Cataract Warm Up

I just got back from a 4 day pilot run of the new Inuit kayak in Cataract Canyon on the Colorado River. Peter Benedict, my old kayak coach and brother of Liquidlogic's Shane Benedict, allowed me to come along on a trip he was leading for the Colorado Rocky Mountain School. It was great to finally run some whitewater with my sister Mollie, a junior at CRMS, and to get a preview of the paddle to come.

The boat held up well in Cat's whitewater--almost as technical as any we are going to encounter on our source-to-sea trip--slicing through waves and punching holes. It glided like butter through 40 miles of reservoir, even if my aching shoulders tell a different story, and had plenty of space for gear storage. But that was on a 100 mile, 4 day trip in September. Now the trick is going to be packing it for 1700 miles and 4 months through the winter...

The Source....

This screenshot from google maps claims that the Green River exists in a high alpine basin.  Although it's more likely to be a snowfield, I guess I believe it enough to hike up there....

The Logistics are Heating Up

If you've ever tried to plan a weekend outing, you quickly realize that there's a lot of planning to do: What will we eat?  How do we get there?  What will the weather be like? Now imagine planning a four month long trip, most of it in the backcountry, involving 5 states, Mexico, people from all over the country, kayaks, packrafts, rafts, snowshoes (I hope not), solar panels, cameras, park service regulations, and bean can stoves, all while carrying your poop in a box (or PVC pipe).  The logistics are by far the most complex of any trip I've tried to plan, but the basic concept is simple: go downstream.

Zak created a map of where we'll be, and I've posted a calendar of when we'll be there.  Zak is also testing out our brand new Inuit 14.5 kayaks, courtesy of Liquidlogic (http://www.liquidlogickayaks.com/inuit_14.cfm).