San Juan Arm

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Ryan

Ryan

Keeper of San Juan Secrets
I got a call from my good buddy, Superintendent Billy Shott today. He informed me that there has been increased crocodile, rattlesnake, white walker, and zombie activity up the San Juan, so much so that he has elected to close the arm to all boats from August 8-13. No boats will be allowed up there, so please help me spread the word.

When I say "no boats", that is a pretty lose statement, because he did say that I could go up there since I am highly experienced with dealing with all of those dangers.

If I survive, I will post a report when I return. Wish me luck. ;)
 
We were there July 23rd -30th, I think your crocs, snakes, skin walkers and zombies had already started scaring folks off. We spent our time between Cha and the start of the big bend and some days only saw 1 or 2 other powerboats all day.

Seems like the water level is at that in between stage where spots for a houseboat are tough within 2-3 miles of Cha right now
 
I ran into the same situation with a lack of houseboat anchorages on my Early July trip up there. Debris around Great Bend also slowed my house boating adventures down. My favorite spot there at the mouth was too full of debris.
 
We are back. Overall had a great trip once again. Did have some houseboat difficulties coming back. The San Juan is a long haul with two good engines. It is a longer haul with one good engine. It is a REALLY long haul with one poorly running engine, which is what I came back with.

But, enough of the negatives. Got to SJ on Tuesday, left on Sunday. Spent the better part of one day running down to Rainbow Bridge / Dangling Rope. Spent the better part of one day touring the Escalante. Spent the better part of one day hiking up to Peek-a-Boo arch.

And spent the rest of the time playing in the water.

Some SUP time.
US3DpKU.jpg
 
I guess they don't write tickets for passengers riding on the sunpad up the San Juan eh? :cool:

That's a Ranger magnet just about anywhere else on the lake, and an instant ticket. That being said......This isn't a lecture, your pics are great. Looks like a great time!
 
And a couple of videos. None of which are me.

Ignore the commentary on the first two.


 
And my buddy who is trying to learn a front on his foil.

Unfortunately the video that is in full speed was the end to his water sports activity for this trip due to injured ribs.


 
PowellBride said:
We were there July 23rd -30th, I think your crocs, snakes, skin walkers and zombies had already started scaring folks off. We spent our time between Cha and the start of the big bend and some days only saw 1 or 2 other powerboats all day.

Seems like the water level is at that in between stage where spots for a houseboat are tough within 2-3 miles of Cha right now
Click to expand...
Wait a minute now, those aren't my crocs,snakes, skin walkers and zombies, those are our crocs,snakes,skin walkers and zombies. I thought we were all in this together.
 
Thanks for sharing your videos and pictures. What did you think of the Peek - A - Boo Arch hike? I have done it twice and thoroughly enjoyed it.
 
Bill Sampson said:
Thanks for sharing your videos and pictures. What did you think of the Peek - A - Boo Arch hike? I have done it twice and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Our group has done the hike probably 4 times now. I stay back and attend to the boat. I am not willing to beach my Malibu, and there really isn't a good way to anchor it from where you start the hike. At least that is my story - my tending the boat has nothing to do with the fact that there is no way I could get anywhere near the edge due to a very healthy respect for heights.

Those that have done the hike enjoyed it. Said it isn't too vigorous. We did it on a somewhat overcast day.

My biggest complaint is that there is never enough time to do everything I want to do at the lake. This trip is usually very heavy for water sports for us, and I feel like we didn't do as much this year as I would have liked. One day touring Escalante, one day going to DR/Rainbow Bridge, and one day hiking ate up a lot of time when the typical afternoon "w" would kick up and prevent us from surfing/foiling/skiing/wakeboarding/paddle boarding/zodiak racing.
 
Ryan said:
Our group has done the hike probably 4 times now. I stay back and attend to the boat. I am not willing to beach my Malibu, and there really isn't a good way to anchor it from where you start the hike. At least that is my story - my tending the boat has nothing to do with the fact that there is no way I could get anywhere near the edge due to a very healthy respect for heights.

Those that have done the hike enjoyed it. Said it isn't too vigorous. We did it on a somewhat overcast day.

My biggest complaint is that there is never enough time to do everything I want to do at the lake. This trip is usually very heavy for water sports for us, and I feel like we didn't do as much this year as I would have liked. One day touring Escalante, one day going to DR/Rainbow Bridge, and one day hiking ate up a lot of time when the typical afternoon "w" would kick up and prevent us from surfing/foiling/skiing/wakeboarding/paddle boarding/zodiak racing.
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I actually anchored my houseboat on the beach next to the trailhead in early July and watched a guy and girl go up the trail. It does take a while to make the full route, and your friends were smart to do it on an overcast day. After you finish the rock climb you really get the sun on the upper ridge. I agree with you that there is no place to anchor a small boat there.
When I was there we were next to 2 fire pits that had been "created" on the adjoining beach areas. I was really surprised that a ranger came by mid week and asked if we knew anything about them. We did not, but he did mention that someone had used motor oil to ignite the blaze. They photographed it and logged it for future reference. I seldom ever see Rangers that far up the San Juan.
This year we experienced more weather than usual on an early July trip. We had wind every afternoon, and it really limited our skiing and watersports activity. For me, there is never enough time on a trip to the San Juan River. I love that area, even with crocs, snakes. skin walkers, and zombies
 
Lake Bum said:
I guess they don't write tickets for passengers riding on the sunpad up the San Juan eh? :cool:

That's a Ranger magnet just about anywhere else on the lake, and an instant ticket. That being said......This isn't a lecture, your pics are great. Looks like a great time!
Click to expand...

No worries...the new norm is to pick and choose which laws you "feel" should be enforced. :D
 
Ryan said:
Our group has done the hike probably 4 times now. I stay back and attend to the boat. I am not willing to beach my Malibu, and there really isn't a good way to anchor it from where you start the hike. At least that is my story - my tending the boat has nothing to do with the fact that there is no way I could get anywhere near the edge due to a very healthy respect for heights.

Those that have done the hike enjoyed it. Said it isn't too vigorous. We did it on a somewhat overcast day.

My biggest complaint is that there is never enough time to do everything I want to do at the lake. This trip is usually very heavy for water sports for us, and I feel like we didn't do as much this year as I would have liked. One day touring Escalante, one day going to DR/Rainbow Bridge, and one day hiking ate up a lot of time when the typical afternoon "w" would kick up and prevent us from surfing/foiling/skiing/wakeboarding/paddle boarding/zodiak racing.
Click to expand...

Ryan, I am the same way about a lot of hikes so I often miss out on them. I also agree on the time thing. In a June I went for two weeks however the boat started acting up bad way up the Juan and I had to come out two days early. We would go for about five miles at a time before the boat would conk out. Gave it a rest for 30 minutes and it would start and go another five miles. Every five miles we figured we saved about $500 on the potential towing bill. It was a very long ride back but we did make it so I appreciate your drive back much more than I would have last year. Still waiting for it to get fixed. Looks like you had an awesome time, glad you got back without a tow bill.

TR
 
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