The San Juan: A rafting trip through time
By Bob Findlay 
| July 16, 2009 | 10:01 AM
Canyon walls tower over Sue Marshal of Massachusetts as she paddles an inflatable kayak on the San Juan River in May. (RMI photo by Bob Findlay)
Before a float trip even starts on the San Juan River, you see signs that the river has been loved and used for centuries. Petroglyphs at the Sand Island put-in near Bluff, Utah, hint at what lies a short distance downstream: Butler Wash, with thousands of images left by ancient dwellers, and River House ruin, where many Anasazi lived.
Far upstream in Colorado, another set of ancient American Indian ruins lies along the Piedra River, a San Juan tributary. Chimney Rock is thought to have astronomical significance in the Anasazi culture, and its inhabitants apparently interacted with other villagers along the San Juan.
Viewing these artifacts adds to the mystery and allure of a rafting excursion on the San Juan. The river doesn’t linger long in its Colorado birthplace along the Continental Divide above Pagosa Springs. Kayakers and anglers get a brief taste of its rowdy mountain waters before it passes into New Mexico, pauses at Navajo Reservoir, then flows through the Four Corners and into Utah.
Here the river has grown wider and slower as it cuts through deep sandstone canyons — perfect for rafting but still playful enough for kayaks and canoes. A few rapids will spike the adrenaline and command respect and skill but are well short of terrifying. In addition to the petroglyphs and ruins, boaters will see Bighorn sheep, herons, eagles, deer, lizards and other wildlife.
I’ve made the float five — or is it six? — times; it’s easy to lose count on a river that always beckons me back. I’ve seen the water level both high and low and weather ranging from cool to barely bearable hot. I’ve even seen some “sand waves,” but not the infamous 10-foot variety that reportedly can turn this tranquil river into a sudden roller-coaster ride.
Sand waves form when sediment settling out of the water builds temporary dunes on the river bed, which in turn create waves before washing out. They migrate upstream, and I can still clearly see them marching toward my raft as I wondered what would happen on a high-water trip a few years ago. But they built no higher than two or three feet.
Drama on the San Juan lies more in the canyon walls than on the water. The area’s mixture of geologic upheaval and erosion has created an endless variety of hoodoos and gargoyle-like shapes that pique the imagination. Some of the shapes have become famous: Mexican Hat Rock needs no further explanation, and Eagle Rock above Government Rapid looks exactly like the emblem of the U.S. Postal Service.
The Goosenecks, where the river bends back on itself several times, are more famously viewed from above, on the canyon rim — which you can do by taking a short detour on the Moki Dugway that leads to the takeout. But it’s also fun to watch the needle of a compass turn multiple times through all 360 degrees as you float through on the river, and you can see the people watching you from the overlook high above.
Side hikes are generally short and well worth it. Shortly after launching, a couple trails meander past some petroglyphs hidden behind trees at the base of a short cliff and go on to some small cliff dwellings. One is easily reached and offers a direct view to River House. Another is best viewed from below unless you’ve got the kind of mountain goat skills that enable you to clamber up tiny footholds carved long ago in a sheer cliff.
My favorite hike is Slickhorn Gulch, which lies toward the end of the river trip, 66 miles from its beginning. Runoff pouring over a series of gray limestone ledges creates numerous waterfalls and pools. The pools are said to be good for swimming, but I’ve never tried it, preferring to take a dip in the river itself. At the mouth of Slickhorn Gulch, a branch in the trail leads to the ruins of an oil well drilled in the 1950s. Oil still seeps up naturally to create black circles in the sand at several points along the river; you’ll smell it if you get close.
Side canyons, however, can be dangerous in a thunderstorm, as some rafters found out this year just a few days before my group’s trip in late May. A flash flood carried a wall of mud and boulders through their campsite, and they were lucky to escape with just some lost equipment and one destroyed raft. The huge fan of debris pushed out into the river channel in this canyon and another one upstream paints a vivid picture of nature’s power and the ongoing process that formed the San Juan’s canyons and rapids.
Of course, no river trip is complete without friends and food. Rafts give you the luxury of bringing along big Dutch ovens and huge coolers filled with anything you care to eat or drink. I probably eat better on the annual river trips I take with friends than I do all year.
Our friends also bring jokes and good cheer, not to mention a bottle of champagne to toast the launch, while spilling just a tiny bit to appease the “river gods.” This year they also brought a Barbie doll and a Kokopelli doll, subjects of humor in the category of what happens on the river stays on the river. Especially on the mellow San Juan, we never stop laughing.
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Access and resources
Float trips on the San Juan begin either at Sand Island, near Bluff, Utah, or 26 miles downstream at Mexican Hat, where you also can end a short trip. The takeout is at Clay Hills Crossing, 83.5 river miles from Sand Island. The best time to go is May through July; expect cooler weather and higher water in late May and early June, with temperatures over 100 degrees and low water by the end of July. Permits are required for private trips and are available through the Bureau of Land Management’s, Monticello, Utah, office.
River guidebooks are available at local kayaking and rafting shops. I carry San Juan Canyons, by Don Baars and Gene Stevenson. A larger-format book, Guide to the San Juan River, by Duwain Whitis and Tom Martin, is available online from River Runners for Wilderness.
Lodging before and after the trip is available at Bluff and Mexican Hat. The Recapture Lodge in Bluff is my favorite, while the Mexican Hat Lodge and San Juan Inn, both in Mexican Hat, are good but pricier alternatives.
Monument Valley is just a short drive from Mexican Hat and is not to be missed. Other nearby side trips are the sandstone spires in Valley of the Gods, Moki Dugway and the Goosenecks overlook, Natural Bridges and Hovenweep national monuments, the petroglyphs and ruins where Utah 95 crosses the northern end of Butler Wash, and endless self-exploring for ruins and petroglyphs in Comb Wash by Bluff. The really adventurous can hike Grand Gulch, which contains more ruins and petroglyphs and leads to the San Juan River.
anasazi, Chimney Rock, colorado, four corners, petroglyphs, rafting, river house ruin, San Juan River, Utah
