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Escalante Float 2019

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Sam Pugh, May 20, 2019.

  1. Sam Pugh

    Sam Pugh

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    Hey Everyone,
    I'm interested in talking to anyone who has done the Escalante in packrafts/duckies. I'm planning a trip for the week of memorial day this year. The plan is to hike in at fence, take out at coyote gulch (Crack in the wall), as described by a lot of other sites/forums.

    One thing that has been really difficult to find however is reliable information on flows for this float. Many places it says 50 cfs is the minimum you need for the float. A lot of other packrafting forums say they did it when the gauge read 1.5-3 cfs, and that was generally enough. I know a lot of the flows come from tributaries (the gulch, boulder creek etc) that are downstream from the gauge, which is maybe why there's such disparity between reports, but does anyone have a sense for what flows (at the gauge) you should have in order to have enough water to float this section. Any information or resources would be greatly appreciated!!
    Thanks!
  2. Phavant

    Phavant

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    I just got out yesterday. We caught one day with gauge flows at 50 CFS and it was really fun. The last two days were around 10-8 CFS range. It was doable, but a lot more work. I imagine it could still be done at 5CFS, but not for sure how much fun it would be. It's really dependent on snow levels on Boulder Mtn. The good news is when we got out there had been a lot of snow that had fallen, and there was a lot more that fell this morning. Before we started Snowtell still was showing about 50 inches of snow. If it warms up the next couple weeks you should have a lot of fun.
    Sam Pugh likes this.
  3. Sam Pugh

    Sam Pugh

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    Awesome, really appreciate the report. Glad you had a good trip, I'm hoping with the high snowpack this year we should hit it just right next week. Were you in actual packrafts? We're planning on duckies- do you think it'd make much/any difference in navigating the float, especially if flows end up in the lower range (10-20) rather than up around 50?
  4. Phavant

    Phavant

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    I saw quite a few duckies on the river. I have never floated in one, but at the lower levels being nimble is a real benefit to avoid as many of the rocks as you can. They duckies looked a little longer so not for sure if they are harder to maneuver or not. On low flows we were doing 3MPH on the high flows 5+MPH. If it warms up for you I think that you will have some really good flows.
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