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A large rafting group of roughly two dozen people crowds together for a portrait on a sandy beach below a fractured limestone canyon wall 40.44638194105984°N 108.51169062835837°W May 22, 2021 · 3,660 CFS · high 68°F · 54°F water
Trip Report

Yampa Canyon — May 2021

A twenty-three-person May 2021 Yampa at 3,500 cfs — the last major undammed Colorado tributary running its natural snowmelt curve. Warm Springs Rapid was the consequential feature; the crew size made every camp a small village in the canyon.

5 days 3,500 cfs 23 people
Season spring
Launch May 19, 2021
Flow 3,500 cfs
Water 58°F avg
(USGS)
Weather 33–79°F
Takeout May 23, 2021
Conditions

3,500–5,000 CFS — ramped up each day

5 days
3,500 cfs
12 ft/mi
Day 1 May 19, 2021

3,060 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 60°F | Maybell, CO: 33–76°F

Day 2 May 20, 2021

3,540 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 60°F | Maybell, CO: 41–79°F

Day 3 May 21, 2021

3,960 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 58°F | Maybell, CO: 50–79°F

Day 4 May 22, 2021

3,970 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 55°F | Maybell, CO: 47–68°F

Day 5 May 23, 2021

3,690 cfs (USGS daily mean), water 56°F | Maybell, CO: 45–75°F

  • 23-person group trip
  • Flow ramped up each day from 3,500 to 5,000 CFS
Data

Flow: USGS Yampa near Maybell (09251000), 3,060–3,970 cfs daily mean.

Weather: Maybell, CO, 33–79°F. NOAA GHCN-Daily

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Recommended Gear
  • 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
  • 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