River Expeditions
Rapids, Rapids, Rapids (WC4)
The Details
Day 1 – Lunch & Dinner
Your exciting expedition begins at the Tag-A-Long Expeditions office in Moab, Utah, at 7:00 a.m. We'll drive you to the river "put in" where your rafts and guides are waiting. After a thorough safety orientation, we launch! This is a good day to scout the skies and shorelines for birds. It's also a good day to marvel at the unique geology. Your journey takes you through black, Pre-Cambrian rock, some of the oldest found anywhere on earth! Today you hike side canyons and see ancient Indian writings. Another stop will take us to historic Miner's Cabin, an abandoned gold mining camp. After a delicious meal served with a view of the Colorado River, you'll camp tonight under astonishing starry skies!
Day 2 – Breakfast & Lunch
After a good breakfast, we launch and descend toward the upper section of the wild rapids of Westwater Canyon. Your guide shares folklore and stories about Cowboy Cave and other wild west legends. We stop at the confluence of the Little Dolores River for a short walk and lunch. Afterwards, your guide prepares you and the boats for the next stretch of the river, then hang onto your hats! The rapids come fast and furious with names like Funnel Falls, Skull Rapid, Sock It To Me, and Bowling Alley. You'll pass by the Room of Doom and the Magnetic Wall and hear how they got their names. Happy and invigorated, your day on the river ends about 5:00 p.m. After a ride back to Moab via bus, you'll have time for a hot shower and a nice meal in one of Moab's many restaurants. You might want to go out and paint the town red, but beware, you have three more BIG days ahead of you! Sleep tight!
Day 3 – Lunch & Dinner
We will meet again at 7:00 a.m. to begin the next exciting chapter of your expedition. A short, scenic drive takes us to the river "put in" where your guides will give you a brief safety orientation before boarding the raft. Today we enjoy the calm waters of the Colorado River in Meander Canyon as we pass beneath Dead Horse Point and Thelma and Louise Point. Towering red rock walls stand in stark contrast to stunning blue skies. Watchful eyes can occasionally spot eagles, bighorn sheep, mule deer or a lone coyote. At lunch time, we'll stop along shore and take a brief hike. Toward late afternoon, we stop to make camp for the night. Your guide will help you in erecting your 'pup' tent if you're renting from us which makes camp life easy so you can spend your time playing horseshoes or relaxing with your toes in the sand. Then your guide gets to flex their culinary muscles by preparing a delicious and award winning meal, complete with dessert! And you won't be eating off driftwood logs and rocks. Tables and chairs are normal fare on Tag-A-Long's Cataract Canyon trips. After your satisfying dinner, relax near the campfire and enjoy the amazing star show overhead.
Day 4 – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After breakfast we continue down the mighty Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park. Along the way you'll see prehistoric Indian ruins from the Anasazi culture. Some of you may take the optional hike over "the Loop" where you'll get a spectacular hawk's eye view of the Colorado River. After lunch, we approach the confluence, a magical merging of two great western rivers, the Green and the Colorado. Just a few miles more and we enter Cataract Canyon to run the first of 28 rapids. Tonight you'll camp with the roar of the rapids in your ears! Sweet dreams!
Day 5 – Breakfast & Lunch
Eat that hearty breakfast your guide prepares for you. You'll need all the energy you can muster! Today you run the rest of the legendary Cataract Canyon rapids. These are among the most intense and respected rapids in North America. You'll meet Brown Betty, Capsize, Powell's Pocket Watch and the famous Big Drop series of rapids. Here the Colorado River descends more quickly than anywhere in its United States journey! These are the BIG rapids and the BIG thrills! Today you'll say goodbye to the river before entering the blue waters of Lake Powell. By mid-afternoon you'll arrive at Hite Marina. You may choose the scenic flight to return to Moab. The flight follows the river's corridor over the rapids you've just run and gives you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Canyonlands National Park from the air. What a way to end your whitewater expedition!
Note: Rapids may be run on different days than those listed depending on water flow and camp availability.