Colorado River Rafting Looks Promising

Above, yours truly rafting the Snake River in 2019.

The last time I went river rafting was in 2019 in Jackson, Wyoming on the Snake River. It was an enjoyable rafting trip and remarkable as it was a year after my heart attack in Wells, Nevada.

I went with the Dave Hansen Whitewater Adventures.

This year, rafting may be on the agenda in neighboring Colorado. The Animas River near Durango is a possibility. I rafted on the Animas River out of Durango twice, but those trips were during the 1980s.

This year, Colorado river conditions look promising, especially in the northern part of the state.

According to VailDaily:

Early indications suggest Colorado could have a very good rafting season through spring and into the summer, especially in the northern half of the state.

Predicting seasonal rafting conditions is difficult because factors besides snowpack depths always come into play, such as temperature trends, which affect the rate of runoff, as well as the amount and timing of monsoon moisture in the summer. At the moment, though, things look promising.

To read more, go here. 

Reader's Digest Yellowstone Itinerary

Above, Old Faithful Geyser in eruption. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It hardly seems possible that it has been five years since I was last in the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks area. 

That trip was made possible as a friend and I went to Buhl, Idaho to visit an ailing friend. Since we were in the vicinity, we decided to go on to Jackson, Wyoming and the national parks.

Above, yours truly (white shirt) rafting the Snake River near Jackson, Wyoming.

Reader's Digest has posted one family's one-week itinerary which looks pretty interesting that one should consider.

It starts off with:

Every time I told anyone—friends, family, people I had just met—that my family’s summer vacation plan was to visit Wyoming and Montana, they inevitably asked about our Yellowstone itinerary. I get it. As a lifelong East Coaster, planning a trip to a national park out West is intimidating, even for an experienced traveler like me, who, as an editor at Reader’s Digest online, has the advantage of being able to consult with tourism boards and other travel experts.

After a year-plus of research and planning, here is the one-week Yellowstone itinerary I followed with my husband and two elementary-school-age kids—along with the one thing I wish we had done differently.

To read more, go here. 

Grand Teton Bears Raiding Coolers, Backpacks of Swimmers

Above, a North American black bear. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yogi Bear appears to have left Jellystone park and has migrated to Grand Teton National Park where he has started a pastime: raiding coolers and backpacks of swimmers.

According to the Billings Gazette:

Visitors soaking in Grand Teton National Park's waters have unintentionally caused problems with black bears.

On Aug. 11, a black bear at Phelps Lake found an unattended backpack and consumed human food. This follows three other recent incidents of black bears accessing human items left along lakeshores while visitors were in the water. In the last five years, almost half of all human-black bear conflicts within Grand Teton have occurred around lakes, according to the National Park Service

Proper food storage is mandatory in Grand Teton and visitors are required to secure all attractants for the protection of bears and other wildlife, as well as for human safety. These regulations apply whether you are camping, having a picnic, or swimming. 

To read more, go here.

Mini Gold Rush In California?

With winter over, the rivers and streams in California are flowing with volume that hasn't been seen in years.

Could the snowmelt loosen up gold in "them thar hills"?

As an article in NBC Los Angeles states, it depends upon who you ask.

They wrote:

Could California’s great snowmelt lead to the discovery of more gold?

It depends on who you ask.

After a series of winter storms, the state’s rivers and streams are flowing at rates not seen in years, leading many gold miners to believe there could be enough movement of boulders and sediment to loosen up gold deposits in the mountains.

The idea is leading to a miniature gold rush of sorts up and down the state.

To read more, go here. 

Third Drowning At Sequoia National Park This Year

Above, the Kaweah River in Sequoia National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A 26-year-old woman drowned last evening after falling into a creek in Sequoia National Park.

The Los Angeles Times reported:

A 26-year-old woman has died after falling into a creek in Sequoia National Park, the third drowning in the park this year, authorities said Sunday. 

The incident occurred Saturday evening when the woman fell into Silliman Creek near the Twin Lakes Trail and was subsequently swept downstream, according to the National Park Service. 

The woman’s identity has not been released. 

Record high temperatures in the region coupled with rapidly melting snow in mountain areas is causing swift, cold and dangerous river conditions, park officials warned.

To read more, go here. 

Snowmelt In Western States Turning Deadly

Above, Yosemite's Tenaya Creek in 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

High and swift running rivers in Yosemite National Park and elsewhere in the western United States from record snowmelt are turning deadly to visitors.

The Daily Mail (U.K.) reported:

Massive waterfalls in Yosemite National Park and rivers raging in mountains throughout the western United States are thundering with greater force than they have for years - and proving deadly as warm weather melts the deepest mountain snowpack in recent memory. 

Record snowfall on towering Western peaks this winter virtually eliminated California's five-year drought and it is now melting rapidly. 

But it has contributed to at least 14 river deaths and prompted officials to close sections of rivers popular with swimmers, rafters and fishing enthusiasts. 

In Utah and Wyoming, some rivers gorged by heavy winter snowfall have overflown their banks and rivers in Utah are expected to remain dangerously swollen with icy mountain runoff for several more weeks. 

The sheer beauty of the rivers is their draw - and represents a big danger to people who decide to risk selfies near the water or beat the heat by swimming or rafting with little awareness of the risks posed by the raging water. 

This year's velocity and force of the Merced River that runs through Yosemite Valley is similar to a runaway freight train, said Moose Mutlow of the Yosemite Swift Water Rescue Team. 

'You step out in front of it, it's going to take you,' he said. 

To read more, go here.