trips so far, but I've heard stories about that road and the Hualapai access fees put a damper on things too. On my last trip me and a few other guys split off from the group and ran down to Pearce overnight. Ran the rapids, hit the Travertine Canyon Jungle Gym, lashed up a few miles from Seperation Canyon and night floated out. I think we hit the ramp around 3-4am.

My first trip we pushed most of the day and ended up hitting Quartermaster mid afternoon and it SUCKED BALLS. Helicopters flying 500' over your head every 90 seconds the entire time. The other times we night floated it and it was SOOO much better.

Its basically a requirement for me to go on a trip to go to Pearce... not a complete deal breaker but I'm lucky enough to have gotten a few invites for the last few years and I can pick and choose which trip to go on and that is a pre-requisite. At the very least I need to be able to split from the group if the rest wants to take out at Diamond...but its nice to have a group do it. 

If you have a full trip...its like $70 minimum per person to take out at Diamond just in Hualapaid access fees...so its not a small amount of money.

Oh...and there is an an In n' Out burger an hour from Pearce... great stop for first "civilization" food for those of us who don't have easy access to it all the time.


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## Fly By Night (Oct 31, 2018)

EM how did you find Pearce in the middle of the night? I haven't been on the canyon so this might be obvious but it seems like it would be hard to find a takeout in the dark.


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

Fly By Night said:


> EM how did you find Pearce in the middle of the night? I haven't been on the canyon so this might be obvious but it seems like it would be hard to find a takeout in the dark.


Its actually an amazing way to say goodbye to the canyon. I've hit it on a full moon night and a very dark night and they are both great. Amazing to be floating looking at the stars. The full moon night was awesome too... no need for flashlights at all and its a pretty thing. I actually slept most of that night since I was driving... but I've been in charge of staying up and keeping off the banks on the other trips. 

You'll definitely want to set the rafts up with some usable oars on the outside and a couple people to stay up and man them. A couple of bright tight beam flashlights are very helpful too. Not hard to stay away from the walls...but its almost certain you'll get close a few times during the night. You gotta watch out for sand bars and getting stuck in eddies in a few places too. Its all flatwater though...so its pretty mellow overall.

I've gotten to the boat ramp while its dark several times and its honestly not too bad. The first time I did it we were overreacting to everything since no one wanted to miss it...but its pretty obvious when you come up on it. You'll definitely want to pay attention and keep an eye on the maps or even better use a GPS to keep track of where you are. If you do get there late, it might be better to just stop at the last camp, which is about a mile from the takeout. On my 2017 trip we did that because we got there about 2-3am...and we just tied the boats off to shore and everyone went back to sleep.

The second time I did it, which was the same one as the full moon version and worked perfectly from a logistics standpoint (though not as pretty as floating down the river as the sun goes down...the canyon walls are huge down there...as big as anywhere in the canyon). We didn't push off down the river till about 8pm and got to the takeout around 7am so it was light out when we hit the ramp. We floated to Spencer Canyon(a camp a few miles past the end of the rapids), ate dinner and let everyone groove and get their beds made up on the rafts (after lashing them together with cam straps frame to frame).

You just have to get the timing right. Depending on flows(higher flows its a bit quicker and lower slower)...its about 3-4mph average. I think its 55 or so miles from Diamond and 40 something from the end of the rapids... so it takes about 11 hours.

All that said... you definitely want to be vigilant and not miss the ramp. Its not hard to miss so no don't worry too much...but don't miss it since this is what lies a bit less then a mile from the ramp (and why most can't float to Lake Mead anymore)...

My first trip down... fairly high water (~20k cfs with Powell outflow plus monsoon runoff conditions)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2rNTTQ22PI

More recent at lower winter flows 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEwWJddHHOA


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

zbaird said:


> Whaddya wanna know?
> 
> I hope to never takeout at diamond ever again. The road beats the shit out of everything, its more expensive than another couple days on the water, you get some more rapids, couple good hikes and helicopter alley gives you flashbacks to 'Nam and recalibrates you to accept society once again.
> 
> Ramp at Pearce is nice. Two concrete lanes if you are loading straight onto a trailer and a bunch of dirt for de rigging. You can drive your rig right to your gear pile. It can be a little muddy if you are at low water but you're gonna have to clean all your shit anyway. There are shitters there.



Spot on analysis. 



I heard the ramp has washed out some on the upstream side, but hasn't affected the concrete. 

Last year the shitters were pretty nasty, but they came and cleaned them as we were derigging. The SCAT machine was busted as well.


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## Grifgav (Jun 20, 2011)

We were there on Dec. 21 just a few weeks ago. There were some pretty severe gullies eroded into the silt on both sides of the ramp, but not a huge deal. Huge, wide ramp, shitters, lots of room to stage gear and organize. We took out a day early, so our trucks didn't get there until several hours after we did, so our gear was pretty well laid out. only took us about 30 minutes to load the trucks and trailers when they got there. Had 1 group of kayakers taking out at the same time, but we didn't get in each others way at all. Might be a little more exciting if several groups were taking off at the same time.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Good to know, I'll be taking out there on the 10th of March. Thanks for the intel !!


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## fishingraft (Aug 30, 2015)

I missed Pearce a couple years ago and am now dead. That rapid is lethal. Still recirculating to this day!


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## bgarnick (Nov 16, 2006)

On my permit in 2019 we did a night float on September 1 and it was a great experience! Stopped at Separation Canyon and cooked dinner, grooved, tied the six rafts together and then launched around 7:30 pm when it got dark. We were on the dark side of the moon so I purchased three big flashlights at Harbor Freight for $20 each which would throw a beam out to 550 feet or so. Just as we launched a lightning storm started and it lasted for 30 or 45 minutes. That was one of my most memorable experiences out of five trips. We got to Pearce Ferry ramp at about 8:00 or 8:30 the next morning.


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## flite (Mar 31, 2013)

Thanks ya'll. Sorry to not be more specific i was mainly wondering about the ramp. I floated down that way in aug of 2012 because Diamond was washed out. we did the overnight float and got there at like 9 in the morning. I haven't been down since. I hate the diamond road. I got the permit and I'm planning to leave the trip the day they take out at Diamond. I'm hoping to get a jump on it and knock it out in a day but if I get there the next day no worries. Just don't want to end up in Pearce Ferry rapid with Fishingraft. Just me and my 12 foot cat. unfortunately it will be a new moon or i would totally night float it again. Thanks for the beta. SYOTR


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

flite said:


> Thanks ya'll. Sorry to not be more specific i was mainly wondering about the ramp. I floated down that way in aug of 2012 because Diamond was washed out. we did the overnight float and got there at like 9 in the morning. I haven't been down since. I hate the diamond road. I got the permit and I'm planning to leave the trip the day they take out at Diamond. I'm hoping to get a jump on it and knock it out in a day but if I get there the next day no worries. Just don't want to end up in Pearce Ferry rapid with Fishingraft. Just me and my 12 foot cat. unfortunately it will be a new moon or i would totally night float it again. Thanks for the beta. SYOTR


Its really not hard to miss unless you fall asleep.

I suspect you'll have to be pushing hard to get there before it gets dark even if you leave at day break but its doable. I just looked it up and its 43 miles from Gneiss Canyon where the flatwater starts to Pearce. If you can maintain 5 mph average its doable.

With that tiny rig... you might be able to hitch a ride on one of the motor rigs deadheading out if it was during the commercial season. It would be kinda silly...but if you could get a small outboard motor setup and have it brought in with the other part of the group that is an idea too. Not as serene...but it'll get you out.

I said it already, but on my trip last year we split off from the group at 10-11am or so and did the rapids with a stop at Travertine Canyon... and basically floated from around Bridge City out to the ramp and got to the ramp at 4am or so. So it was about 17 hours all told without pushing. I just looked at the US Whitewater Rafting teams Record attempt, and while it should be noted that I believe they had given up on beating the record by that point and were going slower (most of the speeds were in the 6-7mph range after the rapids but they dropped to 4-5mph a bit too), it took them just under 10 hours (they passed Diamond at 5:46am and got to Pearce at 3:25pm).

If you don't want to do the Night Float...I'd probably do it in two days.... but it sounds like a fun but exhausting challenge to do it all during daylight hours. That is certainly the right craft for it.


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## zbaird (Oct 11, 2003)

Its easy to rig a motor on a cat. Have a 5HP brought down to diamond in one of the rigs coming in. Leave diamond with it across your deck until you are out of the rapids and then give er hell. Assuming they are taking out in the morning and you are comfortable read and running the rapids below solo you could be out that night in a 12' cat with a motor. Don't know you could make it in daylight but not that late. The ramp is pretty obvious. When you feel things opening up around you just get to the left and start paying attention. The anxiety of missing the ramp and the motor would keep you awake. If you hear a big rapid approaching, flip 180 and head upstream, you missed it!


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## weekendalpinist (Jul 16, 2012)

There is a decent beach to camp about a mile upstream of Pierce on the left. In September we did 38 miles the last day to get to that camp from Separation, getting there an hour or two after dark. Not a bad way to go.


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## dsrtrat (May 29, 2011)

Here is what it was like a month ago. It will be OK to de rig on the metal ramp until the commercials start running and after that the privates are relegated to the dirt sides of the ramp. Hopefully it will get repaired before high season kicks in.


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## zbaird (Oct 11, 2003)

ewww. Thats the shittiest Ive seen it.


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## dsrtrat (May 29, 2011)

Yeah, it looked like there was an rain event that washed down from the paved portion of the road. Without a high flow event last fall to rebuild it it will likely stay that way unless it gets repaired. The tribal day floats typically use the upstream dirt side to pull their motors off their rigs so maybe they will pressure Glen Canyon to fix it.


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## DidNotWinLottery (Mar 6, 2018)

Why all the night floats out? And how many days do most spend below Diamond?


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

DidNotWinLottery said:


> Why all the night floats out? And how many days do most spend below Diamond?


Because at a certain point, you turn the corner into Quartermaster Canyon and start having Helicopters buzzing you every 90 seconds. I like to call that section Hualapai Tourist Hell. Sucks a lot. The cliffs around you are just as pretty as the rest of the canyon, but the combination of silt banks, boat docks, high speed motor boats, helicopters and other Las Vegas tourist minded stuff distracts from it pretty heavily. I think by that time many either need or want to be out of the canyon a bit quicker...so the night float cuts out at least 12 hours while still doing the whole canyon.

All that said...its pretty nice at night, especially if you have a big enough moon for some moonlight. Its still an amazing section up until Quartermaster and the rapids after Diamond are fun for sure. I do really like feeling like you did as much of the canyon as possible too. Its a plus not to have to do deal with the Diamond Creek road and all the fees involved with taking out there too.

I think most do a single night after Diamond but depending on time of year you are allowed up to 5 nights down there I believe. There are some neat camps down there and some cool side hikes/attractions too. You don't really NEED that many days down there...so if you wanna extend that much maybe do a layover. Another option is to do first night at one of the first camps after Diamond and then maybe seperation or another one in that area for a second night. Camps become more sparse after Seperation...but there are options. I personally have no desire to float through Haulapai Tourist hell during the day ever again...so maybe try to time it as super early or super late to go through there. Helicopters come all the way up the canyon though...so its basically something you have to deal with from shortly after Dawn till Dusk(reverse vampire hours) all the way to the takeout and while you derig.


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