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Show ' To Little Hole ;i Running the river below Flaming Gorge Dam : J - . ;.. , I - - - : - i i 1 1 . " THE GREEN RIVER below Flaming Gorge Dam may provide the best rafting since the dam was completed. The river is high and fast, adding to the thrill of the trip. Local people probably take for granted the recreational opportunities available in the L'intah Basin and surrounding sur-rounding area. Visitors marvel at the majesty and excitement local people have grown up with. But there is still one thing local people find just as exciting ex-citing as visitors, running the river. One of the most accessible stretches of white water river anywhere lies just below the Flaming Gorge Dam. The 7-mile section of the Green River is run by thousands of people every year. Rapids are good enough to give most people a thrill and yet small enough anyone can feel safe. Rafts are available for rent at a number of locations nearby, and for a reasonable cost people can enjoy an entire afternoon of relaxation and a few extra beats of the heart as well. Transportation is the biggest problem pro-blem when rafting any river. Two vehicles are almost a necessity, since one really needs to be left at the point of take out and another to transport the driver of the first vehicle back to the starting point. That is, unless you can talk Grandpa into going with just to play shuttle. The other option is, for a few extra dollars, to have one of the rental places pick you up at the take out point. Once you have a raft, paddles and life jackets, you are ready to run the rapids. Many people right now say the river is the best it has ever been, since recently bypass valves have been opened, and the spillway is now open, pushing much greater quantities of water down the river. However, the extra w ater creates its own problems. The river is very fast, and because it is so high, there are rapids that are not usually present. The normal temperature of the river, as it comes from the dam, is 55 degrees. Since it is not going through the turbins, that temperature is now only 42 degrees. Hypothermia can set in very quickly in water that cold. Rafters should take every precaution to stay in the raft, and should someone fall out, every attempt at-tempt should be made to get the person per-son back in the raft as soon as possible. Inexperienced rafters should not float the river without an experienced rafter along. Because the river is covering rocks that would ordinarily be exposed, a sharp lookout should be made for rocks just below the surface. These rocks have not been rounded off by the flow of the river, and pose a dangerous situation. Not only must rafters pay for damage to rented rafts, but getting a torn raft out of the canyon would also be no fun. Three rules of the river must be obeyed : 1 ) Coast Guard approved life jackets must be worn by everyone in the raft. 2) Each raft must carry an extra paddle in case one is lost or broken. 3) Each raft must carry a bail bucket of at least one gallon capacity. Although the river can be a lot of fun, it must be respected. While in a raft a person may not realize how powerful the current is. A person can tire in a matter of minutes, even when the water is warmer. Since the Flaming Gorge Dam was completed, there have been five people peo-ple drown. In each case the person was not wearing a life jacket. The best of swimmers are nearly helpless in the river because of the rapid current and cold temperature. Fishing along the river has proven much better than on the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The major problem fishermen face is the trail being cov ered in many areas. In some places the trail is under three feet of water. Fishermen wading the w ater should be cautious of falling in holes which may cover them entirely. People fishing from rafts may be pleasantly surprised surpris-ed with their results. People fishing from rafts should be cautious to put away the poles and gear before they enter rapids. If people take proper precautions, the river can be a very enjoyable experience. ex-perience. There is nothing quite like the roar of a rapid in the distance, and then the thrill of fighting the water to make it safely to the other end. .... . T -.,.'-.-. , -' ' t -. ... V - ir . ' .-. - ' ' , ' H; ; y1 . '. 'C r r 'v. fV '. - -vu : - - 4 ';'?''! f "'.-; - , ' i , , . .' ' , '.' . s ' ' it - - ' i' it a - . -V. ' .... . - -v v - ' - ' . . : - - jc -r. ? r y v- ,. - , . " " v - -. J. ' iH THE SLOW parts of the trip from Flaming Gorge Dam to Little Lit-tle Hole can be enjoyed as much as the rapids if one takes time to enjoy the beauty. Especially right now, because of the large amount of rain this spring, the green mountainsides mountain-sides have an extra beauty. |