Early Spring on the Colorado River

By John Wood, Holiday River Guide

I have recently returned from five days ‘off-grid’ on one of our Colorado River Cataract trips. It was the first trip of the season with a small intimate group eager to expose themselves to all this remote canyon in the heart of Canyonlands National Park has to offer. It has been quite a while since I have made the journey down this fabled canyon in high water. My memories were there but tarnished by time and the approaching hallmark of turning fifty.

Most of us change a little every time we expose ourselves to a powerful natural place. This change was evident on the faces and in the conversations of all that were on this trip. As a group we discussed everything from art history to global warming and the inescapable reality that it is all connected. The river reminded us that the decisions we make in our kitchens and backyards can impact the riparian zones we were all floating past.

One of my favorite parts about an early spring trip is that there are fewer groups on the river. In FIVE days we were only passed once by a competing outfit that was out doing a ONE day version of our trip. As I hailed them over to coordinate camping plans the vacant look in their eyes was telling. They sat six feet above the water on a large motorized pontoon and I could only imagine the ringing in their ears from hours of a full-throttled engine. While they had all invested sizable treasure by scrimping on time they missed the experience.

The journey is one of contrasts with the early days spent floating through the eons of time that shaped the river canyons of Canyonlands, but always in the back of your mind are the rapids. In high water there is nothing like them in this country. It’s not just the SIZE of them but rather the sections that are continuous with large rhythmic breaking waves that are not predictable. As a guide it becomes harder to sleep through the night the closer you get to the BIG rapid day.

On Thursday we as a group had to find safe passage through the North Seas, Mile Long, and Big Drop rapids. The Colorado River filled our boats at least four times and sent us through multiple wash and rinse cycles. Our rafts took the hits and our oars made the pulls while we all hollered and laughed our way through the whitewater. The next day we all returned to our real lives and the daunting task of figuring out how to live in a way that leaves behind a clear future… a task with no one answer. On our trip by taking the time to ‘disconnect’ from the frenetic pace of our daily lives we had all taken a necessary first step.

Getting Involved

If you have taken a trip with us in the last two years on the Green River then you were most likely petitioned to fill out a card and express why you think the Green River should be added to the Wild and Scenic River status. Easy to do when you have just come off a trip on this magnificent river. We then gather and send them off to our Governor in hopes that someone is listening! Our founder, Dee Holladay is the force behind our continued activism towards the protection of the resources we share with our guests. It is his passion, our company’s mission and a vision we hope to share with all of you.

In a statement by the Utah Rivers Council:

Support Utah's Wild and Scenic Rivers, especially the entire Green River!

Wild and Scenic Rivers status protects rivers from new dams and diversions…forever. In addition, the outstanding values for which Wild and Scenic Rivers are designated – from historical sites to recreational activities to wildlife habitat – are protected. Despite the fact that Utah has amazing rivers, ranging from serene flat water to raging rapids and from high mountain streams to rivers passing through a red rock world, Utah has absolutely zero Wild and Scenic Rivers.

By the end of this year the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service will be making their final recommendations about which of Utah’s outstanding rivers should become Wild and Scenic Rivers, including the Green, Colorado, San Juan, and Logan.

The BLM recently released a plan that proposes a 40 mile stretch of the Green River just north and south of the town of Green River should not become a Wild and Scenic River. Please speak out against this travesty and encourage our decision makers to urge the BLM to recommend the entire Green River and the rest of Utah’s outstanding rivers becoming Wild and Scenic Rivers.

For the most recent information and press releases check out:
Utah Rivers Council protect - restore - explore

Supporting Local Farmers

Crenshaw, Canary, Ogen, Israeli and Rocky Sweet are a few of the more obscure melons you’ll find in the Melon capital of the world….Green River, Utah. Holiday Expeditions supports and buys local from Dunham Melons and Green River Produce from the time the annual harvest begins. Last weekend locals celebrated Melon Days, a small town cultural event, complete with the crowning the 2008 Melon Days Queen. A parade, square dancing, softball, live music and all you can eat melon.

“Going on one of your trips is like taking Melon 101” – Garret Rose, SLC UT

At Holiday Expeditions we’ve had the fortune to have Kelly Dunham of the Dunham Melon Farm working for us for almost 25 years. Love of the land runs deep in the Dunham family blood. Kelly and her husband Rick have now branched off and started Green River Produce, a local organic farm. Several of our Colorado River rafting trips meet at our Green River, Utah headquarters and our guests reap the benefit of this local, delicious gift from the earth and waters of the Green River. Anyone who has had a Green River melon will tell you there is nothing else like it. Believers in buying local whenever we can, we also purchase our coffee from the Green River Coffee company. By Karen Johnson

Wild Places & Renewal to the Human Spirit

A recent comment we've had on our rafting trips came from a guest from England. His comment reinforced my commitment to staying green, promoting the preservation of wild places, keeping our staff well trained and the equipment in perfect condition.

'We came from the UK to spend 2 weeks in Utah. We spent a week in Zion and then headed East for our rafting trip. It was a highlight of the holiday, especially as we lay in our sleeping bags on the first night, in a long line, counting shooting stars. Totally memorable. Thank you for a really brilliant rafting trip. I would love to think we will be back sometime and we would definitely recommend you to our friends.' John Denham, United Kingdom

If we weren't able to keep our pristine natural attractions the way they are, what kind of economy would Utah have? And with the advent of computers and the internet, we can promote ourselves without traditional media, and our impact on the natural resources of the state are kept to a minimum.

Meditations of a Bike Commuter

It started as a way to NOT SUPPORT our oil and war based economy. I committed to ride my bike or take the bus one-two times a week and leave the car in the garage collecting dust. In the doing of the thing the twelve mile commute has evolved into much more. It reminds me of taking a wilderness river trip or mountain biking trip in that pedaling the bike forces a change of environment and pace. Yea, I could drive it three times faster but I’d lose the mind time. A mind free to meditate and work out the day’s challenges, free of the frenetic pace our culture keeps, free to ponder the human cost of war, or how warm it is outside away from conditioned air, and then damn that little Jack Russell Terrier is about to BITE my sandal-clad foot,,, flash-back to reality. by FastWoody

Waste Reduction by Kashmir the Pig

One of the most difficult jobs of any trip leader is determining how much food to pack and cook on our expeditions. Too little and riots will likely ensue. Too much and food is wasted. The idea came to us on an early season rafting trip in the depths of Cataract Canyon. Searching for ways to recycle or reuse the food scraps, we settled on the idea of Kashmir the Pig. Within hours of the plan’s approval, all available guides were helping to construct a small slice of pig heaven. Several shade trees, a watering hole, mud, shelter, and a hand-cut trough full of more leftover pancakes, pasta salad and lasagna than a toddler pig could dream of. As well as we fed her, and despite a few moments of tender hesitation among the crew, she returned the favor at our Late Summer Luau. For a week in August the staff filled its collective stomach with ribs, tenderloin and a healthy helping of contentment at the thought of keeping possibly a ton of food waste out of our already bloated landfills. by Brin Finnigan

Whitewater to GreyWater - Lifeblood of the Desert

Water. On river trips, we spend our days surrounded by it. We swim in it, bathe in it, and take it for granted. But upon leaving the river corridor, we are greeted with a vast, arid landscape. Reminder: we live in the desert, where water is a scarcity. Our Green River base only receives 8 inches of rainfall a year. The mighty Yampa River recedes to a mere trickle in the summer. In nature, plants and animals have adapted to live in extreme aridity, and yet humans move around from region to region with their love of golf courses and swimming pools, regardless of the environment. Fortunately, as the green movement takes hold, we are doing our part to look at our relationship with nature and question our actions. How can we reduce water consumption? Do garden plants really need drinking-quality water that has been through an expensive purification process? In a world where bottled water is becoming more expensive than gas, the concept of reusing grey water--that is, wastewater from sinks, showers and washing machines--is becoming more accepted. At our Green River warehouse, we've put this idea into practice by capturing grey water from the laundry machine rinse cycle into a 100-gallon storage tank, where it is then used as needed for watering the trees. This easy and inexpensive set-up is great for the environment because it not only diverts the hundreds of gallons of water annually that would flow straight from the washing machine into the sewer system, but also redistributes it among the garden sands and soils, which act as a natural filter as the water seeps back into the water table. by Amy Christeson