Ellie's First Trip into the Gorge

My 8 year old Eleanor accompanied us to the property this week. She negotiated the rocks and ladders well. Went into the river after a long hot day building the boat shed. Took her to the BLM side so she could experience what a strong current feels like even in relatively shallow water. One nice thing about the gorge in this section that even on the sunniest days there is a shady section either on at least one side of the river: East side in the morning; west side in the afternoon. Boat shed is coming along. It is much more solid after applying the tin. Hope to work on the roof next time around. Have 4 hrs worth of lumber and tin to bring down next time. Not looking forward to that.

Jealous of Those who floated the bottom half of Ute Mountain Run

Saw a group of kayakers go by the property the other day on the Rio Grande. I couldn't decide if they were a Alumni from a co-ed boy scout troop or some Taos locals. Whoever they were. They looked to be having fun. What is downstream from us? The remaining 18 miles. I am chomping at the bit. I have no one to pick us up so this complicates matters. I am not down with an 20 plus mile bike trip around Ute Mountain to get the car after our trip. I've contemplated a scooter, a motorcycle, a second cheap car parked at trail's end. I must see what is below us. I'm not even daunted by the hike out with kayaks in tow at Lee Trail. Maybe next year? Manana.

Inflatable Kayak trip Ute Mountain Run-The First 6 miles

After a rather harrowing tubing trip last year-brutal wind, cold and driving rain, I was apprehensive about taking my oldest three children down that stretch again. My fears were unfounded. After a rather damp night in our gorge bottom lean to we awoke and drove the suburban to Lobato Bridge. Seminole, the North-South road that roughly parallels the gorge, had some lake-like sections that made me grateful for the Suburban versus the Lexus which we normally bring. After we clippety-clopped across the bridge, I dropped the kids and the kayaks off. I had purchased the Pro-Package Sea-Eagle 370 kayaks off of Amazon in January after hours of research on inflatables. They were said to be suitable for up to Class 3 rapids and this would only be class 2. This would be their maiden voyage and ours as well as we had never kayaked before. I parked the 'Burb on the property and biked the 5 miles back upstream to the Bridge where the kids had the kayaks inflated and ready to go. We waded into the muddy-bottomed reeds and launched. Compared to tubes, we loved the control and forward progress that the kayaks afforded us. Kayak paddles require some getting used to. Puzzled over the adjustability aspect and what was appropriate for our current paddling style. My two oldest daughters, partnered on the other kayak, were having some disagreements about chain of command. After explaining that the person in the rear steers, they settled down in time for the first rapid just beyond the impressive cutout on South Pinon Hills Mesa. They negotiated the rapid without incident as did my son and I. It was good fun. Thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful vistas of the volcanic walls and the wildlife. Saw deer, owls, herons, eagles, and what seemed to be mergansers high tailing it downstream ahead of us. Funny thing: The following day, on our way to Alamosa, we encountered a group of kayakers at Lobato bridge in the morning. In the afternoon, my daughter noticed a heron and ducks heading downstream in the gorge at our property. A few minutes later the kayakers passed by. Strange that the birds should continue to be driven down stream for 6 miles versus circling around the boaters. Perhaps this attests to how infrequently boaters come down this stretch of river. The rest of our 6 mile trip went without incident. There seemed to be some new construction on the Gorge tops but it was possible that we merely overlooked some structures on our last trip. One intriguing parcel had eye hooks in the bototom of the gorge and a structure 100 ft up a sheer cliff. That would be a harrowing rope ladder. With a few exceptions most of the private parcels do not seem to have access down to the river. An hour and forty minutes in we reached Punche Arroyo. For us, Punche Arroyo on the West side is the landmark that tells us we are almost done. Still have not gone up the Arroyo to explore it but it looks really interesting. I am intrigued by the geologist who suggested it used to be the mouth of the Rio San Antonio before the river changed course sometime in the past. I suspect there might be some archaeological sites in light of it's former role as a river in the past. That whole deserty west side smacks of antiquity. Not sure why. I've found what look to be game drives along arroyos toward the New Mexico border when we walked to the twin peak hills over there. Our trip ended with the gleaming airstream appearing around the bend. The kids were excited. What had taken 4 hours in tubes, only took 1 hr and 50 minutes in kayaks. They said it was a highlight of our trip. It was a good day.