A Geologists Dream

Mexican Hat Rock in the distance, San Juan River

I always find desert rafting to feel like an oxymoron.  Traveling to the launch, all that can be seen is a desert expanse for miles.  An arid landscape carved by time.  In the desert southwest, one can’t help but be seduced by the colors and shapes of the rocks surrounding them. Without even realizing, travelers are inspired to become amateur geologists following the lines of color and folds in the landscape with their eyes, wondering how this land was formed.  I said oxymoron because when I drive, hike or run through this arid environment, I can feel the moisture being pulled form my body, in the way that a Deatheater, from the Harry Potter films, steals your soul.  It feels strange to think that a river, the life blood for living creatures, can exist in this environment, and then you see it as you round a bend in the road, that brown muddy looking water of the San Juan river flowing strong off in the distance.

Our Vessel, San Juan River

The San Juan river country in southern Utah is a geologist’s dream.  As you launch down the river the landscape is wide and flat, allowing for you and your fellow adventurers to soak up the desert sun and warm up your rowing muscles for the trip.  On this adventure I had the fortune of bringing along a group of enthusiastic college students from my Outdoor Education and Recreation course.   As this trip was an educational adventure we focused our conversation and learning on the environment in which we were traveling to build a greater connection and sense of place with the San Juan river.  As I stated before, “a geologist dream,” the San Juan is the perfect teacher in sedimentary rock formation, crustal uplift, folds, desert varnish, and erosion, not to mention the fact that this land was used and considered home by humans for hundreds of years, prior to western explorations.

The world renowned Butler Wash rock art panel, San Juan River

As we floated, bloated on food, talked natural history and laughed, it was not immediately obvious that the San Juan had taken control. As I rowed and kept my eyes trained on the water features to avoid hazards, I couldn’t help but let them wander to the beautiful sandstone walls that began to close in around us as the river entered a steeper canyon environment.  We began to see signs that people had been here before us, but not by the contemporary style of destruction and trash, but in an ancient way, one that recreationalists hope to stumble upon; these in the form of chiseled steps carved directly into the solid rock walls created by the ancient Puebloan’s to allow access through steep sandstone cliffs to gain higher ledges for dwellings and exits from the inner gorge. These ancient peoples marks have been left and preserved in this land for future adventurers to continue to marvel at.

As this arid land allows passage of this water, we must remember that water, the great eroder, has shaped most of the landscape that we see.  It is hard to fathom that something to soft as water can erode and destroy something so hard and durable as solid rock, but it does, and will continue to do so well beyond the last human to depart this planet.  As the modern San Juan cuts through this soft sandstone, taking with it small particles of silt and sand from the surrounding landscape, it is slowly changing the area on a geological timeline that humans have no ability to truly understand. The best we can do is to continue to marvel at this landscape, asking the question “how did this happen?”  Only when we allow our environment to teach us can we truly begin to learn.

The River House, San Juan River

As we allowed the river to be our teacher, our learning was rewarded with side hikes to see how these ancient peoples lived, communicated and expressed themselves through rock art and architecture.  The ancient Pueblo were known for their cliff dwellings; using naturally forming arches, caves and overhangs to act as the foundation for their elaborate cliff villages, these people built extensive structures rivaling todays apartment complexes. Hundreds of years ago, more so than now, humans were studying this landscape, learning about their environment and living harmoniously with it.

Our rafts carried us through rapids and passed big horn sheep.  We wound through the narrow sections of goose neck turns called entrenched meanders, where the river cuts through the rock in a snake like pattern.  We camped, ate and slept with the sound of the river, trying to imagine what it was like before the first western explorers journeyed down these waters.  Laughter became a theme as our little family grew closer and bonded with each laugh and river mile we experienced together.  The San Juan river has inspired our sense of adventure, grabbed ahold of our learning and won’t let go of our spirits.  Our newly formed connection and shared experience with this environment has again deepened my love of the desert and inspired me to seek out it’s water.

In the" Goose Necks," San Juan River

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