A river in Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and Colorado shares a similar history with the Buffalo National River in Arkansas.
Plans were proposed to dam both the Green River out West and the Buffalo River. Two dams were proposed inside the 210,00 acre Dinosaur Monument, but were eventually halted through grass roots efforts and political influence in 1956. The Buffalo River was established in 1972, ending plans to dam the 150-mile-long river.
Monument anniversary
Dinosaur National Monument, in northeast Utah and northwest Colorado, was established 100 years ago. Special activites will take place this summer to mark the centennial.
Hiking, camping, river rafting and more are available at Dinosaur National Monument, a vast tract covering 210,000 acres. Dinosaur fossils can be viewed on the Utah side of the monument, about 1,100 miles from Northwest Arkanssas.
— Source: National Park Service
One dam was built on the Green River and formed the Flaming Gorge Reservoir, with its spillway located 90 miles north of Vernal, Utah. There's a boat ramp with day-use facilities below the dam, which allows access for day and overnight use of the Flaming Gorge.
This is where a group of mostly Northwest Arkansas paddlers started a multiday, 90-mile float trip on the Green River. They ran rapids up to class III and class IV in three rafts and four canoes. Canyon of Lodore, Whirlpool Canyon and Split Mountain Canyon were highlights of the trip.
The group spent five additional days at Split Mountain, running rapids, camping under the juniper trees, exploring and appreciating the remote areas of Dinosaur National Monument.
John Wesley Powell named the canyon and the entrance to Canyon of Lodore in 1869. Here canyon walls rise 1,500 feet above the Green River. The paddlers flipped two canoes on no-name class II rapids, losing a boot and one shirt. Rain fell on their first night in camp, and the temperature fell into the 30s.
We had an off-day, then hit the river again on Wednesday. The group ran several class II rapids and one class III and IV, which played out just as the guidebook said they would.
Safety was key. Boats ran the rapids in a predetermined order, with no casualties other than a broken paddle. Not one boat was able to completely miss "Lucifer," a rock that's midstream in the tongue of a class IV rapid. Lunch followed on a sandy beach.
After the first six miles, the Yampa River joins the Green River and marks the end of the Canyon of Lodore and beginning of Whirlpool Canyon. The paddlers went an additional 4.5 miles down river under the watchful eye of a peregrine falcon and crossed the state line back into Utah, but still in the Dinosaur National Monument.
On their second day off, the group hiked along a trout-filled creek to view 800 to 1,400 year old pictographs and to sit near Ely Creek Falls. With just one day left on the river permit, they had almost 19 river miles to travel before the take out at Split Mountain boat ramp.
The final seven river miles had rapids to class III, and the peddlers ran them all smoothly. In all, they g traveled 90 miles and spent eight days inside the monument.
One may see an afternoon lightning snow storm and hear the low roar of a river through nylon tent walls. It's all there, 1,100 miles from Northwest Arkansas, like driving west to touch a dinosaur.
David Gottschalk can be reached at [email protected].
Sports on 04/30/2015