River Trip for adult alumni, parents and friends – May 2010

Hello from Deer Hill! I would like to personally invite you to join us on our Green River trip next May. We are gathering a group of 15-20 friends of Deer Hill – adult alumni, parents, Foundation supporters and so on – to join us for a comfortable, relaxed, friendly and fun trip down one of the premier rivers in the U.S. Of all our trips next year, this is one I’m choosing to guide on. I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with some good people. I’m also excited to fly to the put-in by chartered plane. This is a spectacular, and time-efficient, way to start the trip. Read on for the details, and feel free to get in touch with any questions.

Doug Capelin, Founder and Owner

The Green River, Utah

The Green River is the largest tributary of the Colorado River, winding its way across the otherworldly Colorado Plateau. Over millennia the river has carved a stunning gorge, deeper in places than the Grand Canyon. This is a unique journey through an unspoiled, rugged and remote land, considered to be one of the premier whitewater rafting trips in the U.S.

Running the Green is a real expedition: 6 days, 85 miles, over 60 rapids, huge landscapes, mysterious ancestral dwelling places and perfect beach campsites. Float through Desolation and Gray Canyons, whose forbidding names belie their wild beauty. Bighorn sheep, blue heron, cougar and black bear roam this land, once home to Uintah and Ouray Indians – not to mention outlaws looking for a place to hide.

Though this is a southwestern river, this is very different from the San Juan. The scale feels bigger, and the rapids are more significant. You’ll need warm clothing for cool evenings and rain gear, pants and top, for getting splashed in rapids. We have all of this gear at Deer Hill, and can bring any of this for you. You won’t need wetsuits and dry tops and that kind of radical gear, but the water is cold in May and when you get hit by a wave, it will be cold water.

We will be eating very well, with salmon on the outdoor grill, hot breakfasts, organic tea and coffee in the morning, and plenty of snacks. We’ll have campfires every night, with comfortable chairs for everyone.

The Details

Here are the basics… we’ll send out a Program Information Packet to you when you sign up, with all the information you need to prepare for this trip.

Dates: Saturday May 8th – Saturday May 15th

Itinerary and Travel Arrangements:

Day 1 (May 8th) – Meet in Grand Junction, Colorado on Saturday. Spend the night there – we’ll make a block booking in a local motel/hotel where the rates are reasonable. We’ll meet in the evening for orientation, gear and packing.

Day 2 – We catch our chartered flight (from Grand Junction, CO or Green River, UT) with Red Tail Aviation – a company Deer Hill has been working with for many years. Fly over the Colorado Plateau to our river put-in at Sand Wash, northeast of Duchesne, UT. This saves us a day of driving. Our guides will have the boats rigged and ready to go. After a safety talk, we’ll launch and start navigating down the river.

Days 2-7 – Float the largest tributary of the Colorado, enjoying the beauty and history of Desolation and Gray Canyons. The first couple days, the river is gentle, with a good current, but no real rapids. By day 3, this starts to change, and the action builds until we are rafting through big rapids in the last two days of the trip. No one will complain that all we did was float and look at the scenery. We’ll do that, too, for sure, but there are definitely quite a few rapids to get your attention.

Day 7 – Take out near Green River, UT. Our vehicles are waiting to drive us back to Grand Junction in the afternoon. You may be leaving straight away or, more likely, if you’re flying, spending that night in a hotel with most of the group, and heading out to the airport on Saturday morning.

Day 8 (May 15th) – After breakfast, we will return you to the airport in plenty of time for your flight.

Age limit: 18 and over

What’s included: The trip includes all food, snacks, and soft drinks, rafting equipment, group gear for cooking and camping (stoves, tents etc), and all ground transportation beginning in Grand Junction, CO.

What’s not included: Personal gear and clothing, transport to/from your hometown to Grand Junction, charter flight with Red Tail aviation ($130), cost of lodging and meals in Grand Junction, and alcoholic beverages. A “sleeping package” is available to rent (consisting of a comfortable paco pad, sleeping bag, and groundcloth) at a cost of $50 for the trip. We will also bring with us rental gear (fleece jackets, waterproofs etc etc) so if you need any other items you can rent them from us at a very reasonable price.

Cost: $1495. A $350 deposit is due to reserve your place on the trip – please send to Deer Hill Expeditions, PO Box 180, Mancos, CO 81328. With limited space, we expect this trip to sell out fairly quickly. Enrollment is on a “first-come, first served” basis.
We look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, Richard (Outreach Director), Jason (Program Director), or I will be happy to answer any of your questions. You can email richard@deerhillexpeditions.com, or call the office on 970-533-7492.

Doug Capelin
Founder and Owner
Deer Hill Expeditions