Camping – Page 8 – Richard Rathe's Reflections

White Rim Trail 2018

I recently returned from a backcountry bike trip on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park near Moab Utah. [Gallery]

We were a mixed group of twelve riders with three high ground clearance support vehicles coming after us. We started near the visitor center and camped four nights along the trail.

First we headed down the steep Shafer Trail to get onto the White Rim proper.

The “White Rim” is actually a geologic layer that is resistant to weathering as you can see in the aerial photo below.

The first night’s campsite didn’t look like much. There was no soil, only gravel or hard rock.

Fortunately I brought a lightweight folding cot and stayed comfortably six inches off the ground!

The next day we saw a group of Desert Bighorn Sheep in the distance. Later this solitary ram walked nearby.

I rented a decent bike for the trip with front and rear suspension and disk brakes. I only took one fall (going too fast through a sandy patch). Going uphill was a bitch! I walked a lot…

We came across many pothole depressions filled with rainwater (aka Ephemeral Pools). Incredibly there are small crustaceans called Tadpole Shrimp living there! They are considered living fossils.

Tadpole Shrimp Living in a Ephemeral Pool

The area is defined by the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers. Numerous dry wash valleys lead down to the rivers and contribute to the beauty and complexity of the place.

We took a short side trip down a slot canyon.

Turning north we came down to the Green River on the third day. The color of the Cottonwood Trees was near its peak. The temp went down into the twenties that night, Brrrr!

We took a very interesting side trail to see Anasazi Ruins and an old trapper’s cabin.

We spent our last night in the presence of “Moses and Zeus” (interesting pairing!) in Taylor Valley. It is an extremely beautiful place!

There just happened to be climbers descending Moses when we got there.

That night I slept on a 220 million year old beach. The Moenkopi Formation is what remains of tropical tidal flats back in the Triassic.

The next day we packed up and headed back down to cycle along the Green River, climbed out of the valley and drove back to civilization. It was a great trip!

Photos by Richard Rathe & Rick Hindman

Boundary Waters Canoe Trip 2018

This year I went with Ross’s in-laws Tim and Terese (who are both old BWCA hands). We started on Kawishiwi Lake and proceeded along the Kawishiwi River. [Gallery]

Tim, Ross, Terese, & Me at the Kawishiwi Lake Entry Point

This was a return of sorts to an area we had to evacuate in 2011 due to the Pagami Creek Fire.

The first day was rainy but we made good progress crossing the beaver dam on the river and then two long portages into Lake Polly.

From Polly we proceeded to Lake Malberg with its many angles and bays.

We camped on a small bay with a beach and a dense stand of White Cedar behind.

We took a long day trip from camp making a wide loop through Malberg and the surrounding lakes. After two relaxing days we headed back to the car by the same route we came in on.

A great time was had by all! Be sure to look at the flora photos and panoramas in the gallery!

Everglades 2018 – Post-Hurricane Irma

This was a difficult trip thanks to Hurricane Irma and multiple equipment failures. But we had good time in spite of the challenges. [Gallery]

My fellow kayakers were Carlos and Nia Morales (also from Gainesville). Here we are smiling before running the gauntlet on Coot Bay Pond Creek.

The ranger station had told me the creek was “open” but that was being generous. We spent two hours to move a two hundred yards that should have taken less than twenty minutes! I spent more time out of the kayak than in…

Once on Coot Bay we attempted to sail but the wind was too strong and variable.

We had a long day and travelled after dark to get to Joe River Chickee. We all slept well. It had been cool enough that there were only a few bugs.

The next day we finally got to sail across Oyster Bay to the Shark River. (Our two oldest boats had developed serious leaks at that point.) We made it out to the Gulf and had a nice night camping at Graveyard Creek.

There was a new sand bar and many uprooted trees due to Irma. This was actually beneficial since the last time I visited the site it was very overgrown. Carlos did a field repair and we let it cure overnight.

The next day the weather finally cleared as we headed up Graveyard Creek itself on our way to the Shark River Chickee.

This was the year for hammock camping, which worked better on a chickee than I thought it would. I slept out in the open with a few bugs buzzing around.

Here’s a pano of our boats tied up to the chickee…

The next day we navigated our way through The Labyrinth and over to the Watson River Chickee. The next day we got to sail down Whitewater Bay.

At that point my boat started to leak again and my seat suspension came apart in three places. Here’s my temporary workaround.

We enjoyed our last night at the Lane Bay Chickee, where Carlos finally caught some fish.

Fortunately we did not have to go back through the mangrove creek from hell! Instead we made our way along the Hells Bay Canoe Trail and exited there.

For the record, here is a list of the equipment that failed on our 2008 and 2010 model year Hobie Adventure Kayaks…

Leaks just forward of the peddle drive on both.
Missing rudder lock down on the older model.
Both my seat straps snapped just hours apart.
My right seat strap anchor point.

The seat straps were just plain worn out from almost daily use for several years. The leaks are apparently typical for older Hobie peddle kayaks. This is the one serious flaw of these otherwise resilient boats.