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Two people stand at a folding camp kitchen table loaded with stove, cookware and food on a broad sand beach 38.2083°N 109.8886°W September 17, 2020 · 4,740 CFS · 57°F
Trip Report

Cataract Canyon — September 2020

Low-water Cataract Canyon dory trip at 4,692 CFS with Lake Powell at 3,597 ft. Five days from Potash with Greg and Charlie Madsen. Big Drop 3 proved unavoidable at this level — rock hit damaged the chime front right regardless of line. Rapid 5 hesitation resulted in a high side. Conclusion: avoid Cataract in the dory at flows this low.

5 days 4,668 cfs 3 people dory
Season fall
Launch September 16, 2020
Flow 4,668 cfs
Water 68°F avg
(USGS)
Weather 48–92°F
Lake Powell 3597.72 ft
Conditions

4,692 CFS at Cataract; 2,600 CFS at Potash; 2,000 CFS on the Green River — low water

5 days
4,668 cfs
16 ft/mi
1 boats
23 photos
Day 1 September 16, 2020

Day 1

4,900 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 68°F | Moab, UT: 48–92°F

Red sandstone cliffs with rounded knobs and pale horizontal bands rise above a continuous green tamarisk thicket, seen across a wide rippled sand bar scattered with driftwood.
A flat stretch of river in dim dusk light with a hazy flat-topped mesa on the far skyline, low green brush along both banks and a broad rippled sand flat filling the foreground.
Dusk view over a dark sand flat toward a low silhouetted skyline of mesas and a single knob-topped butte, with two birds in flight against the pale gray sky.
A stepped butte and long mesa rim stand in near-silhouette against a hazy dusk sky, with dark riverside brush and a wide rippled sand flat in the foreground.
Day 2 September 17, 2020

Day 2

4,740 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 68°F | Moab, UT: 50–91°F

View forward from a boat down a glassy river reflecting a pale gold sky, an oar blade dipping in at lower left and low sunlit red cliffs closing the canyon in the hazy distance.
Vertical frame from a boat looking at a layered red cliff capped by a small knob of rock, mirrored in glassy green-gold water, with the orange edge of an inflatable visible at the lower right corner.
View past the varnished wooden gunwale of a dory down a glassy river, sunlit red spires standing above a dark layered wall on the left and the canyon bending away between banks of green brush.
A red canyon wall banded with a bright white layer and skirted by rubble slopes stands mirrored in perfectly still water, with the wooden gunwale of a dory across the lower right corner.
A broad red sandstone butte with a dark arched recess in its face rises above a slope of layered ledges and a screen of green riverside trees, under a deep blue midday sky.
Castellated sandstone cliffs and detached pinnacles above a brushy riverbank, the entire frame washed out by a heavy red light leak that obliterates the sky and flattens all colour.
A wide flatwater bend below layered cliffs and a thick riverside brush line, with a small boat just visible at the far left edge of the water — the whole frame saturated red by a light leak.
Day 3 September 18, 2020

Day 3 — Big Drops

4,770 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 67°F | Moab, UT: 62–91°F

Ran the Big Drops at low water. Normal run in Big Drop 3 results in a rock hit no matter what — damaged chime front right. Rapid 5 hesitation resulted in a high side. Better to avoid this level in the dory; not sure you could clean BD3 without a rock hit.

Looking up at a large stepped butte of red and gray rock layers topped by rounded knobs, its lower slopes covered in rubble, under a pale hazy sky.
From a boat on a wide olive-green river, a grassy bench and brush line lead back to layered red cliffs with a castle-like formation on the skyline, an oar blade entering the water at lower right.
Two Canada geese stand on a sloping sand bank below an eroded cutbank and green tamarisk, with the river and a boulder at the lower edge of the frame.
From the bow of a wooden dory, a side canyon opens onto a sandy wash between pale cross-bedded gray sandstone walls, with a green tree at the mouth and two geese standing on the sand.
Day 4 September 19, 2020

Day 4

4,700 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 67°F | Moab, UT: 76–91°F

Downstream from the bow of a wooden dory into a deep canyon, warm late sun striking a tan butte and a white pinnacle on the right while the left wall stays in deep shadow under piled clouds.
Sunlit layered cliffs and rock towers rise beyond a dark shadowed foreground ridge, with a strip of river at the bottom of the frame and cumulus clouds across a deep blue sky.
Looking straight down into the footwell of a dory at a pair of bare feet braced against a strapped foot bar, with a gray ball cap, cam straps and a hatch lid on the deck alongside.
Wide phone-camera view from the bow of a wooden dory: sunlit layered walls and clustered rock towers rise on both sides above a green brush line and pale sand bank, with an oar shipped across the foreground and sunbeams fanning across a blue sky.
A white wooden dory lies beached on a sand bar at the water's edge below an enormous wall of gray and tan rock layers, in flat blue dusk light with green brush along the shoreline.
A white wooden dory rigged with wooden oars, an orange dry box and an orange life jacket sits beached on wet mud and sand at the river's edge in flat dusk light.
Bow-on overhead view into a beached white wooden dory showing shipped oars, padded seats, an orange hard case on the deck, a folded map, a metal cup and a yellow bow line running to shore.
From the bow of a white dory on flat water in lower Cataract Canyon, red sandstone spires and layered cliffs rise above a white sand beach fringed with tamarisk, sun rays breaking through cloud.
Day 5 September 20, 2020

Day 5 — Take-Out

4,610 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 67°F | Moab, UT: 55–91°F

Scenes from the River

Moments the crew logged on this run.

  • Entering the Rapid

    The threshold moment where the river stops being something you are reading and becomes something you are inside. The horizon line drops, speed builds, and every decision made upstream starts collecting interest.

    • anticipation
    • focus
    • commitment
    • adrenaline
    • tension

  • Low Water in the Dory

    At the bottom of the runnable range, the Big Drops stop being a big-water problem and become a rock problem — and in a rigid dory, where hesitation costs a high side and even a clean line can end in a hull-cracking rock hit, low water turns out to be its own kind of hazard.

    • frustration
    • focus
    • commitment
    • grit
    • humor
  • Normal run in Big Drop 3 results in a rock hit no matter what line is taken at this flow. Damaged the chime front right on the dory.
  • Hesitation in Rapid 5 resulted in a high side. Commitment to the line is critical at low water.
Lessons
  • Big Drop 3 at ~4,700 CFS: cannot clean this rapid in the dory without a rock hit. The normal run results in rock contact regardless of line choice.
  • Rapid 5: hesitation leads to a high side. Commit to the line.
  • Avoid Cataract Canyon in the dory at flows below ~5,000 CFS. Not enough water to clear Big Drop 3 without hull damage.
Gear

Dory sustained chime damage front right in Big Drop 3. Repair needed post-trip.

Data

Colorado at Potash: 2,630–2,900 cfs (avg 2,708)

Green at Mineral Bottom: 1,940–2,000 cfs (avg 1,960)

Combined: 4,570–4,870 cfs (avg 4,668)

Lake Powell: 3597.72 ft at launch (3597.27–3597.72 ft during trip). USBR RISE API — Lake Powell at Glen Canyon Dam

Weather: Moab, UT, 48–92°F. NOAA GHCN-Daily

Field Sources

Evidence behind the claims on this page — agency rules, maps, gauges, books, and field notes.

Permits

Hydrology

All 14 field sources

Access

Rapids

Management

Books

Safety

  • book-excerpt Cataract Canyon (Webb / Belnap / Weisheit) — Selected Pages — University of Utah Press (2007)
Explore
Cataract Canyon — June 2023
summer · 32,890cfs

Cataract Canyon — June 2023

4 days
Cataract Canyon — December 2016
winter · 5,827cfs

Cataract Canyon — December 2016

3 days
spring · 4,400cfs

Professor Valley — May 2025 (Annual Group Trip)

5 days
Green River — May 2026 (Spillway Full Release, 9,800 CFS)
spring · 9,800cfs

Green River — May 2026 (Spillway Full Release, 9,800 CFS)

2 days
Desolation Canyon — March 2026
spring · 1,460cfs

Desolation Canyon — March 2026

5 days
Cataract Canyon — May 2022
spring · 26,226cfs

Cataract Canyon — May 2022

5 days
summer · 5,694cfs

Cataract Canyon — July 2024

5 days
spring · 12,000cfs

Moab Daily — May 2020 (Cinco de Mayo, Dropping Flows)

6 days
Recommended Gear
  • NRS Otter 140 Self-Bailing Raft NRS · rafts 14-foot self-bailing raft built for multi-day river expeditions. The Otter 140 is the workhorse of private permit trips on the Colorado Plateau — big enough for a full gear load, nimble enough for technical water.
  • NRS Stern Frame NRS · frames Standard stern frame for oar-powered rafts. Mounts behind the rower for gear platform rigging on multi-day river trips.
  • Cataract Oars SGG 11ft Cataract Oars · oars 11-foot composite oars for big water rafting. The SGG blade shape delivers power in heavy hydraulics without excess weight. Shop Cataract Oars (direct) →
  • Partner Steel 2-Burner Stove Partner Steel · kitchen Heavy-duty 2-burner propane stove designed for river trip kitchens. Wind-resistant burners and a removable drip tray built for camp cooking at scale. Shop Partner Steel (direct) →
  • Canyon Coolers Outfitter 75 Canyon Coolers · coolers 75-quart rotomolded cooler sized for raft bays. Built in Arizona for desert river conditions — keeps ice 5+ days in canyon heat. Shop Amazon →

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Gear Systems
  • Big Water Raft System Complete oar rig for Class III-V multi-day river expeditions. Raft, frame, oars, and rigging configured for big water on the Colorado Plateau. 3 products
  • River Kitchen System Camp kitchen setup for multi-day river trips. Stove, cooler, and dry storage configured to feed a crew from the back of a gear raft. 6 products
Service Providers
  • Tex's Riverways shuttle · Moab, UT Shuttle service for Green River and Colorado River trips in eastern Utah. Covers Desolation Canyon, Labyrinth Canyon, Stillwater, and Cataract Canyon put-ins and take-outs. Tex's Riverways