Doug makes an excellent partner for trips like this because he is uncomplaining and moves fast. We both like to pause when some wildlife, interesting scenery, or some other distraction comes along, but we're just as likely to keep moving. Sitting in a camp chair drinking beer isn't really part of our river agenda. On day one, by the time we made camp after eleven hours on the water, we had covered almost exactly 50 river miles.

Camp 1 was a little buggy, but very tolerable, and about two miles above the start of the Ouray NWR. Beaches and sand bars were almost all under water for the entire length of the trip, so whenever we stopped we had to make do with some pretty small spots. Another thing Doug and I have in common is a very Spartan, lightweight camp style. Each of us is totally self-sufficient: no shared meals or camp gear. This lets us set up fast even in spots with very little room, which describes our first camp pretty well. Due to the high water conditions there were very few places along the way big enough for two small tents, let alone a sprawling, multi-person group like the one we had been part of on the Yampa. In fact, until we arrived at Sand Wash there were hardly any camps that would have accommodated a multi-boat party.

Another interesting effect of the high water was foam. Masses and masses of the foam you sometimes find floating in eddies and such spots in the Colorado basin. This was like nothing Doug or I had ever seen, though, with rafts of foam several feet across and up to a foot or more thick. In places it must have covered as much as 20% of the river's surface. Wanting to know more, I did a little internet search and the gist of it is this:

It is usually caused by naturally occurring dissolved organic compounds in the water that act as "surfactants" and reduce the surface tension of the surface film of water. This allows fine bubbles and froth to form, accumulate on the surface, and be moved into calm areas by wind and water currents. Most of the compounds that lead to foam are fatty acids that come from decomposing plants and animals and are chemically similar to additives in soap products.