This trip felt like an extension from our 2006 San Juan adventure which several of us thought to be a classic. Plan was four days leisurely floating from Ruby to Mineral and then 4-5 days exploring the Grand Gulch area. With hindsight, think we would have been more satisfied skipping the river portion and spending more time hiking. But it was all good. This was my first high-flow paddle and I much prefer the low-water/sandbar camping trip. Although the tammies had obviously been impacted by the beetles, it was still very difficult to find access points on the river. We rented two rooms at the Moab AAA motel the night before the trip and rendezvoused there.

Either Tex's Riverways or Tag-A-Long has provided shuttle service for us in the past. But for a non-jetboat trip, their prices seemed quite high and we went with Coyote. A different drumbeat could be heard during the march but I'd go with them again. The price for gear trailer and van transport for four at both ends was $325.

Even though only April, the weather was already too warm and the water too high. Would have been a better trip on both accounts if two weeks earlier in the year. Still.......any day on the river is a good day.