Adventure-Based Learning:

CHAPTER 2: The San Juan River

Last weekend, we went on our second canoeing expedition of the semester on the San Juan River in Utah.  I’d never been to Utah before, and golly gee was it beautiful!  The geology of the area we paddled through was stunning.  It made me wish I’d taken a geology course during my four years here.  

After six hours in the van, we arrived at our campsite near Bluff, Utah.  We woke up at dawn to pack up and launch our boats onto the river.  Once we were got all our gear in order, we checked in with the ranger and were off!  Our adventure got off to a quick start: about a mile into our first day of paddling we pulled off to the side of the river and took a short hike to visit some ruins from buildings that were occupied by the Ancient Puebloans about a thousand years ago.  The dwellings were built with rocks and adobe and were built into the cliff face.  Prior to leaving for the trip, we each did a research paper on the history of the Ancient Puebloans, sometimes referred to as the Anasazi.  Our research was focused on the history and culture of the Ancient Puebloans, as well as the circumstances surrounding their migration from the area in the 1200s or so.  It was amazing to learn about the culture of the Ancient Puebloans and then actually SEE for ourselves some of the rock art and dwellings they left behind.  Being able to experience the living history of these fascinating peoples made the learning tangible and memorable. 

We had four nights out on the water, and each night I slept under the stars.  There was a full moon last weekend, and there was a lunar eclipse on our second night.  I just happened to wake up in the middle of the night to catch the eclipse in progress.  I watched the moon slowly be covered in shadow and then fell back asleep to the sound of the river close by.

It is difficult to describe in words how amazing it feels to wake up in the morning and get on the river with the rising sun.  The Earth is so still early in the morning. There is virtually no wind, and birds are beginning their day.  Waking up early meant that we had plenty of time to take it slow and practice our skills.  We had fun catching eddys and finding routes through the mild rapids we encountered.  Waking up early also meant that we had time to take exploratory hikes throughout the day.  Our teacher has paddled the San Juan many times, and so he is very familiar with the numerous hikes and sights one can see along the river.  On our hikes, we explored up various drainages we passed and learned about the geology and natural history of the unique ecosystem we were traveling through.  

The area of Southeastern Utah that we were in is home to herds of wild bighorn sheep.  On several occasions throughout our time there we looked up and saw a few of them on the bank of river looking at us quizzically. 

 

On our third night of the trip, we camped in an area right next to the water that had large piles of driftwood close-by.  We took advantage of the plentiful firewood and stayed up for an hour or two laughing and talking together around the fire with the stars above us.  

On our last full day on the San Juan, we were forced to end our day of paddling early because the wind suddenly started blowing really strongly.  This made it very difficult to move forward because the wind kept catching the bow of the boat and turning us.  This meant we had the afternoon to relax and soak in our area.  We took a hike up to a nearby lookout and took in the landscape from a different vantage point.  When we got back to our campsite, a few of us spontaneously jumped in a mud pit on the bank of the river to cool off.  It felt so nice to take a mud bath for a half hour or so as the water flowed by us.  We then rinsed off in the river and my skin felt amazing!  Nature therapy at its best.

We woke up at dawn the next morning and paddled seven miles back to our van.  We packed up and had another six-hour van ride pack to Prescott. The ride went quickly, though, because we listened to good music and stopped for lunch in Flagstaff.  Another awesome trip!  I love education.


-Kevin E.