Not far below the bridge the gradient gets steady and the river debouches into a wide, flat valley. There are no rapids once you are about a mile past the bridge, but the gradient - and a rising melt-off - kept us moving along at a steady four to six miles per hour. We kept the paddle blades in the water the whole time, but didn't push hard except when it was windy, which put the current at two to four miles per hour. Anyone trying to float below Warren Bridge would be well advised to catch the river on the surge, as we did. Otherwise it will be a very long slog through private land, with no camp sites and an infinite number of mosquitoes. We had no bugs the entire trip since the rising water was drowning out any spawning sites, but again: catch it on the surge.

Legal camp sites now became the biggest problem. A look at the map suggests that there are occasional patches of BLM land, and so there are. They belong to the BLM because they are too steep to be useful for anything and were not claimed by private ranchers. Otherwise, the only legal options are official camp spots designated by Wyoming Fish and Game. From 40 Rod to Reardon Draw, a distance of 65 miles, technically there are no designated campsites. Some of the public access areas, such as Huston and Sommers, specifically prohibit camping. A few patches of BLM or state land offer the possibility, and the area is apparently unpatrolled by anyone. Fish and Game probably concentrates on the more popular areas with easy road access.

The State of Wyoming and the Pinedale Chamber of Commerce is missing out on a big opportunity here. If there were easements to allow camping at a few sites along the river every ten miles or so from Warren Bridge to Names Hill, this would be one of the great Class I canoe trips in the west, comparable to Ruby/Horse Thief on the Colorado as a perfect beginner multi-day float trip.