# Hite Marina...



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

https://www.usbr.gov/uc/water/crsp/cs/gcd.html

If memory serves, the concrete ramp at Hite is available down to 75' or 80' from full pool, and the gravel ramp next to it is good down to ~90'. There is probably a source with that information exactly. About 100' below full pool keeps current all the way to the Dirty Devil take out river right. Not sure what conditions look like there right now, but it was pretty ugly most of the summer. Lots of 4wd, tow ropes, roller bars, and a need to wash the mud off after take out.


----------



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

Also: I can't remember who posted this last summer, but it's informative


----------



## restrac2000 (Mar 6, 2008)

This is the source for Lake Powell levels:

Lake Powell Water Database

I would expect Dirty Devil to be the principle takeout for Cataract through at least July if not until the summer of 2015. Powell and Mead are both desperately low so neither one is going to fillup extremely fast without an epic increase in snowpack the next 3 months. Which isn't just going to happen considering the snow year Utah s having for the Green inflow. River flow goes well past the Dirty Devil Takeout now. 

Great time for rafting (takeout wise); horrible time for house boating.

Phillip


----------



## WillYates (Aug 3, 2007)

asleep.at.the.oars said:


> Also: I can't remember who posted this last summer, but it's informative


That's me! Ahhh, rafting. Current past Hite 7-8 miles to Farley Canyon. Hite is out of the question. See pic from Aug. Dirty Devil TO ramp was bad in Aug but work was done since then. (Motored 40 something miles on Powell to avoid it) Took out there after a Dirty Devil trip the end of oct and it was better but still muddy.


----------



## B4otter (Apr 20, 2009)

Allegedly there's a ranger at Hite and he/she is best-positioned to describe current condition of takeout at North Wash (just below DD on right). I've never managed to actually speak with this person, despite leaving messages, and now can't find phone number... but you can call NPS in Moab (435) 259-4351 and see what they say.
Philip (restrac2000, above) has it right, so does asleep.at.the.oars. Hite unlikely to be useable this year, only feasible when reservoir elevation is above 3620 or so, although you can fight through shallows and over to the gravel "ramp" down to about 3610. North Wash has plenty of current past it at 3590, river has nowhere else to go as lake continues to drop - which it will this year unless Green River watershed sees dramatic increase in snowfall/precip. There's an "island" about 5-10 yards off North Wash takeout, as lake continues to fall the drag/winch/carry to the base of the "ramp" will just get longer. But feasible - last fall Tag-a-long had winch truck stationed in parking lot until mid-September to pull their motor rigs out, but others continued on to Bullfrog (45 miles or so from North Wash). Bottom line: if you have (wo)manpower and/or lighter rigs - say 14 foot rafts or 16 foot cats - no big deal to takeout at North Wash. If it's rained you may have slop and horrific first 10 to 15 yards, but doable. If dry it's a matter of setting up a good line and getting gear plus boat(s) to the bottom of the ramp. 
Kelly Dunham ([email protected]) or (435) 820-4828 also a good source for current condition of takeout. And runs great shuttle service out of Green River!


----------



## restrac2000 (Mar 6, 2008)

I don't say this too often but...I feel for those commercial crews running Cataract on these dry years. Ran as a swamp on a 1 day Cat trip years ago when it was flushing at 44k but res. was way low (2005-ish). We dropped peeps off at Dirty Devil and then ran the rig at full speed to Halls Crossing. Longest river day of my life. Was a wild ride after Hite as the river ran to around Red Canyon and when it ended it was a mile or more of log jams. Slow process to get through there which must have been frustrating for Steve on the motor after such a long day. Then the winds picked up and we had to slow it down a bit as the waves were choppy. Was a hard job keeping all the cam straps on at that speed and in those conditions. I had to constantly crawl around the boat to tighten them up for 50 miles. Shocked I stayed on board a few times. 

Its an epic journey for some of these crews and I barely got a taste of it. Was worth the ride though. Will never forget the boating surfing for a second in Froggies Hole on Big Drop 3 at 44k, even with 75 horsepower cranking. 

Hoping to see Cat again this year myself.

Phillip


----------



## Cutch (Nov 4, 2003)

We took out on 11/29/2013 at the Dirty Devil boat ramp. (I was calling it North Wash and was corrected to DD. North Wash is technically downstream per the map, Dirty Devil is immediately upstream. Not that I care.) The current boat ramp is on river right. Hite Marina is a long ways away, on river left. 

The shoreline itself was easy to deal with, easy to walk on, and not as problematic as others have reported... probably due to off season low flows. The road/ramp down is very, very steep, and it's rutted at the bottom from vehicles getting stuck. I wasn't going to try it in our 4wd Tacoma, even without a trailer. The walk is short, and the hill is probably only 50 feet tall. I would say it's damn near impossible to back a trailer down (well, down is easy, getting back up is the problem), and large fully loaded rafts always suck to haul up the hill. For lighter, smaller rafts that can quickly de-rig, you can make the DD takeout work, with a lot of work and/or ingenuity. For kayakers, it's an easy 5-6 trips of gear, and is a fine takeout. For the solo (and shuttle-less) pack-rafter we met (hell yea Kilroy), it's one walk up the hill. 

For most of 2014, it's safe to say that if rafters must load and unload from a trailer, then they are best to look downstream of the Dirty Devil ramp. If your setup is easy to derig, then a dolly and a few friends can make the Dirty Devil takeout work (with incentive to pack light). Re-grading the ramp would be a good idea... but going to require moving a lot of dirt. 

I second the recommendation of Kelly Dunham with River Express Shuttles. We've had two great experiences. They picked up our vehicle at the top of Mineral Bottom rd in nearly a foot of snow on this last trip (which deserved a larger than normal tip).


----------



## Osseous (Jan 13, 2012)

So is Hite a NPS site? If there's a ranger posted there, why isn't there an opportunity for OUR national parks service to provide.... OH, I dunno- SERVICE? How about a kid with a tractor and a trailer hitch to help us retrieve our rigs? You know, a JOB that has value??? Hell, I bet we could find a kid to do it for tips!~ We PAY for the pleasure to enjoy our own country's precious resources- how about something in return for our fees? The ramp is probably lost forever at this point- how about some proactive response to that situation, other than to drag your shit across the mudflats at your own peril?


----------



## B4otter (Apr 20, 2009)

Osseous - look at this as an opportunity to take care of your self, not expecting "...OUR national park service..." to do something they have clearly abandoned after very poor decision to invest 'prolly $500k in the Hite ramp and "improvements" back in the 90"s when it looked like full or near-full pool was viable for the reservoir.
There aren't any "...kid with a tractor and trailer hitch..." within 60 miles (Hanksville) or Blanding (70). Been driving around down there - and running Cat - since 1976, and I'm actually encouraged that the immediate area appears to be regressing, fewer visitors and deteriorating infrastructure. That's a good thing if what you want is more solitude and no motor boaters. Yes, there's effort involved at North Wash take out. No, I don't expect - or want - NPS help/stupervision/assistance. The current setup is what it is, the vault toilets are usually a mess, maybe because they're "accessible."
I'm with you on user fees, that's a fraud we all need to resist, first perpetrated on "back country" users in the 90's, as I remember (Clinton/Babbit years, latter one of my favorite public servants despite this travesty). But the approx. $25 per person it now costs to run Cat is not the subject of this thread - North Wash/Dirty Devil takeout status is. 
Recommend everyone stay away. Cat is boring, you have to row 50 miles of flatwater to run 12-16 miles of rapids, scenery is hot stinkin' desert, nothing to do and no fun to be had. Boat in CO or ID - real beer much more available... and way better takeouts/put-ins, not to mention shuttle options. take care...


----------



## summitraftgirl (Jul 23, 2008)

asleep.at.the.oars said:


> Also: I can't remember who posted this last summer, but it's informative


I posted this. We went mid-August last summer, just my husband and I. There was no ranger (or anyone for that matter) at Hite, except for a nice lady working at the gas station. The Dirty Devil takeout was NOT doable for us in a 16' cat. We motored all the way to Bullfrog. Just getting up to the flat spot that my husband is walking on took some careful examination of the river bank to figure out exactly where to pull over to be able to scramble up to the mud flat. The walk was long and HOT. Those cracks in the mud are very deep and it was not easy to negotiate. 

Incidentally, we did not end up using any of the extra gas we purchased at Hite for the motor to Bullfrog. We spent two nights on the lake.

Shout out to Kelly Dunham. She has run all of our shuttles for our Cat trips and Labyrinth trips, as well as a solo Dirty Devil trip my husband did last fall. She was super helpful when we were planning our August Cat trip, and even took pics of the Dirty Devil ramp and emailed them to us so we could be well-informed before deciding on our takeout. She goes above and beyond every time and is a pleasure to do business with.


----------



## Osseous (Jan 13, 2012)

I hear what you're saying- and I'm cool with that. It seems to me that they should get out of the way (and drop the fees), or do something positive- rather than sit at a "ramp" that's 100s of yards from the actual river. But then, it's just an ugly, old, hot, desert river....


----------



## Bigdrops (Feb 28, 2013)

The soaking wet, haul slapping ride to bullfrog sucks worse than carrying all of your gear up that !#cking steep a** sandy hill. Just remember, everything you bring on your trip you will literally carry up that hill. Happy Rafing
Oh yeah, $25 pp, thanks for nothing park service.


----------



## restrac2000 (Mar 6, 2008)

Bigdrops said:


> The soaking wet, haul slapping ride to bullfrog sucks worse than carrying all of your gear up that !#cking steep a** sandy hill. Just remember, everything you bring on your trip you will literally carry up that hill. Happy Rafing
> Oh yeah, $25 pp, thanks for nothing park service.


Different strokes for different folks I guess.

We have derigged everything from 12 to 18 footers at Dirty Devil 3 years in a row with no problems. Must really change with water levels. Definitely an issue for bigger rigs or those with health problems that limit carrying lots of weight. We fully derig and stow gear after each trip anyways; living in Utah doesn't really lend itself to keeping a rig inflated all the time.

Different perspective about the permit fee. $25-40 for me to camp in a national park for a week seems cheap. Plus, to know that they don't charge SAR fees if I ever have a problem down there seems to justify throwing some $$$ their way. 

Its a great run to me no matter the cost or ramps. No paved ramp = flow all the way to takeout. Would rather carry our gear 200 feet then row on lake for 20 miles myself. But to each their own. Will be a great spring for my preference.

Looking forward to seeing some of those camps again. 

Phillip


----------



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

summitraftgirl said:


> I posted this. We went mid-August last summer, just my husband and I.


Thanks, and sorry I didn't spend enough time searching to attribute correctly. 

I also am using Kelly Dunham for shuttles now, including my Deso trips. Great service, and the vehicles are well cared for on the drive.


----------



## jborof (Dec 15, 2009)

*shuttles out of hanksville*

anyone know of people/service doing shuttles for the dirty devil out of hanksville? obviously not a high volume business….
but thinking of doing it next weekend. 
thanks


----------

