If you want wilderness canoeing, I recommend the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), which is in northern Minnesota on the Ontario border. Manay consider it the canoeing Mecca of the U.S. The BWCAW is about one million acres in size. It encloses hundreds, if not thousands, of lakes connected by portage paths that range from a few meters to a couple of kilometers in length, with the average being maybe 500 meters. (The portages are measured in rods, with a rod being approximately 5 meters long.) The environment is boreal forest: a mix of white pine, red pine, jack pine, aspen, and birch. No permanent structures are allowed in the BWCA, except for a few ranger cabins. You must camp at official campsites, which consist of a couple of prepared tent pads, a fire grate, and a pit toilet that has the sky for a roof. Though travel permits can be reserved in advance, specific campsites cannot. Once you put in, you can go wherever you want; I recommend a route with a few long portages, however, to shake off the crowds of less energetic visitors. No shuttle is required if you plan a loop route. The scenery is spectacular. Though mosquitoes and black flies can be a nuisance early in the summer, they are mostly gone by August, when the lakes are at their warmest. September is also a good time to visit, and there are fewer visitors then. Animal life includes black bears, moose, deer, wolves, bobcats, lynx, otters, mink, and beavers, among others, though it is rare to see much wildlife. There are many outfitters on the edge of the BWCAW in Ely and Grand Marais who can supply you with canoes, tents, maps, food, and other supplies. Many of them rent fast, light, Kevlar canoes, many of which are made in Minnesota by We-no-nah. The BWCAW is also cooler than the Rio Grande. Summer temperatures generally range from the 40s (F.) at night to the 80s during the day. Chuck Holst -----Original Message----- From: Adam Sawyer [mailto:ecsasawy_at_livjm.ac.uk] Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 1998 9:47 AM To: paddlewise Subject: [Paddlewise] Canoe trip on the Rio Gran Hi, I am interested in taking a CANOE trip down the Rio Grande from Rancherias Canyon to Dryden Crossing. Has anyone done this trip? Is it suitable for a tripping canoe WITHOUT spraycover? I am looking for a 7 day trip to do in the US (we are from the UK) with nice scenery, a sense of wilderness and decent weather - the Rio Grande seems to fit the bill. If anyone HAS paddled it, the information I want is: 1. Will there be portages, if so, how long and many. 2. What are the camping possibilities? 3. Could we hire boats/obtain a shuttle from a local outfitter? 4. Are there alot of continous waves (Canoe swamping size!!!) Hope someone can help, email me on ecsasawy_at_livjm.ac.uk Thanks in advance, Adam *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
On 7/1/98 12:05PM, Chuck Holst wrote: > >If you want wilderness canoeing, I recommend the Boundary Waters Canoe >Area Wilderness (BWCAW), which is in northern Minnesota on the Ontario >border. Many consider it the canoeing Mecca of the U.S. Don't listen to Chuck...The Rio Grande is GREAT and has much to offer that the Boundary Waters doesn't including terrain not found anywhere else in the United States. The Big Bend is the northern extension of the Chihuahuan Desert and features some breathtaking flora and fauna only found in the Trans-Pecos area of the US. In addition, the lower canyons are a true wilderness adventure, but only for the experienced boater. You don't have to worry about running into boatloads of tourists at every turn on that part of the Rio Grande. The lower canyons are a true wilderness adventure NOT for the novice paddler. > > -----Original Message----- >From: Adam Sawyer [mailto:ecsasawy_at_livjm.ac.uk] >Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 1998 9:47 AM >To: paddlewise >Subject: [Paddlewise] Canoe trip on the Rio Gran >I am interested in taking a CANOE trip down the Rio Grande from >Rancherias Canyon to Dryden Crossing. Has anyone done this trip? Is it >suitable for a tripping canoe WITHOUT spraycover? I am looking for a 7 >day trip to do in the US (we are from the UK) with nice scenery, a sense >of wilderness and decent weather - the Rio Grande seems to fit the bill. >If anyone HAS paddled it, the information I want is: > >1. Will there be portages, if so, how long and many. >2. What are the camping possibilities? >3. Could we hire boats/obtain a shuttle from a local outfitter? >4. Are there alot of continous waves (Canoe swamping size!!!) You have asked for more information than I can easily answer in a short posting here on this list, and a lot of the answers depend upon variable factors such as the season that you are planning to paddle. I will try to give you a capsule summary and touch all of your questions. First of all, I would avoid going in the dead of summer if you are not used to heat as this is a DESERT region and temps run to 110 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer (and this has been a hot summer already with little rain). Water levels also fluctuate a great deal during the summer. So much depends upon the season you plan to canoe in. The Rio Grande is commonly best paddled in the months of November through first part of May. Do remember that flash floods can occur at this time and be prepared for this possibility. Some of this area will have extremely low water during the extreme heat of summer, but you should still be able to get through (check first with the US National Park rangers at the number below). During fall and winter, you shouldn't have a problem. I'm also not familiar with the put-in point that you mentioned, Rancherias Canyon. Commonly, the river running through Big Bend National Park is most frequently paddled and the put-in for this is a small channel running behind a little trading post at Lajitas which joins the main body of the river past a large island. There is a ford across the river here and if you see that the rocks at the ford here are covered by fast and muddy water, the river levels will be very high and correspondingly more difficult. The first major canyon you will boat through is called Santa Elena and is one of the three major canyons along this stretch of the Big Bend National Park. The major rapids of this stretch is called "the Rockslide" about a mile after put-in and has some big standing waves and a hole. You can run it or portage along the Texas side of the canyon. After you pass this rapids, the paddling should be easy. There is a take-out below Santa Elena where Terlingua creek enters the Rio Grande. You can camp here (there is a campsite and picnic area) or you can camp on the Texas Side immediately outside the Canyon and below Landslide. Remember when camping that firewood is VERY scarce and open fires are many times not permitted, again depending upon the season. The next major canyon is called Mariscal Canyon and is my favorite The 'Rock Pile' is the first major rapids inside the canyon. This is fairly easy to run...just hang to the Texas Side of the river. There is one other tight place in this stretch, called "the Tight Squeeze." Scout this rapid and make sure you can run it or else portage. There is a tight chute on the right hand of the river that drops about four feet into a big boulder. These are the only two rapids of consequence on this stretch of the river. The last major canyon of the Big Bend area is called Boquillas Canyon and has many good campsites along the river and firewood is usually easier to find around here. Winds can be a problem, so make sure your tent is well staked as the winds can start up with little warning. This is also the longest canyon of the three and takes usually 2 or 3 days to navigate without pushing unduly hard. Fortunately, there are no significant rapids in this section of the river. The common take-out (or put-in for the lower canyons) for this section is called Stillwell Crossing. After these canyons, you are out of the park and get into the section called the Lower Canyons. The lower canyons are a great deal more difficult and secluded than the Big Bend portion of the Rio Grande, but in my opinion, I think this is absolutely the best part of the whole Rio Grande, but you MUST be an experienced boater and very well prepared for this stretch. Generally, if anything goes wrong, you are on your own in an extremely isolated location. It's about 80 or 85 miles from Stillwell Crossing to Dryden Crossing (where you mentioned taking out), but most of the rapids thru here are class 1 and 2, easily paddled, except for these few rapids (off the top of my head): Hot Springs Rapid, Bullis Fold Rapids, Upper Madison Falls Rapids, and Horseshoe Falls rapids. All of these are at least class 3 and possibly class 4. Camping is available all along this stretch of the river (stay on the Texas side). There are also some hot springs through here, but please use minimal impact camping techniques. Needless to say, 85 river miles is a heck of a lot more than I cover in a brief description on this mailing list, especially as this part of the river is breathtakingly beautiful with large numbers of canyons, hot springs, archeological sites and other wonders too numerous to mention. For more information, get copies of these books and they should answer all your questions and allow you to make an educated decision on whether you have the experience to run the lower canyons: 1) The best book by far (actually the ONLY book that I know of) exclusively for the lower canyons is published by a gentleman here in Houston, called appropriately enough "The Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande" by Louis F. Aulbach. Louis may even be a subscriber to this list as I have seen his postings on the net from time to time. This is the bible of the lower canyons and you MUST get a copy of this before you do anything else in considering a trip into the lower canyons. The book is available from: Louis F. Aulbach PO Box 925765 Houston, Tx 77292-5765 or through Wilderness Area Map Service 214 West Troy Road Houston, Tx 77076 The book costs 14.95, but I strongly recommend the waterproof edition at 24.95 for obvious reasons. All funds are U.S. 2) "An Analysis of Texas Waterways ( A report on the Physical Characteristics of Rivers, Streams and Bayous in Texas)". This book, though somewhat dated, is another bible of Texas paddlers and features a fairly comprehensive description of virtually every navigable river and stream in the whole state. Was done by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1974, and is out of print, BUT there are copies available and you can order a copy for only 7.00 (GREAT DEAL!!!) from this address: Texas Agricultural Extension Service PO Box 1209 Bryan, Tx 77806 3) "Texas Rivers and Rapids" by Ben Nolen and Bob Narramore is the last "must have" book for Texas Paddlers. This is more tourist and tuber oriented and the maps are lifted from the book mentioned above, but is an INVALUABLE resource nevertheless. Costs 13.95 and is available from Bob Narramore High Trails 3160 Marquis Drive Garland, Tx 75042 Here are some outfitters for canoe rentals: Desert Sports PO Box 584 Terlingua, Tx 79852 1 800 523 8170 or (915)424 8170 Ski Skeller (915) 697 0427 3325 West Wadley Midland, Tx 79707 Shuttles can be arranged through Scott's Shuttle Service (915)386 4574 PO Box 477 Marathon, Tx 79842 And finally, Big Bend park information can be found at the Park Ranger Station at (915)477-2393. Hope this helps! ------------------------------------------------------------------- Neil Harrison-Houston, Texas email: nil_at_nol.net (_at_ _at_) web: www.nol.net/~nil/ ----------------------------ooO~(_)~Ooo---------------------------- 100% recycled electrons *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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