Some shots from our last “Lowest” San Juan trip. An impressive story of a river reclaiming its canyon after being drowned by Lake Powell. 30+ miles of river below Clay Hills, many of those miles are blanketed by native vegetation. There’s bird song a plenty, and otters and beavers.
#sanjuanriver
Launching at Clay Hills for the “Lowest San Juan” is a masterclass in reading sand bars, and it is pretty common to have to get out of the boat and walk it on downstream to the deeper water. The San Juan is the siltiest river in the west, and because of Glen Canyon Dam, all of that silt drops out, or into Lake Powell, and doesn’t make it down into the Grand Canyon or beyond to the sea as it did for millions of years.
#sanjuanriver #lakepowell
The delta of the the San Juan river (where the river meets Lake Powell) is a crazy place. A river flowing over acres of sediment, wandering, making u-turns, and flowing over rocks that used to be high on the banks of the original channel. We usually have a packraft or two out front of the bigger boats to warn us if there is an impassable spot, or a tricky mud rapid. It’s enchanting yet we must stay on our toes. Different every time.
#sanjuanriver #lakepowell
Fresh off two low water runs of rivers returning to Glen Canyon. And so much uncertainty, where we think about the future carries the weight of water.🌀
Full story on Wild Words. You don’t need the Substack app to read it. Subscribing is free and stories like this show up in your inbox (no scrolling required). I’ll be increasingly spending my energy on Wild Words as I work on my forthcoming book, Riverside (Torrey House Press 2027). Hope to see you over there.
#coloradoriver #riverside #restoreglencanyon
A moment of zen from our last research trip. Watching the sand waves slowly migrate upstream was mesmerizing. This was about 6 hours before we were hit with a nasty windstorm that lasted all night and through the next day. Sleep was not an option for most of us that night.
We saw it with our own eyes! North Wash facelift. We chatted with the construction folks and they were all super nice. There was room at the normal parking spots to unload guests. Estimated completion date of May 8th. Yahoo!
Well folks, we all said we would believe when we see it. So here it is. Construction has officially started at North Wash! No these are not AI generated images. This is really happening. For the commercial companies out there, we have been told that access to drop guests off will be open during construction. I think parking at the top eddy above the rocks and checking the scene would be smart. Sounds like they will be working Mon-Thurs, and work is supposed to finish around May 10. If you are hoping to take boats out at NW, it may be tricky. Talk to the Park Service and see what they say. This is the largest amount of work ever to be done to NW that I can think of. It has always been a very primitive ramp, and little has been done to maintain it. I barely believe it myself.
#coloradoriver
This episode was recorded live at the America Outdoors annual conference and is a conversation with three members from the Returning Rapids Project in Utah. The Returning Rapids Project is documenting the changes and restoration happening to the reservoir-affected areas of the Colorado River and the San Juan River as Lake Powell continues to recede out of the river canyons it inundated with reservoir waters for the past several decades. The deeper focus of this episode beyond this research project is the powerful observational ability of river guides who work on rivers day after day, year after year, and how they can notice the most minute changes. In the case of the Colorado River and the Returning Rapids Project, it was this guide observation that witnessed a subtle shift to the river. This observation has developed into a powerful project that is learning how rivers recover from life under a reservoir.
@americaoutdoors@americanrivers@oars@returningrapids@i.adler@davi.de.ipolito
#riverradiuspodcast #rivers #river #coloradoriver #glencanyon #lakepowell #glencanyondam #sediment #lakemead #hooverdam #boulderdam #water #whitewater
Glen Canyon Institute's awesome new film "What the River Knows" will be showing in many great locations throughout the west. A film by Good Intentions Paving Company, highlights the current status of the reservoir and the Colorado River. Returning Rapids Project helped in the making of this film, and want to support the message it brings. Hope you can catch a screening near you! And if you want to donate to our cause, you can visit the Returning Rapids webpage returningrapids.com or glencanyon.org! Thank you so much!
MTN BIO’S Water in the West Film Night Tuesday February 24, 2026 @
DOCUTAH – International Documentary Film Festival
Friday February 27, 2026 @ 1:15 PM in St. George, UT
Durango Independent Film Festival
Friday March 6, 2026 @ 3:00 PM – Gaslight 2 in Durango, CO
Saturday March 6, 2026 @ 2:00 PM – Gaslight 1 in Durango, CO
Saturday March 14, 2026 @ 7:00 PM – Durango Arts Center in Durango, CO
In partnership with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
GCI’s New Mexico Film Tour – Santa Fe
Sunday March 15, 2026 @ 6:30 PM – Sky Cinemas in Santa Fe, NM
In partnership with Caldera Action
Wednesday March 18, 2026 @ 7:00 PM – Historic Lobo Theater in Albuquerque, NM
GCI’s New Mexico Film Tour – Taos
Thursday March 19, 2026 @ 7:00 PM – Taos Center for the Arts in Taos, NM
In partnership with Amigos Bravos
GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Cortez
Friday March 20, 2026 @ 7:00 PM – Sunflower Theater in Cortez, CO
In partnership with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Salida
Saturday March 21, 2026 @ 5:30 PM – Steamplant Event Center in Salida, CO
Bowline Film Festival
Saturday March 21, 2026 @ 6:45 PM – John Wesley Powell River History Museum in Green River, UT
GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Boulder
Monday March 23, 2026 @ 7:00 PM – Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO
GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Fort Collins
Tuesday March 24, 2026 @ 7:00 PM – The Lyric in Fort Collins, CO
Tickets coming soon
GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Denver
Wednesday March 25, 2026 @ 7:00 PM – The Oriental Theater in Denver, CO
GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Grand Junction
Thursday March 26, 2026 @ 5:30 PM – Mesa Theater in Grand Junction, CO
Returning Rapids Project will be in Durango on Thursday (Feb 12th) at 4 Corners Riversports @4cornersriversports to give a presentation! 5pm
We will be displaying scroll maps, and have stickers and field binders to sell. There will be some free snacks and beverages, but bring your own chair if you like sitting!
Throwback shot from 1983, and a match from more recent times. Any guesses on what side canyon they are parked up?
See you tomorrow!
In late January we made a trip down to the North Wash area to match some photos and take a look around. When we got to the access point, we noticed some features upstream and put our boat in to go check it out. Water levels were quite low (3400cfs/Bridge Gage at 3567.2ft).
We found all sorts of conglomerate rock sticking out of the river, forming a diagonal shelf. It will be interesting to see how this rock affects the river this coming year as the river continues to carve down through lower Cataract and upper Glen Canyons.
For a complete report with lots of pictures, please visit our website. Returningrapids.com The report will be front and center.
#coloradoriver #sanjuanriver #lakepowell
A current satellite image of the lowest San Juan, and confluence with the Colorado River, compared with a 1921 plan and profile map. You can see the San Juan River dumping into upper Paiute Bay around mile 26. With Clay Hills takeout at Mile 58, that means there is 32 miles of river below Clay Hills, and 26 miles of reservoir to the confluence.
Every year the San Juan dumps more sediment into the reservoir, and that delta continues to march towards the confluence. With reservoir levels being so low, that delta gets closer and closer to the confluence with the possibility of someday reaching the confluence and splitting the reservoir in 2. Wild to think of that happening!
#sanjuanriver #coloradoriver
