Salmon River Float Trip - 2012.09

A group of friends and new acquaintances and I just finished a 7 day 7 night float trip on the main fork of the Salmon River.  More details are coming, but not only was it a trip in my inflatable kayak, I was also able to do some swimming.  See the following video for a close view of Mallard Rapids.

Moab High Adventurer - In the rear view mirror

It's done.  The Varsity Moab bike/hike trip is history!

On Porcupine Ridge

It went pretty well.  We biked slick rock and Porcupine Ridge.  We hiked Professor Falls, Tusher Tunnel, played on the sanddune, and did a midnight hike to Corona Arch.  All in all, I think everyone had a good time some of the time.  A few probably had a good time all of the time, while a smaller number had a good time occasionally.  But no one had a terrible time all of the time.

At Tusher Tunnel

The food was excellent.  Kudos to Travis for a well planned, well executed menu.  If anyone went hungry it was there own fault.

The equipment worked well.  No major problems with bikes or vehicles.

Hiking with Justin on Professor Creek

We burned a lot of wood, but it was all under control.  No Southern Utah wildfires were caused by this group.

The adult leadership was excellent.  I'm not sure how if happened, but patience was demonstrated by both the young men and the old guys.

Hiking Professor Creek with Justin

The milkshakes at Moab Diner were fantabulous!

Any we only suffered a couple minor injuries - sunburns, blisters, a sliver. Not bad at all!  Except for the 5 broken legs, it went well.

The 5 broken legs probably deserves a little explanation.  We've planned on this trip for the past year.  We've done some mountain bike rides along the Wasatch Mountains to assess skills, test bikes, and build experience.  However the bike trails in Moab are just a little more intense.  Porcupine ridge is only 14 miles long, mostly downhill and is rated as a class 4.  One of the guys went over while negotiating an obstacle.  Immense pain,  Can't move.  Left leg broken below the knee.  After 10 minutes of checking it out, he was back on his bike peddling down the hill.

About a mile later - another obstacle that caused an upset.  Rider is down, another left leg broken below the knee.  Can't ride any further.  Need a helicopter for a medivac.  Sorry, that's not going to happen.  Ten minutes later he's on the bike riding down the hill.

Repeat three more times. Each time a left leg was broken below the knee.  How many left legs can one person break and still keep riding?

I know our skills aren't that great and we were very conservative in our biking, but what should have been a 4 or 5 hour ride, turned into a 6.5 hour ride.  Even with the 5 broken legs, we all made it down without anything worse than sunburn and minor scrapes and scratches.

The young man with the 5 broken legs even hiked into Professor Falls and climbed Corona Arch the next day.  Amazing recovery.

The whole Crew at Arches National Park

All in all, a good time was had and hopefully we all learned about teamwork, tolerance, patience and to appreciate the opportunities this great land and our freedoms provide.