2025 Roaring Canyons Fall Semester Blog #2
As we left Kroka to begin our drive (way back in late September!), the sky was dark and made the stars shine brightly. We said goodbye to a place we’ve called home for many weeks, knowing the next time we would see Kroka the world would have shifted into the dark and cold of winter.
(Left to Right) Norah, Dayal, Lucy, Lily, Zahava, Dylan, Daniel, Charlie, Clara Rose, and, of course, Zoe.
We made our first stop on the journey in Ithaca, NY at a small farm. We were welcomed with warm smiles and friendly faces! Maggie, a passionate equestrian teacher, taught us how to complete tasks on the farm and introduced us to some very large draft horses! Later on, we got to visit a bakery and were taught about the locally sourced its grains from Nathan’s son’s farm. While here, we were able to share our knowledge of expeditioning with the children of the Elizabeth Ann Montessori school. It was truly heartwarming!
Dayal and Daniel navigate the route cross country on driving expedition
One of the final things we were lucky enough to do was get a tour of the Ithaca eco villages by residents; we shared in dinner and got to play many intense games of pool and ping pong.
Clara Rose and a friend made along the way
As we drove through Cleveland, OH we stopped for lunch in a large park. This overlooked the great waters of Lake Erie. As most of us hadn’t encountered the Great Lakes, the size was shocking: “This isn’t a lake, it’s an ocean!” (Daniel).
Jumping in and snacking by the water we couldn’t see across inspired us all to swim far out from the shore. With the view of the pier and city behind us and the thin line on the horizon we gathered into a circle and sang a song of rivers while treading water to honor the moment.
Landscape changes: As the drive began from Kroka to Colorado we encountered many differences, specifically in landscape. As the autumn leaves of New Hampshire made way for the deeper greens of the Midwest, we saw that summer was still holding on where fall had taken our home. As our faithful van began to cross the great planes we saw the world slowly shift towards brown as the water and abundance of tall trees were left to the rolling hills of the East.
(Lily’s Journal Entry)
“As we drove out west, we fell out of the mountains and into the rolling hills of New York and Pennsylvania, dotted with fields of cattle. They carried us for a while then deposited us into the flat open plains of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, which filled with endless corn and wheat.”
North Sterling State Park, CO: Our first campsite truly in the west was chaotic. The sun was hot and beating down on us, as there were minimal trees to offer protection. As we scrambled to make dinner, set up camps, and prepare for the next day, we weren’t very aware of our surroundings. With the sun falling and deep orange and blue shades appearing in the vast sky, we began a silent walk up onto the ridge above our camp. From up above the campground, we could see clear across the reservoir to the hills beyond. The waxing crescent moon was setting, and the stars were so bright and radiant as the sky ceased to glow from the sun’s last rays. This was a moment well needed for the group as we honored our last night before our expedition began.
Paonia, CO: We continued west into the vast mountains of Colorado, the beautiful Paonia, CO drawing us forwards. There we met Dave after a week of driving and said our hellos to our host at the High Desert Center, Dev. He showed us around his beautiful piece of land, the impossibly large mountains painting a jagged line across the horizon to the East. The next day we all met Eric, an inspiring man of many talents who has lived many lives and spends his time building incredible structures out of reclaimed and salvaged materials. We all enjoyed seeing his home and listening to his many stories. After visiting, Dev then brought us to the Paonia Harvest Festival, where we got to speak with many locals, dance, and play lots of frisbee. Dev gave us a true introduction to life in the west and welcomed us into his community and home, for which we are truly appreciative.
Utah: Once we left Dev’s house, some people began to feel unwell. The drive to Desolation Canyon was filled with sick stops, each worse than the last. Our final stop was “Armageddon”: everywhere you turned something ill was happening to someone. Someone sprinting to the Porta Potty, another to the bushes, another crying, those not busy concerned themselves with haphazardly comforting those in distress. Although this stop was rough, we continued on our way, encountering 2 rainbows reminding us to keep our spirits up and to keep going down to our camp on the shores of the Green River. On arrival we could hear the water beckoning us with the slosh slosh of adventure.
Honorable mentions! What was your favorite part of the drive out west?
Charlie: “Seeing the Rocky Mountains appear as we drove into Denver in the early morning.”
Dayal: “I don’t have a favorite place or tea. I have to poop.”
Norah: “Singing in the van with everyone and waking up to sunrises in different places.”
Lily: “Swimming in Lake Erie.”
Clara Rose: “Swimming in Lake Erie and jumping off the rocks.”
Daniel: “Working with the draft animals and sleeping in our sleeping bags in the van.”
Zahava: “Finding a statue of Ganesh in Lake Erie. That was magical, and talking with strangers in the world’s Biggest Truck Stop.”
Dylan: “I really liked playing guitar and listening to music in the van and playing frisbee at different stops.”
Dayal: “The red lights in the early morning sky appearing to be so many windmills as the sun rose.”
~
The River She is Flowing
As we embark on this paddling journey, everything in the desert begins to feel unpredictable. We begin to encounter mud encrusted pants, quicksand, flash floods, and even hail, and we notice the magic that constantly surrounds us. Clean fresh water becomes a scarcity, a gift not to be taken for granted.
“Desolation Canyon: Where water cuts its way through beasts of rock faces on both sides. Where the Green River provides only the banks with enough water to grow life as big as moderate sized trees. Where the trees you might picture to be large weeping willows or tall standing hemlocks are instead cottonwoods, juniper and fragrant sage bushes. Where the lifestyle is purely centered around the conservation of water in such a dry environment. Where your hands dry out from the hot sun beating down, folding bits of the top layer of your dead skin back onto itself. Where the most beautiful Great Blue Heron guides down the river, gliding with what appears to be no effort as the strong winds move it downstream. Where water, over decades, has carved out beautiful undercuts that appear as gorgeous natural wonders, but are land formations you have no business going near. Where the sun rises in the morning to cast its glow on the western canyon wall, and your eyes watch the light spread farther and farther down, revealing the many layers of rock with so many colors.” – Dayal
Dayal with her journal
Face to face now with the Green River, deep in Desolation Canyon, history lies within her walls. Where we are greeted with petroglyphs of Big Horned Sheep, snakes, and depictions of human life. The water moves swiftly and powerfully over the course of these three weeks, and we have learned to work as one with the river. As Charlie put it: “What I feel when I go down a big rapid is awe. You feel like you are at the mercy of the river, and truly alive.”
One moment we experienced the true strength of the river was paddling down a class 3-4 rapid. Our many days of intensive whitewater training and experience paddling were paying off. After scouting and discussing our line with our paddling partner, we started to run boats one at a time, knowing that the right line was narrow and tricky. Norah and Zahava started downstream, unaware of the small rock in front of them at the top of the rapid. They tried to turn quickly to avoid the rock, and ended up getting pinned sideways. Dave, Lily, Clara Rose and I hurried over and began a rescue to try to free the boat. Everybody was safe!
We worked in groups to free the boat: one group wading out to the boat, while another group of us onshore used a rope tied to the bow of the boat . Just when we thought the boat would not give, it slowly gave way and slipped back into the current.
We were humbled by the river’s force and reminded of our strength as a team. Norah (who was perched on a rock with the camera) says she learned “to not underestimate the power of white water.” At evening meeting that night, we debriefed the day and this event and had a chance to share what we learned.
After many days of learning to read the river and letting it carry us with its grace and care, we arrived at Green River State Park, where we met Caleb and re-supplied gear and food. We celebrated Zoe’s birthday under the light of the harvest moon and caught up on academic work. On the last day of our layover we visited the John Wesley Powell museum and learned more of the river’s history.
Finally, we set out once again on the river that had become our home, as we began our travels through Labyrinth Canyon.
Labyrinth Canyon is an amazing place. I love the colors of the canyon walls, and the sounds of the wind whispering through the leaves of the Fremont Cottonwoods. The lizards scrambling over boulder fields, in and out of the cracks and crevices. I am left in awe of the creations the Green River has made in its years of eroding. When we got to Labyrinth on our second day of paddling I felt a sensation telling me that was where I was supposed to be in that moment. The formations intrigued me in different ways, and made me feel welcomed. – Dylan
We had heard at Green River State Park that the remnants of a hurricane would be passing through Southern Utah, and the first few nights and days spent in Labyrinth proved to be soggy. As we arrived at our first camp, the sun was still out and the dry sand was easy to clean from our bare feet.
The dark clouds started to roll in as Daniel and I began cooking dinner, and from the top of a rocky hill we could see lightning strike down in the distance, preparing us for what was to come. That night it rained hard. The next morning we were up before dawn, and as Clara Rose stepped out of the tent (no shoes) she sank ankle deep in mud. Our next camp set up was in the rain, our gear still wet from the night before getting progressively soggier. The group tent which we huddled in to stay dry during the deluge began to flood, trickles of water making their way under the tent flaps, so we all stood and sang together, determined to not let the weather get us down.
We carried on down the river the next day and stopped for a steep climb up the saddle of Bownot Bend. The sky had finally cleared and we were able to see all the way around the 8 mile bend in the river from our perch. Up at the top we met a group of very kind Outward Bound instructors who asked about our semester. One of them had his fancy camera with him and we had fun posing for a photoshoot. That night we set up our last camp at the mouth of Horseshoe Canyon, where we would stay for four nights. The sky remained clear and calm, but up-canyon the rain was turning into a natural wonder that we were lucky enough to witness…
Mid-morning the next day we were going about our business, cleaning up from breakfast and doing 1-1 check ins with the instructors. All of a sudden Dave’s voice rang out: “Everyone come see! Quick!” We came running to the bank and stood in awe of what our eyes were witnessing: a wall of water rushing down the wash that had been dry when we arrived at camp: a flash flood! We were all thankfully safe on the bank, and were mesmerized watching the sandy walls break away into the rushing water.
Horseshoe Canyon also turned out to be the home of a new experience to many of us – solos. We spent 44 hours in one spot totally alone, with minimal belongings. Many of us chose to fast during that time. Below, please see Norah’s “Steps to a Solo”:
- Wave goodbye to everyone
- Put stuff down
- Set up water dromedary
- Pee
- Poop
- Explore
- Poop again
- Look for place to sleep
- Find 2 options
- Pick the cool cave
- Set up stuff in cave
- Pray it doesn’t collapse on me
- Watch the beautiful sun set
- Journal
- Sleep peacefully
- Wake up
- Stretch
- Pee
- Sit for a while
- Poop
- Explore a little
- Nap
- Yoga, exercise, sunbathe naked
- Wash armpits
- Refill water bottle
- Chase lizard
- Sit in shade and think
- Work on writing assignment
- Art
- Lots of sitting
- Thinking about food
- Letter writing
- Deep pondering
- Poop again
- More sitting
- Pee
- Rejoin group, hugs!
Finally, reunited from our solos, the last day of paddling had arrived. As we made our way through the deep orange colored walls, we were greeted by the last Great Blue Heron we would encounter on the sediment filled river. Then, a loud noise! Something new, not the sounds we were used to. A small plane roared up the river just over our heads, surely not expecting to see so many of us in open tandem red canoes. It glided through the large canyon walls, making its way higher and higher, and we stared in amazement. After a short and beautiful 7-mile paddle we arrived at Mineral Bottom, our take-out.
There we reloaded the trailer and Caleb drove us up the windiest dirt road any of us had been on, up up up and out of the canyon. After a long drive we arrived at our next layover camp, near Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah, and began preparations for our canyoneering adventures (after a nice hot shower, of course).
In Moab we were able to explore town for an afternoon and met many inspiring and interesting people at a rally in the town park. (Thank you to Olivia and Char for the pancakes and warm welcome to Moab!) And to honor and celebrate the last day before the next leg of Semester, we hiked to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park and watched the sunrise.
Now our backpacks await us, and I must leave you for the time being,
Until next time,
Your Scribe,
Lucy
Bonus Content: Favorite Moments from the River Expedition
Dayal: “When I finally got the courage to paddle down the long, technical class 3 in the stern, and Clara Rose and I had a perfect line.”
Norah: “Seeing the group walking around the canyon bend, reuniting after solos”
Daniel: “Seeing and hearing all the takeaways we got from the solos.”
Dave: “Towards the end of Deso there was a class 2 rapid, but it seemed to me more like a class 3. Everyone succeeded and it showed how competent we were getting in the canoes.”
Charlie: “When you come up to a huge rapid, one where the water is powerful and can really toy with your boat. Standing there and taking it all in.”
Lily: “All the goodnight hugs, me and Norah’s wonderfully chaotic cook rotation, and the beautiful sunrises.
Dylan: “The first time we set up the big tent, it was super windy and we were getting drenched in rain”
Zahava: “ I really enjoyed seeing the wildlife on the Green River, wild horses, cows, mule deer, great blue heron, American kestrels, snakes, bald eagle, lizards…:
Zoe: “Being in camp and hearing Dave yell ‘come quick!’” and watching a wall of water rushing toward us.”
Clara Rose: “The night sky and the evening meeting where we watched the Milky Way, and the shooting stars on my solo.”
Lucy: Getting over my fear of big white water and enjoying the crazy ride on the rapids!
