If you can't beat it, float it!

We discussed an interesting option last night, one that will perhaps allow us to escape the Lockhart Basin section of the route, unscathed by the sights, sounds, and smells of the annual Jeep Safari. This rally is held every year and unfortunately happens to coincide with our period of travel through the area. I should say at the outset that the proliferation of mass-attended, off-road vehicle rallies is a perversion of outdoor recreation like none other. The thrill surely must involve some combination of being carted around everywhere on petroleum power, the allure of mob activity, or the feeling that a desert area is a wasteland relegated to the most destructive means of travel. I really can't imagine that attending a jeep rally near Moab involves an appreciation for the solitude, or for the landscape and its non-human inhabitants. Sorry for this personal digression.

We decided that we would float the Colorado River between the river access at Kane Creek Road and Spanish bottom (~70 miles). We will be using Alpacka Yukon Yaks such as those pictured. They are light (4.5 lbs) and and can easily be packed out to Needles Outpost via the Red Lake Canyon trail opposite the Spanish Bottom. There is no whitewater on this stretch, although I've seen these babies do some remarkable maneuvers (on YouTube, of course). I've had two of these packrafts for quite some time and have always dreamed about using them in such a fashion. So, here it is. I just hope the plan is sufficient for avoiding the jeeps and all their wondrous sounds and smells!