# Lodore Canyon - Low Water beta? Drinking water?



## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

On a Lodore run, launch date 8 September.

Any feedback on the low water run as far as issues on rapids, is water available at the Putin and Echo Canyon?

Appreciate any feedback.


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## Infidien (May 27, 2013)

okieboater said:


> On a Lodore run, launch date 8 September.
> 
> Any feedback on the low water run as far as issues on rapids, is water available at the Putin and Echo Canyon?
> 
> Appreciate any feedback.


We've done a late summer Ladore trip for many years, as low as 8-900 with rafts up to 16'. Some of the rapids get a bit technical but no real problems (unless you wrap Lucifer in Hell's Half Mile  We're putting on 9/9 and according to the BuRec website, should expect 1700 average through the end of September - a fairly user-friendly level. I haven't checked with the river office this year, but we've always had water at Ladore and Echo.


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## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2010)

If I was not going to be in Alaska I would beg you for an invite. Ran it after Smith this June and it was great (not my permit), just toooooo many bugs. You will not have that problem. I have run it as low as 850 with no problems. If you are going in your Jacks Cat, piece of cake.


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## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

Thanks guys for the info.

Bighorn you are always welcome, but Alaska has to be more of an adventure than Lodore!!! Plus a person can only run Dino once per season if I read the rule book correctly.

Every one, have a safe and fun trip.


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## kazak4x4 (May 25, 2009)

After labor day it's low season and you can run it again after high season run. 

Low water Lodore is really no big deal, just got to stay on your sticks and avoid the sleepers. If you never done low water Lodore, scout Upper Disaster to see which shoot to hit. Triplet becomes no issue at this level, just pull left of the big rock on the right. Hell's Half mile is definitely worth a scout, low water usually means a left run off Lucifer. Other than that just watch for thousands of rocks to avoid 

I have different videos on my Youtube channels of Lodore runs which might help you get an idea.

Best of luck!


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## toptop (Jul 24, 2015)

I just got off a Lodore trip. Insects were minimal except for some sand fleas at the put in and yellow jackets at the first two camps. The yellow jackets were very pesty and immune to our orange juice traps. They all wanted bacon instead. The cook teams needed a team of swatters for backup.

Water was available at both locations.


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## Tom Martin (Dec 5, 2004)

What TopTop said. We took out last Friday at the Split Mountain Ramp. Water was on at the put-in, Echo and Rainbow Parks. 

Flow was 1,700 cfs with some up and down. I ran my 16ft bucket boat Achilles and put a 1/2 inch hole in the floor in lower Hell's Half Mile. I saw no clear line through there. The self bailers with us all did just fine. Would not take the Achillies bucket on any less flows. IK and 10 ft cat did fine. The water was wonderfully swimable. 

Yes, the yellowjackets were bad at the normal camps, but if we stopped to eat lunch at out of the way and unused beaches, there was little trouble. We had no trouble with mosquitoes. 

Hope this helps, yours, tom


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## toptop (Jul 24, 2015)

I was there the week prior, Tom. Same flows. When I got to Hells there were two dozen boats waiting to get through. There was a boat wrapped pretty good on a rock at the bottom. It took all of us 4 hours to get him off and then I watched two more boats get stuck on the same rock immediately after. All of these folks were trying to go right when they got stuck.

Then I watched as the entire beach unloaded. I saw half the boats make the move right and half go left. There's a route both ways. Use your momentum to carry over to the right but don't hit any shallow rocks or you'll lose it. Or you can drive yourself left, aiming at lucifer, glance off of it and continue left.

At lower flows there's different stories. Check this thread.
http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/f11/lodore-148.html


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## boatbjammin (Mar 16, 2015)

I've run Lodore numerous times at +/-850 CFS. Boney for sure, but very fun still! Go left of Lucifer to avoid Huggy Bear which is below and river right. Bring a fly rod and get a Utah fishinhg license--the river itself should be good and the creek at Jones Hole is great!


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

I am intrigued by this "huggy bear". It's said "nobody touches huggy bear" sounds like a sticky hole or a tractor beam rock?


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## asleep.at.the.oars (May 6, 2006)

I knew huggy bear as teddy bear. It's river right towards the bottom of the upper part of Hell's. There's a flat-ish rock, then a little gap, then another rock. If you get too far right, it's easy to get pushed up on the flat rock, stop the downstream tube in the gap, and have your upstream tube suck down into a perch/wrap. Frankly, there are lots of prap options like that in Lodore, but fewer true wrap locations... At low water (800-1000) there's a narrow gap just to the left, then another rock, then the plan B exit, then another rock to the left, then finally the preferred exit from a right run of Lucifer. I looked, but don't think I have any pictures.

I used to do the left run of Lucifer all the time. I set up to pull a downstream ferry into the ledge hole on the left, that grabbed the stern and spun me around, and I cruised on out. Or at least it worked that way until it didn't... Then I wrapped. That took a while and really messed up our lunch plans... Now I pull upstream to slow down while I let the river carry me right, and then work back left just below. Not as pretty, and not as fun, but lower consequence. That's all in 18' boats. I had a chance to do it in my kayak once, man that felt like a lot of space! 
There's a larger rock towards the top of the lower rock garden in Hell's. If you start on the right side of it and then work back left almost up against the island, you can get a big boat through with only one mild drag on a rock at 800. A lot easier to figure out when you're lapping it every week than once a year.


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

Thanks for the info, asleep. at. the. oars! 
Huggy's sounds like a nasty little trap to end up in with a gear boat!
Like the drop in behind lucifers from the right move.


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