Brown's Canyon, Fine Water, June 10

After the balloon launch in the morning, we returned to my place where I got the boat (ready on its trailer) out of the garage. Anrahyah made scrambled eggs. Fortified again, we headed off to the Fisherman's Bridge launch on the river.

Car shuttle done, we four wrestled the boat down one of the slides to the river, loaded, and off we went. Water level was around 2500 cfs, which is a very busy level! Good waves were everywhere. Quite a contrast from Ruby-Horsethief, on which trip the two boys had been just a couple weeks ago.

After a stop for a snack just above the railroad bridge, we moved out during a lull in commercial trips. Gosh--I'd forgotten how to run Pinball! But it was obvious enough, and fun.

We scouted Zoom Flume, and the hole behind that center rock was really working. We watched for a while. Some boats would go directly down the tounge and be fine--which was to be slightly right at the hole. Other boats would get taken straight into the gut, and thrashed. A few boats entered the rapid on the far right, but they would get washed centerward and into the hole. What to do?

There were lateral waves on either side just beyond the tongue. These would surf you toward the opposite side of the river, which is why the boats that entered on the far right still got surfed back to the middle. But if you played it just right, you could get surfed slightly right and be fine!

That's what we did, and it worked to perfection. Huge waves! But they were pushing us where I wanted us to be pushed. Everything was good.

Big Drop Rapid was huge too. The Seventh Staircase was the largest wave in the canyon, looking like the side of a van! It got us wet--again.

Brown's was a blast, particularly after so many years of drought. Well, we didn't quite get a normal peak this year, but it still was good.

We finished eating our snack food at a picnic bench at Hecla, and that was a very pleasant thing that I'd never done before. Anrahyah went shopping in Buena Vista, and then we topped of the day with steaks before my guests headed home.