It probably took about three minutes from getting pinned to being on my way again. My pin spot. My boat is 40 inches wide. When I cleared the pin, there was about a hand’s breadth between boat and rock on each side.

By the way, I’m a 200 pound guy, not much is fat, and I’m used to looking at how water is working against a pinned boat. It was all I could do to get the boat unpinned. A smaller person would have had a more complicated problem.

It could have been a significant problem for inexperienced boaters who aren't used to high siding, getting pinned, getting the boat upside down, etc. I've done 'em all a few times and this particular incident never struck me as too hectic, but it would have if it was the first or second time. The only reason I didn't line through was because the same scenario would probably have played out anyway, and then I'd be stuck figuring out how to get to the boat safely to extricate it. I didn't portage because the pool below the chute was totally safe and I figured I had at least a 50% chance of getting through upright anyway.

That’s it for drama. Otherwise it was a very pleasant, scenic desert float.

The water was not very cold considering the proximity to the snow melt. There were a few very light rain showers and a couple windy days, but certainly it was not an ordeal by any stretch. Then again, I only carry a tarp for shelter and don’t mind a little rain and sand as long as the essentials stay dry. Travelers not accustomed to the southwest would probably grumble about the omnipresent fine sand in everything. The wind ensured it was everywhere.

The silt flats at the bottom where the river hits the lake weren't bad, but my timing was perfect. Like every entry into Lake Powell, you hit the silt banks left from the full pool days several miles above the end of current, and have to wend your way down through a blighted region of mud and silt. There was almost no driftwood since I was right behind the peak flow and the lake was rising. I chose to run the mudflats at high noon till 3 PM so I could make out the best channel with high overhead light. Trying to get through these channels in low light or with wind making the channel hard to read would be an exercise in frustration. I was lucky to get out just as the flow was dropping. Anyone coming out after me probably had to do some dragging. Maybe a lot.

I hit the lake about half a mile above Explorer Canyon. The Escalante was done, and I was back in the world of mosquitoes, beach trash, and power boats.