# Dolores TR



## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

Since I think I remember someone asking for it, here goes:

Just got off a 2 day trip through Dolores Canyon. Air and Water temps were cold, flows were about 1000.

Perhaps it was the years of hype about it since it hasn't really run in 7 years and listening to the tales of yore the old man has about it, but it wasn't what I expected. I was expecting a remote and scenic class III desert float with a IV+ (according to CRC and SWR).

To start off, we had 4 sets of directions to the take-out from 3 different books and wandered around before we found it. Hwy 666 in SWR and the Gazetteer is actually marked as Hwy 491 on the road and most atlantes. The rest of the roads are labeled as described. The take-out is found just upstream of the bridge over the Dolores in Slickrock, on river-right. We had no issues with vehicles left at the put-in or take-out. Follow the BLM signs to Lone Dome to get to the Bradfield Launch (and turn left when you get to the sign marking Bradfield).

The put-in camping sucks. There are toilets. The water pump was not working.

We did not see a ranger or any evidence of one the entire trip.

The river is pretty much all class II with a couple rapids that are IIIish. Snaggletooth is a IV. The river does however move at a good clip the entire time and there is hardly any flatwater to speak of.

There is a river-wide strainer about 10 miles downstream of Bradfield. Kayaks were able to go right over this. The raft (a 16' cat) was able to push/line the boat over and around on the far river-right edge. If it hits the 4G's of 100% release, this will most probably move. Be heads up.

The scenery is good (alpine desertish at the put-in) and gets progressively better the farther you go (pretty sweet sandstone canyon walls at the end). I think part of the source of disappointment for me was the fact that I was expecting a remote overnighter but there was actually a road paralleling the river for a large portion of the stretch. We saw a number of cars and trucks passing or parked. In addition to the road, we found a number of campsites with fire-rings and wooden groovers.

It was a great trip but I would be inclined to do Slickrock to Bedrock if I were looking for scenery (just judging by what we saw in the drive in and photos; I haven't done that one) or Westwater/Cat/Salt/Deso for whitewater. With good weather, it would be an excellent mellow family float without ever really being concerned about remoteness.

Photos and video (including the Snaggletooth beat-down) to come shortly.

COUNT


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## cjising (Mar 24, 2008)

*thanks for the info*

Am considering using this float as my inaugural trip in my own boat. Thanks for the info, very helpful.


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

All true Count- just a few clarifications (rafter's 2 cents):

The strainer is right at about mile 10 and a half and around a bend so not immediately visible to a raft- the kayakers were handy in pointing it out.

Coming from Mancos/Dolores (East) the best marker for the turn to the putin is the Hovenweep National Monument sign. It says turn left for the monument. Turn right for the river road. The signs are crooked and unreadable from the highway- but they say BB and 16 respectively.

The map says to park at the cafe, but parking is available right at the takeout for $5 a day (with a self serve box). The map also shows the takeout before the bridge at Slickrock- driving in it is actually after the bridge.

I believe the rapids were washed out at this level- at lower and higher flows you could see more rock gardens or wave trains respectively.

Lots of rocks/sleepers/ pourovers in this river. Rafts should scout Son of Snag/ Little Snag as well as Snaggletooth. At about mile 24 there are a couple of newly fallen, extremely sharp, raft ripping rocks just left of center- at a little higher level they could be an issue but are in flat water and easily avoided at most flows.

3 mile rapid should be called Lots of Rocks Rapid- at this level, it is 3 miles long, but characterized by giant boulders mostly that create narrow passages for rafts- cool, but not class III. 

The run is easily done in 2 days.

The last 10 miles is different than anything I've seen, but I won't give it away here- overall I thought it was a beautiful canyon.

Can't wait to see the video...


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## ecjohnson (Nov 6, 2007)

And as for the Devil's Highway... they changed it to 491 a number of years ago.


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## gh (Oct 13, 2003)

> And as for the Devil's Highway... they changed it to 491 a number of years ago.


and thats just wrong


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## rivermanryan (Oct 30, 2003)

Takemetotheriver-

From your prospective, how difficult is it to get a raft over the strainer. Did you line it through as Count suggested, or was it a full on portage? Is it possible with a little work that a passage can be made? Is this a logjam/brushy kind of strainer? I am thinking of taking the family to do Bradfield to Mountain Sheep this weekend. Are the channels clear and easy to read or will there be a lot of rock scrapping at this level?

Thanks for the beta! -RC


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

Channels are mostly clear and easy to read- there are lots of sleepers, but as long as you're paying attention, nothing big until Little Snag- even the few we hit were soft and easy to spin off. The water moves quickly all the way to Mtn Sheep and is definitely deep enough- no scraping, just some maneuvering.

We lined the boat around the right end through the reeds. Not difficult. The strainer is a full on tree- not brushy, just a long trunk with several limbs coming off. There was some dissension about whether or not we could have simply gone over it and broken the limbs in the process (Kayakers: on rafting  ). For the sake of the raft, I wouldn't suggest that. At lower levels it will be worse, at higher it could be gone.



rivermanryan said:


> Takemetotheriver-
> 
> From your prospective, how difficult is it to get a raft over the strainer. Did you line it through as Count suggested, or was it a full on portage? Is it possible with a little work that a passage can be made? Is this a logjam/brushy kind of strainer? I am thinking of taking the family to do Bradfield to Mountain Sheep this weekend. Are the channels clear and easy to read or will there be a lot of rock scrapping at this level?
> 
> Thanks for the beta! -RC


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## rg5hole (May 24, 2007)

Where is this snaggletooth beatdown video???? 
I need a good laugh today! Or some visual on what is going to happen to me soon...

-russ


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## bula (Feb 2, 2005)

We're planning on doing the D in late May. 

We've got 5 river days to do it.

It's 100 miles from Bradfield to Bedrock. That's a lot for 5 days. Should we push and do it? Sounds like a good current could help get us pretty far. If not, should we take out at the midway point btween Slick and Bed rock? 

Any other variations/ideas on this would help us in planning. 

Gracias.


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

Easy 5 days. Late May is scheduled for even bigger releases than we had and we easily made ~25 miles a day from Bradfield to Slickrock.

And Count- I second rg5hole- where's the video and pics?



bula said:


> We're planning on doing the D in late May.
> 
> We've got 5 river days to do it.
> 
> ...


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## bula (Feb 2, 2005)

TakemetotheRiver said:


> Easy 5 days. Late May is scheduled for even bigger releases than we had and we easily made ~25 miles a day from Bradfield to Slickrock.
> 
> And Count- I second rg5hole- where's the video and pics?


Thanks. Cool and the gang. One clarifying question, are you a crazy let's get up at 5 am and paddle until 7 pm no side-hike or river party kind of gal?  Or can sane people do the 100 and enjoy it?


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

Nope- we're the crazy run shuttle at midnight, come back and drink until 2 am, roll out of the tent at 8, hope to put on by 9, end up putting on by 11, find a cool camp site around 4, and do it again, hoping we can make up the mileage the next day kind of crowd- and we still took out well before dark on Sunday.

Although the middle section may be a little slower than the upper.



bula said:


> Thanks. Cool and the gang. One clarifying question, are you a crazy let's get up at 5 am and paddle until 7 pm no side-hike or river party kind of gal?  Or can sane people do the 100 and enjoy it?


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## bula (Feb 2, 2005)

That sounds familiar. Wanna come on another trip? :mrgreen:


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

Jeez guys, cool your jets. Not everyone doesn't have a life and is able to just sit around and watch and make kayak videos and post on the Buzz all day.

Oh...wait...nevermind....


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## Bornwithatail (Mar 2, 2008)

*Where's the sweet cat through snagglepuss vid?*

Yo, great trip everybody. Up in Utah, going on Deso next Mon I think. Did Split yesterday, some john boat work & helped a guy put together a brand new boat & frame setup. Keep in touch, more trips to come y'all. K


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## gapers (Feb 14, 2004)

Whaaaaaa-I had to raft the Dolores-WHaaaaaaa


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

Just keep rubbing it in...



Bornwithatail said:


> Up in Utah, going on Deso next Mon I think.


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## Tiggy (May 17, 2004)

It is a great river trip. It did flow @ 4000 cfs 3 or 4 years ago. One of my favorites.


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

Snaggletooth Rapid '08 on Vimeo


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## Schizzle (Mar 26, 2004)

Count,

You did it at 4,000 CFS too low. It's still mellow at that higher level, ex snagg which is good clean fun, but I bet you'd come away with an improved opinion. What you'd really like though is the Stoner Stampede upstream at that level - uphill eddies, auto-squirts, and big waves.


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## bula (Feb 2, 2005)

Nice vid. 

So Snaggletooth the rock is buried at 1000 cfs+? That didn't look like a class V rapid to me. Maybe the boaters made it look easy? I saw one big hole that the yakkers took for fun.


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

The maps/websites call it a Class V over 2000cfs. It was definitely not on that day and there was some disagreement about whether it would wash out or get steeper at higher water. Snaggletooth rock was buried but could be seen through the water- would be exposed at even 900cfs.

It certainly looked nastier in the scout than it did in the video or while running it.



bula said:


> Nice vid.
> 
> So Snaggletooth the rock is buried at 1000 cfs+? That didn't look like a class V rapid to me. Maybe the boaters made it look easy? I saw one big hole that the yakkers took for fun.


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## brendodendo (Jul 18, 2004)

at 4000, I remember snag as a protruding rock. I venture to say that it is closer to class 4plus. The video shows a different river than the one I remember. Less holes and more flow. Lets hope the flows keep up.


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

Schizzle said:


> Count,
> 
> You did it at 4,000 CFS too low. It's still mellow at that higher level, ex snagg which is good clean fun, but I bet you'd come away with an improved opinion. What you'd really like though is the Stoner Stampede upstream at that level - uphill eddies, auto-squirts, and big waves.


Yeah, I'd like to check it out with some more water. Not sure if I'll be able to afford the time (especially in place of the other creeking in the area) when it's that high though. That's why i made sure to get on there while I could.

As fast as it moved at 1000, it makes me wonder if you could do it in 1 day at 5-6G's. We were doin' 30 miles a day without too early of a start. It's be a long day but....

Thinking about a spring weekend to check out Stoner/San Mig/Unc stuff when it's up.



> Maybe the boaters made it look easy?


Yeah, you're spot on there .

COUNT


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## rivermanryan (Oct 30, 2003)

That rapid must be serious because the federal government filter told me the video was R-rated, therefore, I can't see it until I get home.

I'll be heading down there tomorrow to check it out. Plan to run just to Mountain Sheep do to it being a day trip and having the kids with me. How easy would it be to portage kids around Snag? The maps make it look like there is a road next to it, but the photos make it look more like a canyon.

I put together a little Dolores Summary listing distances and different take-out options. If you want a copy, send me an email. rivermanryan at gmail.


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## rg5hole (May 24, 2007)

I love the slow motion chew bakka commentary Quote; "ohhh" classic!

Thanks for the vid!

We are planning a high water 3-4000 cfs trip per scheduled release May 17th and again may 24th. Haven't quite figured out which sections first, slick to bed or dam to slick...more on that later!


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## Schizzle (Mar 26, 2004)

Count, you're absolutely right, probably other better things to do when it's high. We did it because we did other runs during the '05 stomp and I couldn't take the exposure anymore. I either needed a reassuring hug from mom, or easier runs. Dolores fit the bill perfectly. Here's some pics. Click on them for blow up, I'm too lazy to do the big picture trick thing. The level was between 4 and 5,000. The snag rock is downstream of where the video you posted ends (just downstream past the raft in the picture) and I saw more than a few rafts almost bite it on that rock. It would have been an awesome rapid to have a shotgun start, raftercross!:twisted:


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

That would be sweet! Definitely looks like a completely different river.

Kjirsten, I think he just called you a wooky.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

how come all rafters rate there shit up a level? like the royal gorge i noticed this in the royal gorge and upper river of the gorge as well.


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## Bornwithatail (Mar 2, 2008)

*Hmmm...*

It'd be a lot cooler if you'd do that. (Couldn't help it.) You love me, yes you do. Actually now I'm doing a bunch of day trips on the White, then Craig Yampa stuff next week, then Deso I guess. Mainly just fishin', but on the water every day.


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

Count- I'm more like an Ewok, I think. But the sound was decidedly Wooky-esque.

Bornwithatail- Were you referring to it being cooler if I was rubbing it instead of you? Shame on you, talkin' to a lady that way! :twisted: Call me anyway when you're done to gloat about how beautiful Desolation Canyon is in the Springtime, Jackass.



Bornwithatail said:


> It'd be a lot cooler if you'd do that. (Couldn't help it.) You love me, yes you do. Actually now I'm doing a bunch of day trips on the White, then Craig Yampa stuff next week, then Deso I guess. Mainly just fishin', but on the water every day.


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## Dave Frank (Oct 14, 2003)

The "Snag" rock is visible in the run out river right. It's never class V, until the raft wrapped out there has all your beer on it. I've heard a fewnasty wrap stories, but only seen a few close calls.

Dave


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## Browntown (Aug 8, 2007)

Derk-you cut out the part where I make my way out of the hole!

Nice video though! that sure would be fun at 4-5,000


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## El Flaco (Nov 5, 2003)

Dave Frank said:


> The "Snag" rock is visible in the run out river right. It's never class V, until the raft wrapped out there has all your beer on it. I've heard a fewnasty wrap stories, but only seen a few close calls.
> 
> Dave


I've kayaked this stretch a dozen times at all kinds of levels, and I remember thinking that it's not easy miss that rock when the water is up- all the current goes right in there. I'm rowing this stretch in May for a bachelor party and this rapid definitely has me nervous...


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## Bornwithatail (Mar 2, 2008)

*Silly rafters*

Rafters rate their stuff up a notch because it sucks ripping rafts. When it goes bad for a raft, we're not connected to a chamber full of air that self-rights, we're underneath a bouncing truck. A class 4 becomes shitty when you miss the entrance & hang a corner up & go through the class 4 sideways/upside down. Also when you have about 700 lbs of paddler's crap on it, makes it kinda painful when it hits the top of your head during flips. Give the S.U.V.'ers a break.


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## riojedi (May 23, 2005)

You should have seen some of the crap people rafted with before self-bailers. It was that hard then. On some of the "classic" runs those old ratings keep hanging on. Think soft floppy bucket boat, homemade oars with strips of tire instead of clips a nice comfy metal tractor seat. I had an old guide book for the Ark that rated Widow Maker IV-V, funny shit.


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## kayakerpro (Apr 3, 2008)

COUNT said:


> Since I think I remember someone asking for it, here goes:
> 
> Just got off a 2 day trip through Dolores Canyon. Air and Water temps were cold, flows were about 1000.
> 
> ...


 
Sounds like you did not get the full experience. I guess I was spoiled last time I ran it was 84 at close to 3000 it was most definiatly challanging. I saw several rafts flipped or pinned on snag. I also saw an oar frame carnage in snage float out of control into the wall (large unbercut) below snag. The guide who bravely or stupidly stayed with the boat was very should we say damaged!!! The thole pins on the rig 1" in diameter where bent like pretzels but the worst of it was that this was the gear boat for a large comercial opperation. Yes there are 4 wheel drive roads but access is limited and this group had to depend on the gernerousty of several other company's for gear, food, and shelter.

But I'm jealous trying to set up a trip for myself. thanks for the post

Anthony


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