Salt

Dup and I snagged a cancellation permit after the Jubilee got cancelled in NM. Flows bumped just enough to keep things moving after the first couple days. I ran Black Rock 2 years ago at 275, got a nice boof off the ledge and then got pushed against the undercut rock bank and flipped. This year we walked it, not able to find a line we liked at 650 cfs. We ran everything else, with swims on Rat Trap (those dual laterals make running the tongue real tricky) and Devils Pendejo (moving across current is really hard as the river constricts, if you want to move left to right to avoid the hole you have to really dig).

Weather was perfect, partly sunny, warm, punctuated by short rains and lightning.

Quartsite was no big deal at these flows. Corkscrew definitely merited a look, we took a fun line enterting the rapid river left and boofing off a ledge into the meat of the rapid.

started on Salt at 800 on 3/6/20. Ran the first five miles and it 4 hours in rafts both gear and paddle rafts. It is just too bony down to camp 2. If its this low save your energy and ask your shuttle driver ahead of time to start you out at camp 2. This is where all the guides live during the season.
Once past this point the rocks are not near as bad and you can make it the rest of the way to the take out without too much incident. Remember between 800 to 1000 start at camp five if you are bringing bigger rafts.

At this level the line through the maze was weaving through on the left and then to the right wall for the run out rapid.

Also Black Rock was an easy run with simply scouting right staying right down the v wave train and then 3 feet off the fin in the middle to the right.

Quartizite was much harder at this level then it looked like at other levels and on U tube. The only move is on the right the left is all rock. There is a very tight squeeze and right after the squeeze a large rock is in the way. We had one boat pinned on this for quite a while before help came to the rescue. A paddle boat with multiple guys to push a 14 foot boat filled with water off the rock. Nothing was lost or broker but the rock is sticky and two other boats also almost got stuck there. At higher water it would have been easier.

Also eye of the needle and quartzite claimed oars on our 15 foot raft and 14 foot cataraft. The problem is our boats were too wide and when we pulled the oars straight in they still stuck out and in Quartzite this broke the oar while flipping the 15 foot raft. And in eye of the needle the same without flipping the boar. Bring your oars all the way forward or in all the way back to avoid this.

After corkscrew the river picks up and it really is easy to make time if you need to get out. There is no scouting just beautiful views.

This was a family and friends trip over spring break with 4 rafts and a few kayaks over 7 days which was a good trip length and allowed for side hikes and a layover day. A few members of the group drove the gears and others flew in and out of Phoenix. Those who flew in rented vehicles for the week that were shuttled. We camped at the put-in on Saturday night. We riggged and launched at noon on Sunday (1730 cfs) and camped below Three Way Rapid on night 1 at mile 7.3. On Monday (1680 cfs) we camped at an umarked camp at mile 14.8. On Tuesday (1780 cfs) we did the Canyon Creek hike and ran Eye of the Needle and Black Rock and camped above Hess at mile 25.4. On Wednesday (1950 cfs) we ran the Maze, Quartzite, and Corkscrew and camped at mile 35.9. On Thursday (1980 cfs) we did the Cherry Creek hike and camped at Coon Creek at mile 44.6. Friday (1730 cfs) was a layover day at Coon Creek. We did the Coon Creek to Chalk Creek Hike and Ruin Hike. Saturday (1520 cfs) was our take-out day. It was 2 hours from Coon Creek to the take-out and we were off the river by late morning.

Relatively new to boating, I finally got to run the entire wilderness section. We ran in self-support duckies around 5,000 cfs. This was a trip where we set out to explore and push our personal limits as class III boaters. The river was big and powerful, off course, but surprisingly forgiving, I thought, based on my day-run experience on the Salt at 2000 or less flows. The hydraulics, boils, and horizontal recirculations in the gorge areas were very tricky and tended to turn unwary kayakers. Scouting the named rapids proved to be invaluable. I did not swim once in my AIRE Outfitter II, and my friends paddling loaded Tomcat I's and an out-of-balanced AIRE Force only swam five times each, with several of those swims being nothing more than unforced errors. They all had great 'IK Rolls,' (self-rescue and recovery on the fly)and were back in there boats and paddling even after getting hammered in the big waves of Black Rock and Corkscrew. Their slim bodies, strength-to-weight ratio, and their physical condition was key. I do not recommend this river at this level to anyone without a roll. Having to chase a swimmer and his boat down the river in the gorge sections would have put a damper on the trip for everyone.

Being in kayaks gave us one advantage over a raft: we were able to scout big rapids much closer, giving us the ability to portage if necessary. Black Rock and The Maze have class III kayak sneaks on the left.

This was an awesome, bucket-list trip for me!

Salt River

1997, I think...

Easy livin on the Salt....

The Salt!

The river ranger headed downstream.

Awesome waves that surf rafts

A raft flipped in Quartzite falls.