# Split Mt - Big Storm Tuesday Sept 8th, 2020



## ptwood (May 4, 2004)

Anyone else on the river Tuesday? We were finishing a Ladore trip and where in Split Mountain when the main force of the storm hit, probably the wildest conditions I have seen in nearly 40 years of running rivers. Easily 40 mph steady wind with gusts that had to 60-70, rain then snow. Actually had my eye glasses blow off my face into the river!


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

Sat June 27 was like that at Blackadar camp on the Main Salmon. 
Got hit by bark that was blown off trees! Probably lasted 15 minutes. How long was yours?


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## ptwood (May 4, 2004)

MT4Runner said:


> Sat June 27 was like that at Blackadar camp on the Main Salmon.
> Got hit by bark that was blown off trees! Probably lasted 15 minutes. How long was yours?


It went on for hours...


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## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

We got hit with something like that in Whirlpool Canyon once, David L and DanOrion were on that trip. It was hot as hell at Echo Park when we stopped for lunch and water, then we got hit by the storm as a front came in. It hailed so hard we put our helmets on, rowing to Jones Hole through the hail, rain, and thunder and lightning. A buddy was hanging out under an overhang in his kayak and said that a wall or mud and rocks was flowing down off the hillside and he didn't dare try to paddle out from under the shelter. We got to Jones and set up our kitchen and blasters for warmth under the shelter there, it rained like hell until well after midnight, and woke up the next morning to clear skies and cool conditions. It made the river run red. Found a note on my car from some friends that had gotten slammed in the same storm while rowing out in Split Mountain. I've gotten hit by some wild thunderstorms but have never seen anything as sustained as that. IIRC, it was about this time of year.


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

ptwood said:


> It went on for hours...


Dang!

Were you able to retrieve your glasses?


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

I've seen all of those things separate but never at the same time.

I did an april trip down the Yampa and it was blowing so hard the first day the water was atomizing. You could barely move an inch during the luls in wind and got blown upstream when gusts came through. It mellowed out for the rest of the trip until the last day. While staying at the Cove Sam, the TL, woke everyone up the super early the last morning with a "Hey guys...you might wanna get out of bed...a storm is coming" which was putting it mildly. We all were like "ya yah... no big deal" until we rolled over and saw huge dark ominous clouds coming over the canyon at high speed. We had like 20 minutes to get everything battened down, skipped breakfast and got on the river just in time to have like 3-4 inches of thick wet heavy snow fall on us for the whole trip through Rainbow Park. Thankfully it quit by the time we hit Split Mountain...but it was quite the wake up.

We had heavy heavy heavy sideways rain for a day or two on the Middle Fork earlier this year too. The river was dropping from 5 feet to around 4 feet for the first two days of the trip but it rained so hard in the middle of the trip that it came back up to 5.5 feet or so for the last few days of the Middle Fork. I'd run the upper stretch at 6 feet but it always dropped super fast as the trip went on, so that was the highest I'd run Impassable Canyon. Super fun at that level but you gotta stay on your toes. We turned the corner on that trip too and the Main was super fun at 48k or so. 

Gotta love variable weather. I'll take it, as long as I get trips like my May 2018 Grand Canyon trip where we barely saw a cloud in the sky, cool but pleasant nights and 85 degree days the whole trip.


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

That's funny, I was going to comment on the wind atomizing the water and torrential rains this June on the Lochsa...then it dawned on me it was the same storm system that hit you on the MF!



Electric-Mayhem said:


> We had heavy heavy heavy sideways rain for a day or two on the Middle Fork earlier this year too. The river was dropping from 5 feet to around 4 feet for the first two days of the trip but it rained so hard in the middle of the trip that it came back up to 5.5 feet or so for the last few days of the Middle Fork


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## ptwood (May 4, 2004)

MT4Runner said:


> Dang!
> 
> Were you able to retrieve your glasses?


They were blown 10-15 feet into deep green water, I'm guessing there is a fish that finally see clearly down there some where...


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

Oof!


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## Norcalcoastie (Jan 4, 2019)

Whoa. Glad y’all are ok. Adventures are great.....but still. Earlier this year in May, my family floated Warm Springs to Maupin on the Deschutes and got hit suddenly by a crazy wind storm. Seriously crazy winds. Dirt blowing off the bluffs, white caps everywhere. It was all I could do to row backwards downstream. Every camp was full - it broke my heart as I looked at my wife and 12 year old daughter. They were legit scared.

As I passed a already occupied Rainbow camp I saw a lady waving at me to pull in. We did, and they invited us into their shelter and made us gin and tonics. We couldn’t even put up tables as they would blow over. We laughed about it, made food full of sandy grit and finally fell asleep.

we made some good friends that day! Planning trips together in the future. My wife and daughter look back a bit fondly now. When we were driving back through Madras, we saw irrigation wheels wrapped around telephone poles. Apparently 85 mph winds had hit the area. Wasn’t even close to have been forecasted.

I guess that’s the nature of the river. My kids got some good stories to tell, and a bit more resilient due to it. I love it.


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## ptwood (May 4, 2004)

I should add that while there where tense moments, it was never life threatening, our river tribe was thousands of river hours and are ready for what ever Mother Nature throws, this was super wild and good reminder to be prepared, know what the heck your doing and most importantly roll with the punches. I loved ever moment...


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## Utah78 (Apr 28, 2018)

ptwood said:


> Anyone else on the river Tuesday? We were finishing a Ladore trip and where in Split Mountain when the main force of the storm hit, probably the wildest conditions I have seen in nearly 40 years of running rivers. Easily 40 mph steady wind with gusts that had to 60-70, rain then snow. Actually had my eye glasses blow off my face into the river!


On Tuesday a huge front brought powerful hurricane force winds through northern Utah. It started at my house at 1am and was serious though 2pm. I live on the benches of Millcreek (just a few miles south of Salt Lake) and we were hit by gusts of up to 100mph. My neighbors had two 70 foot pine trees blown over, one of which landed on top of their subaru. Salt Lake and Millcreek have declared a state of emergency. Lots of trees blown over, lots of power outages, but only 1 reported death. I am guessing you caught a tail of this one. I would not have wanted to be out on a river under such conditions that you were in; however, such river experiences become unforgettable. Glad you were safe (RIP to your glasses).


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## villagelightsmith (Feb 17, 2016)

Fighting afternoon winds on the lower Deschutes ... we had a 17' Rogue bucket running empty with 3 people aboard. One gust picked the back end of the boat a good 4' above the river ... and then dropped it. The people's wide-eyed expressions were ... and remain ... priceless! Canoes on big western Canadian lakes ... I've side-surfed to shore and been grateful it was there. And I have spent a week in the sleeping bags reading War & Peace while the wind blew the skeeters into submission. That latter is our preferred course of action. You know that _some_day, _some_time, the Wind will become sated, tired, or just confused enough to let you continue safely to some destination. And the waves will lay down for your safe passage. Maybe.
Yesterday the wind was whistling dixie up and down the Clackamas river, blowing vehicles around, knocking trees over (got one!) while a fire rolled around burning everything in sight. My house and shops are in the Red Zone (mandatory evacuation). The dead cedars on my place were probably going up like Roman Candles. I was wishing I could have rescued my boats, buildings AND my good firefighting gear (pumps and hoses, et al.) The roads were blocked, of course, but busting across the water with a mini-jet boat, MkIII pump, hoses, hard hats, fire shirts, flashers and similar gear would have probably resulted in a wave and a pass-through.
Today there was no wind, but if you liked the looks of your air you could break off a piece and stick it in your pocket for later.


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## whip (Oct 23, 2003)

was in a wild rainstorm on Deso in the 80's had a flashflood from a side canyon nearly turn over my16' bucket boat. never saw it coming


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## class 3 felon (May 14, 2008)

Hope you had some good whiskey to keep you warm as you rowed through the storm


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

ptwood, you likely endured the passing of one of the most powerful frontal system in years.

We took out at Split Mtn the day before you on Monday. We consider ourselves lucky even though the smoke was very bad on the night of the 6th and all day on the 7th. 

We got a room in Craig and drove home Tuesday through heinous winds. It was like an all day micro-burst. Going through Steamboat Springs landscaped trees(ball and burlapped) where going down like bowling pins all over, especially in the median of the highway. There were many snapped off power poles. The wind direction was shifting continuously. Rabbit Ears Pass was closed and we had to go south to Gore Pass.


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## altaholics (Jul 26, 2015)

I'm from Salt Lake and this is what that storm did to my neighborhood. I'm glad we weren't on the river in that. Utah hurricane. Didn't see that coming.


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## Gnarly_Gnome (Jun 1, 2020)

We were camped at Limestone in Lodore Monday night. Look an unplanned layover day there, only saw a commercial group on the water all day, I'm amazed that anyone was able to raft in that insanity.


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

It is amazing that ptwood's crew could move at all. I wonder if he was at Jone's 3 Sunday night? It looked like a very hard core group there that night(one dude with burly beard looking like PT's avatar).

The storm toppled 45 semi trucks in Utah.

Link to Toppling Semi's


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## mtriverrat (Jan 29, 2012)

Well it is the Green after all! We were in a microburst right in front of a forest fire on the main Salmon a couple years ago. Sounded like a freight train coming. Flattened everything and big trees were snapping like matchsticks. And then came the smoke from the fire. Thought we were done for. We are alive and well and floated thru the fire for two days after that. Kept the yellow jackets calm though!


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## Jen TheJeneral (Jul 27, 2017)

ptwood said:


> Anyone else on the river Tuesday? We were finishing a Ladore trip and where in Split Mountain when the main force of the storm hit, probably the wildest conditions I have seen in nearly 40 years of running rivers. Easily 40 mph steady wind with gusts that had to 60-70, rain then snow. Actually had my eye glasses blow off my face into the river!


Yes! We were at Jones Hole 2.
We heard you guys lost a tent? 🤷‍♀️
A tree fell on one of our campers’ tent so we hunkered down and layed over there for the day instead of pushing 25 people down the river for safety reasons. Everyone else still had smiles on their faces. Some blizzard bocce and being prepared made for a great time.


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## Matthew73 (Jun 26, 2011)

MT4Runner said:


> Sat June 27 was like that at Blackadar camp on the Main Salmon.
> Got hit by bark that was blown off trees! Probably lasted 15 minutes. How long was yours?


Hey, we were on the Main that day. I had almost forgotten about it. We were staying down at Lower Bull and had camp set up when it blew through. I had apple pies cooking in Dutch Ovens and was trying to shelter them; we clipped 5 gallon buckets of water to our shade supports but it still blew all over the place. Fortunately we didn't lose much and still ended up having a nice dinner later that night.


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## MeetOutside (Jul 29, 2010)

We were in Lodore on Tuesday the 8th during the storm. Put in on Sunday in 95 degree temps, 90 on Monday, and then a plummet into the 20s on Tuesday with sheets of rain/sleet turning to snow by mid-morning. By some stroke of luck, Tuesday was our layover day at Wild Mountain so were able to hunker down for the worst of it. I'm not saying we built a bonfire on the beach because, you know, there was a fire ban, but... It was probably the wind Monday night that was most problematic as it pulled one tent out of the ground and off into the darkness (to be found by park rangers a day later in Echo Park, 5+ miles downstream, sleeping bags still in it. Did it fly down canyon? Did it float? Wild to imagine either scenario.) The wind also ruined two other tents that only stayed put because people were in them. Lots of river trips in my lifetime, never had to endure weather conditions like that. All in all, everyone kept (and consumed) good spirits and it was a great trip.


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## 2tomcat2 (May 27, 2012)

Wow, not that you had any other practical choices, but kudos for sticking it out, making the best of it with good attitudes and still think it was a great trip! Of course it was!


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## whip (Oct 23, 2003)

Heard there was a bit of excitement amongst your cohorts!


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

We were at Jones Hole Monday night. The day was lovely and easy rowing through Whirlpool Canyon. The winds picked up during the night and sleep was impossible with all the flapping fabric. It would blow hard from one direction and then completely reverse and flatten the tent from the other direction. A box elder trunk snapped 5’ above the ground and the tree laid over my friends tent. He wasn’t fine as the trunk was still attached where it snapped but he couldn’t get out until I rolled the tree off to the side while he cornered himself in the opposite side of the tent. We moved the tree to block the winds coming from the east. Each captain emerged with daylight and saw precipitation rolling over the canyon cliffs and went back to their tents. The decision was made that we would layover. A commercial group in Jones 3 busted out and we assumed they made arrangements to get out at Rainbow Park. All the other Jones camps were empty so we knew if anyone came down river there would be space. A group at Seacliff made a run for it during a dry period and had the wind push them to Island Camp. Our group was 23 people, 12 rafts, and going to our next camp at Big Island with little shelter seemed like a bad idea. We played bocce, drank whiskey, and held the lava rocks from our ambient propane fire ring. Everything was wet but we were under a fire ban. I wore my neoprene, fleece and dry suit pants along with my thick puffy coat, Ecuador hat, and wool gloves. The rain turned to snow as the temperature continued to drop. No accumulation but it stuck to the wood posts and the leaves on the trees. Another tree broke just outside our kitchen. No one else came down river. Lots of bluebirds stayed near the ground. A couple of them died. I think they were Indigo Buntings off course. I have never seen them on other trips. Another cold, wet night but the winds calmed down. We were to float out Wednesday so whoever woke with first daylight was to wake up the group and bust out. Breakfast burritos were made the night before and eaten cold. I opened my tent fly and glimpsed a skunk run by so began slapping my shoes and waking the group. I heard others opening their tents and yelling at skunks. The sun began to peek out and went in and out as we floated. By the time we had lunch just above Split Mountain the temperature was comfortable and had a nice time to the takeout. I had packed my wet tent, along with everything else wet in a separate dry bag. We went to Vernal, got food, and went to Walmart and bought dry wool socks and gloves and camped near Dutch John, sleeping in the truck. Thursday we floated the A section below to dam to Grasshopper camp in the B section where we had pre-arranged a layover day. Bocce ball in shorts and sunshine! Fantastic eight days on the river with all four seasons!


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## LRBBCO (Aug 6, 2018)

I typically say bad weather makes for good memories: Waterfalls off the canyon walls, snowball fights in March, river saunas, EZ Up dance parties etc. But with falling trees, flash floods, and lost tents, these tales are a good reminder to think critically about where you plant your house for the night. I find a tarp burrito on the boat is the safest and easiest option (I hate packing a wet tent), but try convincing the Lady that in an October hail storm. Cheers to making it through that storm two weeks ago. You may not see something like that again this time of year. Pour one for the River Gods!


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## ptwood (May 4, 2004)

GeoRon said:


> It is amazing that ptwood's crew could move at all. I wonder if he was at Jone's 3 Sunday night? It looked like a very hard core group there that night(one dude with burly beard looking like PT's avatar).
> 
> The storm toppled 45 semi trucks in Utah.
> 
> Link to Toppling Semi's


We where at Big Island which gave us a few miles head start!


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## ptwood (May 4, 2004)

jifner4 said:


> Yes! We were at Jones Hole 2.
> We heard you guys lost a tent? 🤷‍♀️
> A tree fell on one of our campers’ tent so we hunkered down and layed over there for the day instead of pushing 25 people down the river for safety reasons. Everyone else still had smiles on their faces. Some blizzard bocce and being prepared made for a great time.


that wasn't us but not surprised!


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## Jen TheJeneral (Jul 27, 2017)

MeetOutside said:


> We were in Lodore on Tuesday the 8th during the storm. Put in on Sunday in 95 degree temps, 90 on Monday, and then a plummet into the 20s on Tuesday with sheets of rain/sleet turning to snow by mid-morning. By some stroke of luck, Tuesday was our layover day at Wild Mountain so were able to hunker down for the worst of it. I'm not saying we built a bonfire on the beach because, you know, there was a fire ban, but... It was probably the wind Monday night that was most problematic as it pulled one tent out of the ground and off into the darkness (to be found by park rangers a day later in Echo Park, 5+ miles downstream, sleeping bags still in it. Did it fly down canyon? Did it float? Wild to imagine either scenario.) The wind also ruined two other tents that only stayed put because people were in them. Lots of river trips in my lifetime, never had to endure weather conditions like that. All in all, everyone kept (and consumed) good spirits and it was a great trip.
> View attachment 59999
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> 
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Gnarly_Gnome said:


> We were camped at Limestone in Lodore Monday night. Look an unplanned layover day there, only saw a commercial group on the water all day, I'm amazed that anyone was able to raft in that insanity.


just curious what camp you would’ve been at had you not laid over?


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## Gnarly_Gnome (Jun 1, 2020)

jifner4 said:


> just curious what camp you would’ve been at had you not laid over?


We would have done Limestone Mon, Jones Hole Tues, and Island park Weds night. We stayed at Limestone 2 nights and skipped Jones. Luckily we did the 5 day option so even our longest day wasn't bad at all.

After reading about the tents in the wind, I realize just how lucky we were to have a well sheltered site.


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## Jen TheJeneral (Jul 27, 2017)

Gnarly_Gnome said:


> We would have done Limestone Mon, Jones Hole Tues, and Island park Weds night. We stayed at Limestone 2 nights and skipped Jones. Luckily we did the 5 day option so even our longest day wasn't bad at all.
> 
> After reading about the tents in the wind, I realize just how lucky we were to have a well sheltered site.


I was just wondering because we were at jones hole 2 and decided to hunker down. Had our fingers crossed we weren’t poaching a camp 😬 We were to push on to big island but we had a tree snap and land on a camper Monday night so for safety we stayed put.


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## Panama Red (Feb 10, 2015)

Jones 2 Monday was Smokey, 90 degrees, and ash was falling on us. However that fickle bitch pulled a 180 on us. Woke up Tuesday with the intention of floating 23 people/12 boats down to B.I. I pushed the tent off of me and Mrs. around 6:30 Tuesday morning and found the temp around 20 degrees, blowing 60-70 down river albeit, and snowin like a sum-bitch. Told the kids to go back to bed we’ll be here till this squall rolls out.

Noon Tuesday I pushed the tent off me and the Mrs. again, we both ventured out this time, and found about the same weather, but more kids up and scurrying about. I was regaled of trees on tents and this tree that tree that had fallen in the wind. Oh and the Jones Hole Skunk. We drank whiskey, tequila, and more whiskey. Might have had coffee, Bloody Mary’s, and bacon. We played bocce ball in parkas and gloves, really all around good spirits. Had some friends float by going to R.P. and got some intel of the canyon kind of being held up which was great news cause we weren’t goin any where. Had an awesome dinner of beef stroganoff and fresh garden veggies. The kind of meal that warms you from the inside. Around our gas fire pit after dinner I told the kids that this morning was a fire drill and everyone passed the test, tomorrow we’re goin live.

Wednesday morning we had 23 people/12 boats on the water by 8 a.m. The 18 mile day was not strenuous with the D.R.W.

This was me and the Mrs. first go round as TL’s on the GOL and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. In fact after taking out at S.M. and dealing with Adolf at the ramp who and I quote” If you don’t move you’re truck I’ll have you towed” cool bud we’ll be long gone before your tow truck gets here. Just a post-amble we’re are ramp people, had 12 boats out of the water in less than 35 minutes. Would’ve been quicker if the golf cart geezer would’ve went back to his Winnebago, watched Columbo, and had his coffee.

We refueled the tanks in Jenson at the fam’s house, had some amazing margaritas/Mexican food, and drove to D.S. We finally got to spend a night around a camp fire, slept out under the clouds, and Thursday put in at the damn. Spent the next 3 days on the A/B section and took out at I.X. On Saturday.

To all of you who are Buzzards or not and were on this trip. I love you all and I Thank You for enduring this adventure with us and look forward to many more

Salut


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## Panama Red (Feb 10, 2015)

MeetOutside said:


> We were in Lodore on Tuesday the 8th during the storm. Put in on Sunday in 95 degree temps, 90 on Monday, and then a plummet into the 20s on Tuesday with sheets of rain/sleet turning to snow by mid-morning. By some stroke of luck, Tuesday was our layover day at Wild Mountain so were able to hunker down for the worst of it. I'm not saying we built a bonfire on the beach because, you know, there was a fire ban, but... It was probably the wind Monday night that was most problematic as it pulled one tent out of the ground and off into the darkness (to be found by park rangers a day later in Echo Park, 5+ miles downstream, sleeping bags still in it. Did it fly down canyon? Did it float? Wild to imagine either scenario.) The wind also ruined two other tents that only stayed put because people were in them. Lots of river trips in my lifetime, never had to endure weather conditions like that. All in all, everyone kept (and consumed) good spirits and it was a great trip.
> View attachment 59999
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We slept on that beach Sunday night.


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## co_biscuit (Feb 13, 2016)

MeetOutside said:


> We were in Lodore on Tuesday the 8th during the storm. Put in on Sunday in 95 degree temps, 90 on Monday, and then a plummet into the 20s on Tuesday with sheets of rain/sleet turning to snow by mid-morning. By some stroke of luck, Tuesday was our layover day at Wild Mountain so were able to hunker down for the worst of it. I'm not saying we built a bonfire on the beach because, you know, there was a fire ban, but... It was probably the wind Monday night that was most problematic as it pulled one tent out of the ground and off into the darkness (to be found by park rangers a day later in Echo Park, 5+ miles downstream, sleeping bags still in it. Did it fly down canyon? Did it float? Wild to imagine either scenario.) The wind also ruined two other tents that only stayed put because people were in them. Lots of river trips in my lifetime, never had to endure weather conditions like that. All in all, everyone kept (and consumed) good spirits and it was a great trip.
> View attachment 59999
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> 
> ...


I was the trip leader on this trip with MeetOutside (Hi!!) and I walked away with a few very important things to remember. 1) Always bring more tequila than you think is necessary. 2) Don't let anyone talk you out of bringing the canvas wall tent when its supposed to get cold, even if it does weigh 100+ lbs. It provided emergency shelter for four people for two nights. In the same vein, on shoulder season trips, make sure you have at least one extra sleeping bag. 3) If you know the wind is going to pick up, don't camp on the beach! All in all, it was a great trip but it was amongst the worst 18 hours I've ever spent outside, and I'm so grateful that our planned layover day had such fortuitous timing. And that our crew was (mostly) well-prepared, experienced and resilient.


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## Brent Ricks (Aug 30, 2013)

ptwood said:


> Anyone else on the river Tuesday? We were finishing a Ladore trip and where in Split Mountain when the main force of the storm hit, probably the wildest conditions I have seen in nearly 40 years of running rivers. Easily 40 mph steady wind with gusts that had to 60-70, rain then snow. Actually had my eye glasses blow off my face into the river!


We had a group of 22 who awoke at Cove and put on at 8:00 am. We stopped for a break at the Rainbow Park ramp. We ran into two rangers, Cyrus and Nate. We sent 3 with them to the take out-a 45 minute drive- and left 4 kids and 1 adult huddled for warmth in the Park Service outhouse!

14 People ran 9 boats into the take out in miserable condition.


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