Navigating Desolation Gray on a Paddleboard

by Ken Driscoll June 15, 2013

Hello Everyone! I am new to the Glide Team. My name is Cami and I am studying Outdoor Recreation Management at Utah Valley University and I work in the Glide factory during summer and breaks.

Desolation Grey was my very first river trip I went on over 10 years ago. It was the trip that made me fall in love with whitewater. Two years ago I got hooked on stand up paddleboards when I saw them while I was working on the Provo River. This year I got the privilege to return to Desolation Grey on a stand up paddleboard.

We spent 5 days rafting and paddling 84 miles down the Green River. Weather was great, people were great, and of course the water was great! Or should I say the gnar gnar was stellar! ;)

I bought myself an inflatable board last year, which was a super fun board but I could tell I needed something with a little bit more of a design to it. I tried out a hard shell paddleboard and I was quite pleased. The Lochsa provided!!

Everyone got a chance to try out the paddleboard. It quickly became the favorite vessel.

: Tandem paddleboard acrobatics!

The ranger told us the water started at 10,000 cfs but would lower to about 8,500 cfs as the trip wore on. I SUPed through all of the rapids with the exception of Joe Hutch, Wire Fence and Three Fords. My favorite and cleanest run was Steer Ridge Rapid. It is a class III. Here's a video I took with my GoPro strapped to my PFD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6zFNkJO2jo&feature=youtu.be