[Paddlewise] Cataract

Do any of you folks have a clue and/or experience with Cataract Canyon.

Thanks
Ca Kayaker
Fred Thomas

Cataract Canyon is on the Colorado River in Utah about 70 miles below
Moab (the closest town).   It is primarily a raft trip although WW
kayaks run it with support.  It has a long flat water approach and then
terminates at the north end of Lake Powell.  I think it is quite a ways
from the nearest takeout on Powell and is mostly run by outfitters with
motors on their rafts.  There are some very serious rapids in the
canyon.  The other approach is via the Green River with a put in at
Mineral Bottom which is over 50 miles upstream from the confluence.  A
couple were killed a year or two ago in Cataract when they ran the Green
and kept going down the Colorado by mistake.  Most sea kayakers and
canoeists who run the lower Green arrange a shuttle by jet boat back up
to Moab which costs about $125 per person plus a fee for the boat.  It
is pretty inaccessible and isn't as popular with private groups as most
of the other canyon runs.  BTW the canyon is over 2,000 feet deep at the
confluence, which is why there is no good road access.  Moki Mac
outfitters in Green River or Salt Lake City are reputable outfitters who
I beleive run trips in Cataract.

Hope this helps.  I wouldn't recommend it for a SK.

Walt Chudleigh
Park City, UT

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