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From-the-boat view of an oarsman in a blue jacket and cream cowboy hat rowing a wooden dory into a churning whitewater rapidNov 11–12, 2023
Trip Report

Westwater Canyon — November 2023

A two-day November 2023 Westwater dory trip at 5,200 cfs with a bike shuttle — late-season black-granite canyon, cold air, empty river, Skull running technical rather than hydraulic. A shoulder-season pattern we repeat most years for exactly these conditions.

2 days 5,200 cfs 2 people dory
Season fall
Launch November 11, 2023
Flow 5,200 cfs
Water 44°F avg
(USGS)
Weather 24–59°F
Takeout November 12, 2023
Conditions

5,200 CFS

Weather

Great weather for November

2 days
5,200 cfs
15 ft/mi
1 boats
13 photos
Day 1 November 11, 2023

Day 1 — Launch & Camp at Marble Canyon

3,780 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 45°F

Two men float a wooden drift boat down a calm, muddy-green river with autumn cottonwoods lining the far bank and a bare sandstone hillside on river right under a clear blue sky.
Day 2 November 12, 2023

Day 2 — Take Out

3,800 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 44°F

Two boaters in a wooden dory drift across a calm green pool in Westwater Canyon, a sunlit sandstone-capped rock face rising ahead above dark inner-gorge walls under a clear blue sky.
Wooden dory approaches a rapid in Westwater Canyon between dark metamorphic walls, a small yellow-leafed tree clinging to the rock and whitewater breaking downstream on the right.
Two boaters row a wooden dory through choppy whitewater in a narrow Westwater Canyon rapid, dark schist walls tight on both sides.
Wooden dory runs a whitewater rapid down the center of a tight dark-walled gorge in Westwater Canyon, both boaters leaning into breaking waves.
Close view from the stern of a dory as breaking whitewater washes over the deck, two boaters hunched forward in the froth.
Wooden dory drops into a whitewater rapid deep in Westwater Canyon, spray flying as both boaters push through, dark schist walls squeezing the river.
Boaters power a wooden dory into a large breaking wave in a Westwater Canyon rapid, whitewater surging over the deck between sheer dark walls with a boulder on river right.
Overhead view from a wooden dory drifting through swirling boils in a calm eddy of Westwater Canyon's dark inner gorge, one boater glancing back as sunlight streaks off the water.
Wooden dory drops toward a stacked wave train in Sock-It-To-Me rapid, Westwater Canyon, dark boulders and sheer metamorphic walls framing the whitewater ahead.
Wooden dory buries into breaking waves in the heart of Sock-It-To-Me rapid, whitewater exploding around both boaters between dark gorge walls.
Wooden dory pitches through a violent section of Sock-It-To-Me rapid, an oar flung wide and whitewater breaking over the crew in Westwater Canyon's dark gorge.
Rower digs both oars in as a wooden dory punches head-on into a foaming wave pile at the bottom of Sock-It-To-Me rapid, Westwater Canyon.
Scenes from the River

Moments the crew logged on this run.

  • The Shuttle Gospel

    The river trip officially begins or ends with the least romantic question in the West: who has the keys, where is the takeout vehicle, and why is the person with the answer currently out of cell service? Shuttle logistics are the hidden skeleton of river travel — dusty, unphotogenic, absolutely essential, and funnier after the boats are finally rigged.

    • focus
    • practicality
    • anticipation
    • humor
    • relief
    • competence
  • Dory trip at 5,200 CFS with Josh Barhitte
  • Bike shuttle for the car transfer
  • Camped in the mouth of Marble Canyon (river left) — sweet camp spot
  • Great weather for a November trip
  • First time using the Insta360 camera
Lessons
  • Marble Canyon mouth (river left) is a great camp spot
  • Bike shuttle works well for Westwater
  • November Westwater is viable — great weather possible
Gear

Dory. First time using the Insta360 camera on a river trip.

Data

Flow: USGS Colorado near Cisco (09180500), 3,780–3,800 cfs daily mean.

Weather: Moab, UT, 24–59°F. NOAA GHCN-Daily

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