I was suprised to find no current postings or trip reports about the chute?
Utah has had a banner snow year, and the rivers are crankin!
Attention all pack rafters, if you live within a reasonable drive of the San Rafael Swell, make a point of getting down to the muddy river to float the chute!
This is a perfect pack raft tour and so far this year I’ve seen numerous days of boatable cfs levels. They say 200 is the minimum but a pack raft could handle it at 150 or so.
I was lucky enough to pass through the area on a two week, bike, pack raft tour and found the levels to be in the 200 to 300 cfs range.
I simply hid my bike and hiked the 14 mile pasture trail north to just below the normal put in for the chute.
I made camp there and floated the canyon the next day.
Once I got back to my bike I simply strapped the thing on top of the rest of my gear and continued down the river for 5 more miles of continued canyon boating awesomeness. Beyond the massive canyon walls is a little used road where I built the bike up, dried the raft, and proceeded to get hammered by the relentless head winds that would haunt me for most of the rest of my trip.
Do yourself a favor and boat the chute this year! It may on run big again for several more.
Is it high rated whitewater or what is it? One day trip or more? Where did you access it from?
Class 3
Safe flows would be 150 to 500
Southwest paddler has some great info about the creek, just google kayaking muddy creek.
I left my bike behind at the hidden splendor mine and hiked to Tomsitch butte, camped there and floated the 15 mile chute section the next morning.
These places are hard to find and require a lot of dirt road driving, or mountain biking.
Totally worth it if you want the feeling of boating in a slot canyon.
Is the dirt driving too much for my Subaru Outback station wagon?
The gauge for the muddy isn’t working properly according to someone on the utah boaters group.
Doug
I passed through there on my bike via the behind the reef, super gnarly 4 wheeler trail.
I can’t say for sure but I think the normal road access, would be fine for a Subaru, especially if you know how to drive it.
I am going to the Dolores River next weekend, June 11-12 (anyone want to go?) but the following weekend . . . . June 18-19 anyone game to go either to Muddy Creek or all the way over to the SW corner of the great state of Utah to run the Virgin River Narrows - 16 miles up to class III+ but mostly very doable?
Let me know if you are game for the Dolores on 6/11-12 or Muddy Creek Chute or Virgin River Narrows the weekend of June 18-19. I have a packraft or IK that can do any of these; a dry suit if it is ever cold or even chilly; swiftwater rescue training (packraft specific from Scott Solle when he came to Alaska to teach); and, many years of boating experience.
So . . . . . I am new to living in the southwest (live in Fruita/ Grand Junction as of March '11) but I am looking for partners and raring to go!!!
In 1 week the Muddy went from “Raging” as reported on Eddy Flower to “too low” as reported the same place. Amazing!!!
Now Eddyflower says The Chute has enough water again http://www.eddyflower.com/RunDetailstabs.aspx?RunId=940#/home
Anyone game for that or the class III section of the lower Price River where it cuts through the Book Cliffs http://www.eddyflower.com/RunDetailstabs.aspx?RunId=1525#/home
I have run the Chute a number of times. It is world Class. Maybe the best Class 2 in the Universe.