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Powell to Powell Completed

Posted on July 31, 2012 by willsn

We just finished up the Powell to Powell leg of our journey at Hite, UT, after running Cataract Canyon. After about 43 days, we have completed paddling the length of the upper Colorado River. Stay tuned for a more detailed write-up of the last part of the journey; for now, here are a few photos.

This pretty much sums up rafting.

Evening light downstream of Moab, UT.

White stripe in Cataract Canyon.

Hackysack high above the river, at The Loop.

The Doll’s House, Cataract Canyon.

Big Drop #3 in Cataract Canyon.

The team at Hite, UT, with Lake Powell in the background. Photo by Brendan Boepple.

Desert plains near Hanksville, UT

Sources: Exploring the Headwaters

Posted on June 21, 2012 by willsn

We’ve spent the last 5 days exploring the headwaters of the Colorado by foot and packraft. Through 50 miles of hiking and four interviews, we have learned about Grand Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park, the source of the upper Colorado River.

Standing at La Poudre Pass… the Colorado headwaters are on the left, the Grand Ditch (which diverts water to the Front Range) is on the right. Photo by Beth.

Waterfall near base camp. Photo by David.We decided to hike down from La Poudre Pass and up a different tributary, North Inlet, for a few days.

The Rocky Mountain National Park alpine. Photo by Will.

After five or so miles of bushwhacking through downed trees, we got up near treeline.

The expedition begins. Photo by Will.

Our destination was Lake Powell, an alpine lake. From here it’s over 400 miles to Lake Powell (the other one).

Will packrafting on a creek that was mostly too shallow and filled with logs. Photo by David.

More packrafting. Photo by David.

Grand Lake. Photo by David.

Everyone we’ve met has been extremely helpful, kind, and interesting. We slept on Jane and Richard’s (two local landowners) beach last night, with a great view of the lake.

Moose. Photo by Will.

Remains of a River Trailer now online!

Posted on May 5, 2012 by willsn

Remains of a River Trailer from NRS Films on Vimeo.

Two friends. 113 days. 1,700 miles. One endangered river.

From October 2011 to January 2012, Will Stauffer-Norris and Zak Podmore hiked and paddled from Wyoming’s Wind River Mountains to Mexico following the Colorado River system from its farthest inland source to the sea, filming and narrating on the fly. The resulting film series, Remains of a River, is an unforgettable story of friendship, adventure and environmental degradation. At turns inspiring and alarming, these ten short works will have you laughing, marveling, shaking your head, and maybe planning an adventure of your own.

Beginning June 29, a new Remains of a River episode will premiere every Friday throughout the summer. You can get each new installment fresh off the press by subscribing to our RSS Feed, or on our Vimeo channel.

Remains of a River Trailer from Will Stauffer-Norris on Vimeo.

From October 2011 to January 2012, Zak Podmore and Will Stauffer-Norris paddled from Wyoming to Mexico, following the Green and Colorado Rivers from source to sea.

http://downthecolorado.org

Thoreau on Rivers

Posted on April 30, 2012 by willsn

“For the first time it occurred to me this afternoon what a piece of wonder a river is.-A huge volume of matter ceaselessly rolling through the fields and meadows of this substantial earth making haste from the high places, by stable dwellings of men and Egyptian pyramids, to its restless reservoir. One would think that, by a very natural impulse, the dwellers upon the headwaters of the Mississippi and Amazon would follow in the trail of their waters to see the end of the matter.”

-Henry David Thoreau, Journal, 1838

“Rivers must have been the guides which conducted the footsteps of the first travellers. They are the constant lure, when they flow by our doors, to distant enterprise and adventure, and, by a natural impulse, the dwellers on their banks will at length accompany their currents to the lowlands of the globe, or explore at their invitation the interior of continents. They are the natural highways of all nations, not only levelling the ground, and removing obstacles from the path of the traveller, quenching his thirst, and bearing him on their bosoms, but conducting him through the most interesting scenery, the most populous portions of the globe, and where the animal and vegetable kingdoms attain their greatest perfection.”

-Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, 1849

Green River Plains, Wyoming

Field testing on the Rio Chama, New Mexico

Yes, we’re going back on the river

Posted on April 27, 2012 by willsn

After months off the river and in civilization, we’re busily planning our return to the Colorado River. This summer will be very logistically complicated, as we’re trying to meet up with many people along the river, use various types of water craft, stop in towns for interviews, and do water quality testing. But even with all this work, and despite the terrible snowpack, the rivers in the Rockies are starting to run…

Field testing on the Rio Chama, New Mexico