The logistics of the FGD stretch are interesting. Everything you see on line says that the first 8.5 miles is no camping, which is true. You will also hear that the launch ramp at the dam is jammed, which may be true. Apparently in the morning, dozens of drift boats launch into this famous trout fishery. Newsgroup research indicated that by 4:00 this would not be a concern, and it turned out to be true. Not a single boat launched while we were rigging and getting on the water. True, it was pretty late in the day. We arrived around 5:30 and launched at 7:05 PM.

Another thing you will learn on line is that camps must be reserved at Little Hole, which is not far off the shuttle drive. We registered for a camp while we set the shuttle. What you don't learn is that there are also a lot of other camp sites that aren't even on the reservation list. Once you're 8 miles below the dam there are lots of sites. The only map I found them on was one I picked up at the FGD visitor center in Green River, published by American Adventure Associates.

Yet another useful tidbit: since I was going all the way through from FGD to Split Mt., my car would need to be parked at the put-in for eight or nine days. That would set me back at least $35 and leave the car at an unattended lot. The folks at Trout Creek Flies/Green River Outfitters, just a couple miles from the ramp and right on the highway, picked my car up at FGD and kept it in their lot eight days for a mere $25. And they have a nice, well supplied store.

The scenery just below the dam is spectacular, making it pretty clear why Powell named it Flaming Gorge. Cliffs the color of campfire embers rise for hundred of feet on either side. The fishing is reputed to be wonderful, the camps are delightful… and once again, we saw almost no people. Apparently the stretch from the dam to Little Hole, which is the most beautiful, is hit hard by trout fishermen in the morning, and almost completely abandoned the rest of the time.