'Friendship Cryis continues-to-be- quite an experience By Bill Davis Weather and water could not le been better for last weekend's Hit annual Friendship Cruise. Most river-runners had a good trip. However, as in any human activity, tore were some problems. Early in the voyage, several taters got hung up on the sand to near Saleratus Wash and IWs wash. Most managed to jjah free and continue down the wen as it descended from sand s into the sandstone canyon Wintry. As the day progressed, the sun Wdoff the early morning haze, M many cruise participants chose Hut down their engines, drift 1th the gentle current, and Miathe. Mechanical problems fmued to plague the cruisers fn the 85 mile length of the ;fti. averaging about one for three miles of river. One or smashed head-on into a rock fl speed, crumpling the bow of .runabout and catapulting i" . , anc a passenger into the H hield. Others ground up their ' on driftwood and sandbars. Those who broke down upstream from Mineral Canyon were fortunate, fortun-ate, in that they could drift to the landing for transport out. From Mineral Canyon down to the Confluence and up the Colorado to the Slide, all breakdowns had to be towed upstream to the Mineral pullout. Majority Continued In spite of the high attrition rate, the majority of boats continued down Labryinth Canyon into Canyonlands National Park. As the river dropped, the canyon walls became higher and more spectacular. spectacu-lar. Along the cruise route were several Indian ruins, and inscriptions inscrip-tions left by earlier river runners. These features provided a chance for boaters to stretch their legs and explore side canyons before continuing contin-uing down the river towards the campsite at Anderson Bottom. The Park Service provided a temporary campground at Anderson Ander-son Bottom, near the head of Stillwater Canyon. As the late afternoon sun drew lengthening shadows from the buttes and mesas Continued on Page Bl i v ''- . j . . -W i . . sr'Kf -t i: .' : ' ".' ' w ' V . J. . "'".. . I " I; . v ; ' ' . . ! . . j! I . lfom,a Wnal Park Service provided a campsite and pJnicin r" station at Anderson Bottom for boaters Fn'endh- S in last weekend's Memorial Day iCPro lp Cruise. Park Rangers estimated that "dow 3tely 120 boats were iied UP at the campsite at , n Saturday. Several cruisers made the i I unpleasant discovery of a shallow sandbar on the approach to the tie-up area. The Moab Jaycees provided a steak dinner and Sunday morning breakfast for the Cruise participants. A local band provided country' music for dancing. , - . .-.:.-' - ' v v v . ! ! y " .. - " :" v I I A. . ,:.,iLfA- i I t-v.;r - hJ ' I j The yellow flag on the back of this cabin cruiser is a mute plea for j j assistance from a search and rescue boat. The owner commented (after j i several frustrating hours of repair attempts) that he would just as soon j I cast off the boat and pick up the pieces in Lake Powell at a later date. The J J length of the cruise route made pickup by rescue boats a lengthy process. J Some boaters were forced to wait for a day or more for a tow. ' Friendship Cruise j I continues to be I : quite an experience i Continued from Al j surrounding the bottom, more and I more boats arrived, many making I the unpleasant (surprise!) discov- ery of a shallow sandbar near the tie-up area. At sundown Park Rangers on duty estimated that I about 120 boats had tied up at the campsite, with a like number continuing down the river to other tie-up points. Jaycees on Hand The Moab Jaycees were on hand to supply a steak dinner for the sun-baked explorers. As the line lengthened, there were various opinions expressed on the Jaycees' ability to feed the large crowd. There were also a variety of comments made on the Friendship Cruise as a whole. "I'm never coming again," said one California man, "I'm sticking to Lake Powell from now on." Other out-of-staters in the vicinity nodded agreement. A Colorado woman with a low opinion of rivers stated, "They shouldn't allow women on the trip. If Powell had had women on his trip he neyer would have discovered the Colorado River. I want to go home!" In defense of the Cruise, the river, and Utah in general, one crusty older man crouching in the I sand eating his steak growled, I "Anyone who doesn't love this is I nuts!" Such expressions of discontent lessened as the beer flowed and the band started bouncing country I tunes off the nearby sandstone j walls. j Impressive Bonfire I One group with a less than I profound belief in Park Service ! regulations tore branches from a tree near the dance floor (a cement slab) and built a fairly impressive j bonfire which danced reflections off I the steadily growing number of I beer cans accumulating in the I brush. The party lasted long, loud, J and late, with daybreak fmding a J few hardy souls washing down the Jaycee-provided breakfast with more beer. More comments about j the food service. By now the I campsite was littered with trash, J leaving the Jaycees with the J unenviable task of stuffing the plastic trash bags provided by the Park Service, and hauling the stuff I out of the Park. I Early risers were soon on the I river again, leaving more than a few folks hammering out bent props and working on balky engines. A small number of boaters I who had elected to bypass the gas J stop at Mineral Canyon wandered J through the tie-up area making amazing offers for gasoline. The next scheduled gas stop was at j MGM Bottom, more than 100 miles j away. Most of them ended up I returning to Mineral Canyon to gas I up. It Got Hotter The temperature increased quickly as the sun rose in a faultless j blue sky contrasting dramatically j with the burnt oranges and reds of I the canyon walls. The country was j unqualifiedly spectacular and many people opted to drift through J Stillwater Canyon marveling at the sculpted walls. j Mechanical breakdowns still j occurred, though less frequently. I One cabin cruiser's owner contem- I plating a silent engine compart- J ment expressed a desire to cast his ! boat off and pick up the pieces in Lake Powell at a later date. The boats began to string out j near the Confluence for the run up I the Colorado to Moab. In compari- I son with the Green, the Colorado J appeared swollen, swift, and just ! slightly malevolent. The expected i rough water at the Slide, however, was little more than a series of j ripples due to the high water. I Float Trip Fun I On the run up to MGM, J boaters passed several rafts from ! local river touring companies, headed for the wilds of Cataract Canyon. More cruise participants j ran out of gas or had mechanical I troubles on the upstream section, J and were forced to wait for a tow, or the arrival of the search and rescue j boat carrying an emergency gas supply. Those completing the Friend- j ship Cruise late Sunday afternoon j were confronted with a monumen- I tal traffic jam at the Moab landing. j Cruise organizers were forced to ! ask for volunteers from the Grand ! Valley Fire Department to augment i the boat-loading crew from the Sheriff's Jeep Posse. Many people I chose to pull out at MGM landing, I creating a second. traffic jam. J I should like to offer thanks to ! Rand Taylor for arranging a seat on a boat, boat owner Sinclair Thompson, and pilot Gordon j Moreshead for the trip down, and I up, the rivers. I I ,W( . TV v.,Ty,:-v ; ;.,: : .- .. .. - " J" :.- ' Several groups ot rails crossed paths with the Friendship Cruisers on the lasTleg of the trip up the Colorado to Moab. This group shows no apparent concern for the fact that they are swiftly approaching Cataract Canyon. For the boaters, the one stretch of rough water on the Cruise at the Slide on the Colorado proved to be much milder than expected, due to the high water.