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Rio Chama, May 2003

Logistics:

Rio Chama in North central New Mexico – about two hours north of Santa Fe on US-84. National Wild and Scenic River. Managed by the BLM http://www.nm.blm.gov/ . We talked to Mark Sundin, (505) 751-4720, Mark_Sundin@blm.gov . It is a trip of about 850 miles from Austin.

Permits are required during certain times of the year. Applications are made through the BLM in January. You can apply multiple times at $5.00 each. The drawing is in February. Each permit is good for one group of up to 16 people. They allow up to six private groups and two commercial trips per day. There is a fee of $5/person at launch time.

Water: Levels are primarily controlled by releases from the El Vado Reservoir which is managed by the Bureau of Reclamation. We talked to “Ed” at (505) 462-3586 and “Ray” at (505) 462-3582. Both were very helpful. New Mexico gages are at: http://nm.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/current?type=flow Primary gage to watch is Rio Chama Below El Vado Dam, NM. Minimum flow would be 400 cfs. Ed and Ray told us that they manage the release, at least this year, by releasing from El Vado to make the Rio Grande flow at the Rio Grande at Embudo, NM gage plus El Vado equal to approximately 900 cfs. Don’t know if this is true at other times of the year.

Put-in: El Vado Ranch, www.elvado.com/ , Phone: (505) 588-7354
E-mail: evranch@cvn.com located at the end of NM 112 off of US-84 south of Chama, NM. An alternate put-in is just below the El Vado dam, which would add two Class II rapids just above El Vado Ranch, and about two miles of paddling.

Take-out: Big Eddy, a BLM facility with ample parking, composting toilets and bins for trash and porta-potty bags. We were told there is no history of trouble or vandalism of vehicles at the takeout. Located off of Forest Road 151, which leaves US-84 about half a mile north of Ghost Ranch Living Museum.

Shuttle is about 50 miles one way. Last five miles on FR 151 is rough gravel. SUV or pick-up is best although a sedan can make with slow going. Road reported to be very difficult to impassible if wet. Shuttle service is available from El Vado Ranch.

There is an excellent guidebook – Wild & Scenic Rio Chama by Stephen G. Maurer, published by Public Lands Interpretive Association, 6501 Fourth St. NW, Suite I, Albuquerque, NM. The maps are detailed enough that you don’t really need anything else. It is in flip chart form on waterproof paper. The guide book is available for $9.95 plus shipping ($13.90 total) from the publisher through their web site at www.publiclands.org

Camping is at approved sites only. They are shown on a BLM map that comes with the permit and in the guidebook. There are quite a few sites, but it is complicated by a four mile no camping area about where you would want to camp the second night. The river water is silty, but can be filtered if you let it settle for about a half hour. Otherwise, take what water you need.

Trip Report by Glenn Hart:

I was one of a group of twelve Austin paddlers who had a permit to paddle the Rio Chama on Memorial Day Weekend.  The Chama is a Wild and Scenic River in northern New Mexico.

The group met on Friday night (5/23) and Saturday morning (5/24) at El Vado campground.  John and Lee told us about their scouting trip the previous day to look at the Chama above El Vado Lake. This part of the river is called the “Mama Chama”. What a fantastic name! I decided that this is the best name for a river I’d ever heard! We got wildly different stories when we asked the locals whether anyone ever paddles that section. One person told us that it’s too dangerous – it’s more like a creek than a river. Another person who knew more about paddling said that it’s a good Class II run with a really good flow when it’s up. It was running about 1,500 cfs from snowmelt when we were there, but we didn’t have time to paddle it.

On Saturday, after several persons orchestrated the 2.5 hour shuttle, we put in around 12:30 p.m.  Luckily for us, the Bureau of Land Management folks had decided to increase the dam release from El Vado Lake from 100 cfs to 535 cfs on Friday evening.

From what I've seen and heard, rafts are the main mode of transportation on the Chama.  We were a little different.  The group consisted of (in order of boat size):

John Caldwell, Lee Cunningham and Carla Jennings in a 12.5-foot Sotar oar raft
Bill Whitaker and Skipper Lay in a Mad River Freedom, a 16’ tandem tripping canoe
Dirk Early in a Dagger Rival (solo whitewater canoe)
Glenn Hart in a Dagger Rival
Mark White in a Prijon Hurricane
Jennifer Joy in a Perception Pirouette S
Melinda Everett in a Dagger RPM Max
Tracy Harton in a Piranha
Alan Cammack (Lee’s son) in a Dagger Id

Carla was in the raft instead of her kayak because she had injured her shoulder.  She was frustrated because she couldn't paddle her kayak, but she said she enjoyed the raft a lot.

We talked to the Bureau of Land Management ranger, a fifty-something year old woman who paddled a loaded Dagger Rival.  She said that she was glad to see all our "little boats".  I remarked that she had a really good job, paddling through the canyon and getting paid for it, and she agreed.

As we pushed off, we immediately were impressed with the beauty of the Chama, which became even more beautiful as the trees increased around mile 4 and we entered the canyon. The flow of 535 is a good low to moderate level.  There was a constant flow with no slow water.  The first day had several minor rapids, with the main attraction being the scenery.  At about mile 6, we passed a group of about four rafts and a rubber ducky who were mostly from Durango.  We had heard that they were hoping to camp at Aragon Campground (mile 10), which was also the one where we wanted to spend the night.  There are many beautiful campgrounds on the Chama trip, but Aragon is probably the best because the surroundings are spectacular, it's right by a nice Class II rapid, and it has a good side hike up the canyon from the site.  Campgrounds are on a first-come, first-served basis.  So, having a faster-moving group of mostly canoes and kayaks, we were able to win the "Race to Aragon".  Let's just say we didn't make any unnecessary stops.

We got out at Christmas Tree Rock (it grows directly out of a midstream boulder, signaling the campsite) and set up camp around five that afternoon.  It was early to bed and early to rise, and the next morning we all had a nice two-thirds mile hike up the dry, boulder-strewn wash that ends at a box canyon with a high cliff pourover.  When we got back to the river, Bill Whitaker walked within a foot or so of small Prairie Rattler, which greeted him with a warning rattle.  "Excuse me, Mr. Snake, sir, let me get out of your way!"  This was the first time I'd heard that sound in the wild, and it was impressive.

We had a short day planned on the river on Sunday, so we started out around 10:30.  We had fun on Aragon Rapid, a fast Class II along a cliff with some nice standing waves.  This is the first rapid of any consequence on the trip.  We had a good day paddling through small rapids in some great mountain scenery.  The forest on the middle section (about miles 8 through 16) is the best of the trip, consisting of several different types of pines.  There are numerous high colorful sandstone cliffs right next to the river.  We decided to camp after only about six miles that day because we wanted to camp in the canyon again, rather than in the high desert country into which the river descends at about mile 18.  We thought about camping at the big campground opposite Big Rock, but the other group was there.  This turned out fine, because we liked the next campsite very much, which was on the right bank just above an island, and also just above where Huckaby Canyon comes in from the left.  After setting up camp, several of us hiked up a fairly steep tree-covered area without a trail that ascends over halfway up the adjacent cliffs.  We had a beautiful view of the river and canyon looking upstream.

That evening, there was a small rain shower that caused us to look for shelter around dinnertime.  Dirk, Tracy, and I went over to where Bill Whitaker and Skipper Lay had set up a tarp with poles.  These two had really come prepared -- they had the tarp, lightweight camp chairs, and the whole bit.  Skipper was cooking what looked like a seven course meal.  This was impressive.  They started out with a tomato basil soup, followed by zucchini lasagna, and then creamy mashed potatoes.  I left after this course, but I did hear them discussing whether they would continue with apple cobbler or the like.  Evening refreshments consisted of red wine and tequila shots, lightweight river fare carried by Mark and myself, respectively.

Each day we saw a number of Canadian geese on the river and banks.  With black and white markings, they are really handsome specimen.  Sometimes we'd see pairs, sometimes small groups.  Often they would have two or three fuzzy brown toddlers.   Three seemed to be the usual number of offspring.  Some of the geese were somewhat unafraid, paddling down the ripples just ahead of our boats.  Some didn't like us to get close, such as the pair that flew in separate directions when they saw one of our group standing on the bank hoping to take their photo. Maybe these geese were camera shy?

At one point, we saw a Golden Eagle on the bank.  I was leading the group, and I startled him, making him drop a fish on the bank.  Others behind me told me that they saw him go back for the fish!

The last day of the three-day trip showed marked contrasts.  We paddled out of the canyon into rolling sandstone hills and cliffs.  The trees changed from pines to sycamores, ash, and other lowland varieties.  It was still beautiful, but in a different way.  Surprisingly, the best rapids are on the last third of the trip.  You'd expect it would be just the opposite -- that the major rapids would be in the river canyon.  But the lower section somehow has more gradient, and there are several exciting although not extremely difficult rapids.  There are several named rapids, a couple of which are fairly long (about one-third mile).  The rapids in this section are not major drops, but rather long boulder gardens of moderate difficulty requiring several moves through fairly obvious lines.  The last major rapid, Gauging Station, is probably a Class III-, with several large rocks that form crosscurrents and pourovers.  I had paddled the Chama two years earlier at 1,100 cfs, and I thought that the flow at 535 cfs was more fun because there were more rocks to avoid, and they formed more eddies.

We were a fairly self-contained group, especially considering we had only one raft.  The kayakers somehow were able to pack most of their own gear, with the help of John and Leigh, who were considerate enough to carry some extra gear even though their raft is of the smaller sporty variety.  Bill and Skipper carried one heck of a load in their Mad River tandem, making us wonder how they had any freeboard left.  The standard joke was if you needed something, "Bill probably has it".  Actually, all the canoeists, including Dirk and myself, felt that having our gear stowed low and near the center actually helped the canoes to feel more stable.  Surprising, but true!  And Bill and Skipper amazed us with their canoeing skill, making good lines and turns with a full load.

We had a great trip.  It was a great group -- everyone was really nice, and we all got along great.  The weather and scenery were wonderful, and the Chama was a marvelous experience.  It was the ultimate river camping trip.

Glenn Hart