Getting There
Cruisin down I-40 through the bigness of Oklahoma and Texas. May 14th and 15th merge into one day as we make our 30 hr drive from the Carolinas to New Mexico. We witness gas prices rise, 4 o'clock thunderstorms, and air temps drop to the 30s. Where's the desert heat.
Cruisin down I-40 through the bigness of Oklahoma and Texas. May 14th and 15th merge into one day as we make our 30 hr drive from the Carolinas to New Mexico. We witness gas prices rise, 4 o'clock thunderstorms, and air temps drop to the 30s. Where's the desert heat.
The Drive
Big wide open Texas
Checking out the creek at Camp
Desert thugs for life.Upper Taos Box (Rio Grande)
The Upper Taos Box section of the Rio Grande is a very scenic run. You do pay price for the great scenery with a two mile hike back up to camp at the canyon rim. We ran it on the high side of good covering up all the nasty sieves. Reminded us of a mini desert Linville.
Sunrise over Taos Box of the Rio Grande
Clayton hiking in
Ben, Daniel, and Clayton starting the warm-up section.
Ben in Arsenic. Its name should say enough.
Daniel setting up to punch the last hole in Arsenic.
A 2 mile hike out and up. We didn't really plan this one to well. Putting on in the am and hiking out in the mid day heat at 8000 elv. Still not acclimated yet. You can barely make out the trail to the right.
Clayton taking a break at the ladder.
Josh reaping the rewards after the brutal hike out.The Rio Embudo (Funnel)
The Embudo. Class V+ for 5 miles in a 1000' Gorge. Big water, paddle your ass off, no technical Green here. The Funnel exceeded our expectations and deserves its reputation of 1 of the top 5 classic creeks in the country. It starts off with a chill .5 mile of warm-up allowing you time to soak in your surroundings. Upon entering the first gorge you come to Long Rapid, followed by another stretch of class three boogy, gorge two begins to steepen with Cheese Grater and the run terminating with the final gorge, Slots of Fun. Day one was at 3.6 and the day two around 3.8. Looking back on our trip we should have stayed here for a week and not a mere two days. Good flows, weather, and amazing camping.
Rio Embudo put in.
Daniel and Clayton suiting up and shaking out some nerves before putting on.
Daniel grading Cheese Grater Falls the heart of gorge two.
Ben boofing into the entrance of Cheese Grater Falls
Ben Cheese Grater Falls
Billy Jones Cheese Grater Falls
Clayton MJ Falls
Clayton on Slots of Fun (4of5)
Mesas and more rain after day one.
"These are for you honey; the future Mrs. Werts." -Josh.
