This second 10-day adventure began August 7, 2023, in the Trickle Lake region on the eastern side of the Grand Mesa. Last month I explored the western side by foot and packraft visiting 15 lakes in...
Rocky Mountain National Park Trip Report by Monica Stapleton
Back in 2022, I spent a summer working at Rocky Mountain National Park as a Wilderness Ranger. The work was enjoyable, largely in part due to the group of people I worked alongside and the post-wor...
Upper North Fork of the Smith River, Attempted Headwaters Run Part 4 by Nicole Smedegaard
My personal opinion of his trip is that actually, it was a success in many ways, although we were not able to complete the run. I also believe that an objective analysis of both incidents can attri...
Upper North Fork of the Smith River, Attempted Headwaters Run Part 3 by Nicole Smedegaard
This is where the final deciding accident of our trip occurred. Getting to shore felt like a must-make move since we could not see how much of the tree was in play in the class IV rapid below us. T...
Upper North Fork of the Smith River, Attempted Headwaters Run Part 2 by Nicole Smedegaard
At our chosen put-in location, there was a nice eddy at the confluence. I inflated my kayak in a bear's sleeping nook. There were rotten salmon fins and bones scattered about next to bear scat and ...
Upper North Fork of the Smith River, Attempted Headwaters Run Part 1 by Nicole Smedegaard
So you think you want an adventure. Here is a complete trip report narrative from the Upper NF Smith Headwaters attempted run on December 4, 2023. This trip came together with lots of planning and ...