There were more bugs at this camp – both mosquitoes and other flying insects that would land on my face and wake me up. I also woke up from something crawling on my back and smashed a small bug under my shirt, possibly an ant. Michelle got a lot of bites even though she used some “Off” that Mike brought. I would recommend using mosquito netting, a tent, or something to protect from bugs on a trip this time of year. Despite the bugs, however, I slept better this night than the night before.
We launched at about 7:30 am and only had about 7.1 miles of the 33 total on Monday, day three, and it was not too many miles. On days 2 and 3, much of the water often went under reeds (phragmites) at the side of the river or salt cedar and we were often pushed into them. The river had become more overgrown in places than I remembered from prior trips. We had no flips or unintentional swims on this trip and no significant injuries, which is an accomplishment considering the risks and effort required. I did get out of my boat and swim after getting under some strainers and deciding it was the best way to control my boat. The IKs did well but Mike and Michelle said their tubes would deflate overnight if they did not install the dust caps. We had seen no other people, boaters or otherwise, between when we left the pavement and when we saw traffic on the bridge at the take out. We got to the takeout at mile 52.6 at about 10 am and Sam drove Mike and I in the FJ to the put in to get the Jeep and 4runner while Michelle rolled up the boats. I changed into clean clothes before the drive but did not bring any other shoes. It took about 2.5 hours to make the round trip stopping only as needed to pee. We saw a couple of red tail hawks on the drive. I would say that 4wd is required but any stock 4wd SUV or pickup should be able to make it. I used 4 low going up but could have made it in 4 high. We stopped at Wendy’s in Globe for a late lunch, which was ok but not great. This was a good trip but Michelle and I agreed that we would probably not do it again at this flow. It was just too much work crossing the still pools and avoiding rocks in the cobble-bar rapids. Twice the flow or more and a better way to avoid bugs would probably make it a lot better. Our boats and food choices were good but it may be better to go lighter. Another option would be big hard-shell kayaks and a good pad and tent for backpacking, but I like sleeping on an IK and it gave us more options for camps.
On this trip, Mike brought 5 gallons of water in addition to his canteens and we were able to avoid filtering. But it may be better to bring a bucket and alum and filter and bleach river water each morning. We did not encounter any other sources of water. I don’t know what else we could have left behind to save weight other than chairs. I put our big dry box (actually a dog food container) with a screw on lid on my IK and it was convenient and did not get any water inside (even though the gamma lid seal broke and I made one with packing foam) but it could break open if the boat flipped and hit rocks upside down. I pulled out a loop from the Tomcat when I pulled the boat over rocks with a thigh strap. Next time, I would use cam straps for my foot rest so it would be easier to adjust it as my drybag for my back rest gets flatter. On this trip, my foot rest was too far away from my back rest by the end of each day. Also on this trip, I did not change my socks and did not bring any sandals and went to bed each night with wet socks. When I took off my Canyoneers at home, I put on flip flops and my feet quickly got sore between my toes as I unloaded the car. There was some silt or sand between my toes. I should have sprayed them off before I put on my flip flops. In addition, I probably should have put on dry socks each night when I went to bed.