Ruby & Horsethief Canyons

Meet around 11am at GOALS world headquarters in Evergreen, CO. Please arrive with a belly full of  lunch. Today, we will travel to Highline State Park in Loma, where we’ll spend the late afternoon swimming in their large lake to beat the  western slope heat. When night begins to fall, we’ll set up camp in the  grassy tent sites and begin exploring the GOALS journals. As excited as we are, we’ll try to get a good night’s sleep tonight—we officially begin our river adventure tomorrow morning!

After packing up camp and a thorough safety talk, we’ll meet the rest of our professional guide crew and launch onto the Colorado River to begin our adventure. Slowly, the canyon walls will get taller and taller as we head downstream in rafts, inflatable kayaks, and on SUP boards. When our bellies tell us it’s time, we’ll pull over and make a delicious riverside lunch. After eating, we’ll continue downstream toward our first night’s camp—most likely in the area of the Cottonwood and Mee camps. As we float, we’ll be watching for bald eagles, river otters, and desert bighorn sheep. When we arrive at tonight’s camp, we’ll break into teams, some of whom will help in the kitchen, some on the boats, and some with setting up the camp itself. Late afternoon is a great time for camp games or a quick swim in a river eddy next to our large beach campsite to cool down. The kitchen crew will help our guides prepare tonight’s dinner, then we’ll circle up in the “living room” around a campfire and re-call our favorite parts of the day, play a game or two that our guides teach us, and ultimately retire to our tents or outdoor sleeping area for a great night of sleep under the desert stars.

After waking up to the smell of fresh coffee and the sound of guides working on a delicious, hearty breakfast in the camp kitchen, we’ll find ourselves smiling as we recognize just how good it feels to be starting a new day on the Colorado River. The kitchen crew will find their way into the camp kitchen while the rest of us watch the day come to life as the sunlight warms the canyon. After enjoying breakfast, we’ll get motivated to break down camp and head for the river—floating through a beautiful section of Ruby Canyon that will lead us to the famous “Black Rocks section”—home to some of the oldest exposed rock on planet Earth. As we leave the Black Rocks section, we’ll head toward McDonald Creek for a short hike to some ancient petroglyphs. While studying them, we’ll learn about the early civilizations that lived here and created them—pondering the messages they may have been trying to share with us. When we get back to our boats, we’ll float toward the lower section of the canyon—stopping at Catalpa Camp for some environmental education from our guides. We may sleep at Catalpa tonight, or we may continue down toward Knowles Camp—but we’ll enjoy one last evening together in the canyon with some closing activities that are unique to GOALS. 

This morning can be a leisurely one in camp, as we only have a few more miles of fun, calm floating to the Westwater Canyon ranger station, where our river journey will end. Along the way this morning, we will pass through “Bald Eagle Alley”—a row of cottonwood trees that often hold large eagle nests where we can spot the majestic birds as they watch us float past from above. Once we reach the ranger station at Westwater, Utah, we’ll help our guide team to de-rig the boats and load their trailers, give them good-bye hugs, and then head for home—generally arriving in the evening—already dreaming of the next time we can return to the Colorado River.

We will wake up for a final river breakfast and hear up for our final push. There is still about 8 more miles of fun floating to the Westwater Canyon ranger station, where our river journey will end. Don't let your mind wander home too soon—be where your feet are as long as you can and enjoy this beautiful place. We love to refer to the final section of Ruby & Horsethief Canyons as "Bald Eagle Alley" and can sometimes lose count of how many majestic birds of prey we count in the large cottonwood grove overlooking the water on the river left. After helping the guides load their trailers and giving them good-bye hugs, we’ll head for home.