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riverman
 
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Default Questions on Canoeing Rio Grande

Hi Bill:
I remember some hypothermic trips in March, too. It was always a
balancing act, to get on the water early enough to catch the runnable
levels, but late enough so that it wasn't all frosty in the mornings.

Although I've run it a truckload of times, all of my runs were in mid
March so I have very limited year-round knowledge. I have no idea of
what water conditions are like the rest of the year, but in spring,
with dropping levels, there were years that the river banks were mud
flats and there was the occasional dead cow in an eddy. Always lots of
plastic trash in the bushes, etc, from the earlier high water. But the
overall feeling was that it was a pristine, remote and (strangely
enough) clean environment, with unbelievable scenery.

On the other hand, now that I think about it, I remember that the water
quality was variable, just like on the Juan: some years it was crystal
clear and clean. other years we ended up with a 'San Juan Tan' on
everything.

So you ran it just a few weeks ago? Give us a trip report!
--riverman