Rio Grande - Day 3

Although the sky had started to look somewhat threatening the night before, we awoke to another beautiful day on Sunday morning. And with my tent positioned properly with regard to the primary snorers, I had slept well - even without my earplugs.

Eddie finds a way to stir his morning coffee as Cynthia, Zoltan, and Sandra take notes.

Even the groover was set up with its own view of the river. One of the great advantages of using an outfitter was not having to worry about who would have the honor of carrying this precious cargo. That was especially important to those of us in canoes, as we are the usual nominees, at least in the eyes of the haughty kayakers.

We were headed downstream by around 9:30 in the morning. Our plan was to arrive at La Linda by noon and have lunch there while we waited for the shuttle to arrive.

Sandra and her over-sized load leading the pack. One of the first signs of "civilization" we had seen in two full days were these remains of an abandoned mining operation, including a cable spanning the river with this bucket resting on the Mexican side.

Three kayakers drafting a cliff face.

These tumbleweeds showed how high the water level had been a few weeks earlier.

Zoltan shows off his bent-shaft paddle.

With the sound of rapids ahead, Susan attaches her spray skirt.

I think Zoltan was trying to raise the river level before running the Pillow Rock rapid.

This long ridge accompanied us almost all of the way to La Linda.









Mike enjoying the scenery.

We crossed under the now-closed bridge at La Linda and arrived at the takeout safe and (mostly) sound.

While our guides prepared another nice lunch, we enjoyed a few cold ones and posed for this group photo sans Mike, who was behind the lens.

River Report: The water level was just about right for an easy paddling trip. The river moved along pretty well, and the few rapids were easily navigated. On only a few occasions was it necessary to get out of the canoe and drag it for a few yards to deeper water. Based on the USGS gauge at Boquillas campground, the river was running at about 265 cfs when we launched late Friday morning. It declined steadily over the next two days, and the rate was about 235 cfs at Boquillas when we reached La Linda. Just three days before we put in at Rio Grande Village, the river had peaked at 860 cfs. A week before that, it was at least twice that. There had been some substantial releases from the Luis Leon Reservoir on the Rio Conchos in Mexico.

The shuttle returned us to Terlingua. Except for Cynthia, Susan, and Sandra, who departed from La Linda in Cynthia's vehicle, which had been driven along with the shuttle bus to La Linda, and headed straight back to San Antonio and Austin. From Terlingua, Eddie and Joline departed for San Antonio in his truck. Unlike the others, Mike, Zoltan, and I were determined to spend another night in Big Bend. We had reservations for a motel room at the Chisos Mountains Lodge in the Chisos Basin.

The three of us drove in Mike's truck, towing my trailer loaded with two canoes and three kayaks. Why so many boats? Joline had brought two kayaks, a smaller one in case we ended up paddling through Santa Elena Canyon as originally planned, and the longer one actually used for our Boquillas Canyon trip. And we were also carrying my Dagger Delta kayak, which Sandra had borrowed for the trip.

The photo above is of Casa Grande viewed from the west through The Window, taken at about 5:30 p.m. from Highway 118/385 as we drove from Terlingua towards Basin Junction.

We reached the Basin right at sunset, around 6:00 p.m. We pulled over for a few minutes to look up at Casa Grande (photo to right) and then, just a minute later, admired the colorful sunset as viewed down through The Window.

After checking in at the Lodge, we drew straws to see who would get to go first for what we had been looking forward to all day - a warm shower. Although I went last, there was still plenty of hot water. After finishing our last beers, we enjoyed a nice dinner at the Lodge Restaurant. Then it was off to sleep. I volunteered for the roll-away bed, which was a mistake, as the floor would have been better. Although I was serenaded by Zoltan's wall-shaking bass and Mike's vibrant and equally loud baritone, the snoring in stereo did not prevent me from getting a good night's sleep. I must have been really tired.

Note: For another fifteen photos of Day 3, click on this link to my Flickr page, then select "Slideshow."