Pecos River 2019
The Lower Pecos is a lightly traveled river that flows into the Rio Grande west of Del Rio Texas. It is suitable for paddling with an open canoe. The lower portion is in Amistad Recreation Area, where a dam creates a large reservoir. Total paddling distance is about 60 miles. It has many easy rapids at least at low water levels. They become more difficult at high water. We had a flow of 122 cfs during our float which required lots of pushing and lining over rocky areas. But at this water level, the rapids are not intimidating. The first image shows a map of the area.
Gary Kelly, who lives in Texas, did all the planning. He paddled a solo canoe. He rented a canoe for Brian Elliott and I who flew to San Antonia to meet him in his truck. He also arranged the shuttle and lodging. We brought our camping and canoe gear with us.
There are excellent sources of information about the Lower Pecos.
(1) THE LOWER PECOS RIVER - This excellent guide book by Louis Aulbach, has most of the required information to plan a trip. It describes how to run the rapids at different water levels, 100 cfs, 280 cfs, and > 800 cfs.
(2) There are various trip reports and other sources on the web. The best is Southwest Paddler which has descriptions of the river along with some trip reports, mostly done by Marc McCord http://southwestpaddler.com/docs/riogrande15.html
We had a great trip. Perfect weather and the water level was just right. There are many pictographs along the river but they are on private property and require special permission to visit. It would have been less effort at higher water but the rapids would have been more difficult. In the past, canoe groups have hired a boat to pick them up at around Mile 50 when you reach the slack water of the reservoir. This area is known for heavy winds which can make paddling impossible. However, the reservoir is currently very low and power boats are not able to launch from the boat ramp at the end. So we had to paddle all the way. Luckily we had no wind. We did have to deal with mud when we reached the boat ramp. Which provided good photos.
ITINERARY
1 - Nov 15 - Rich and Brain fly to San Antonio. Gary picks us up at airport. Drive to Del Rio for dinner. Stay at Marlene’s B&B nearby where we pick up rental canoe.
2- Nov 16 - Canoe 1 - Pick up shuttle driver and drive to Pandale. Put in at Pandale - On river 12:00 - 4:30 - Camp at Mile 6.5.
3- Nov 17 - Canoe 2 - On river 9:10 - 4 - Camp and pick up water at Everett Canyon - Mile 17.8.
4- Nov 18 - Canoe 3 - On river 9 - 4:15 - Paddle the Flutes - Camp before Balance Rock Canyon - Mile 27.5.
5- Nov 19 - Canoe 4 - On river 9:15 - 3 - Camp at Still Canyon - Mile 35.9.
6- Nov 20 - Canoe 5 - On river 8:55 - 3:45 - Hardest rapids - Camp at Painted Canyon - Mile 44.3.
7- Nov 21 - Canoe 6 - On river 10:10 - 4:45 - Camp at High Bridge - Mile 56.
8- Nov 22 - Canoe 7 - On river 8:55 - 10:15 - Take out at Hwy 90 Boat Ramp - Mile 60 - Visit Judge Roy Bean Exhibit - Stay at Marlene’s B&B again.
9- Nov 23 - Gary drives us to San Antonio. Fly home in afternoon.
Read MoreGary Kelly, who lives in Texas, did all the planning. He paddled a solo canoe. He rented a canoe for Brian Elliott and I who flew to San Antonia to meet him in his truck. He also arranged the shuttle and lodging. We brought our camping and canoe gear with us.
There are excellent sources of information about the Lower Pecos.
(1) THE LOWER PECOS RIVER - This excellent guide book by Louis Aulbach, has most of the required information to plan a trip. It describes how to run the rapids at different water levels, 100 cfs, 280 cfs, and > 800 cfs.
(2) There are various trip reports and other sources on the web. The best is Southwest Paddler which has descriptions of the river along with some trip reports, mostly done by Marc McCord http://southwestpaddler.com/docs/riogrande15.html
We had a great trip. Perfect weather and the water level was just right. There are many pictographs along the river but they are on private property and require special permission to visit. It would have been less effort at higher water but the rapids would have been more difficult. In the past, canoe groups have hired a boat to pick them up at around Mile 50 when you reach the slack water of the reservoir. This area is known for heavy winds which can make paddling impossible. However, the reservoir is currently very low and power boats are not able to launch from the boat ramp at the end. So we had to paddle all the way. Luckily we had no wind. We did have to deal with mud when we reached the boat ramp. Which provided good photos.
ITINERARY
1 - Nov 15 - Rich and Brain fly to San Antonio. Gary picks us up at airport. Drive to Del Rio for dinner. Stay at Marlene’s B&B nearby where we pick up rental canoe.
2- Nov 16 - Canoe 1 - Pick up shuttle driver and drive to Pandale. Put in at Pandale - On river 12:00 - 4:30 - Camp at Mile 6.5.
3- Nov 17 - Canoe 2 - On river 9:10 - 4 - Camp and pick up water at Everett Canyon - Mile 17.8.
4- Nov 18 - Canoe 3 - On river 9 - 4:15 - Paddle the Flutes - Camp before Balance Rock Canyon - Mile 27.5.
5- Nov 19 - Canoe 4 - On river 9:15 - 3 - Camp at Still Canyon - Mile 35.9.
6- Nov 20 - Canoe 5 - On river 8:55 - 3:45 - Hardest rapids - Camp at Painted Canyon - Mile 44.3.
7- Nov 21 - Canoe 6 - On river 10:10 - 4:45 - Camp at High Bridge - Mile 56.
8- Nov 22 - Canoe 7 - On river 8:55 - 10:15 - Take out at Hwy 90 Boat Ramp - Mile 60 - Visit Judge Roy Bean Exhibit - Stay at Marlene’s B&B again.
9- Nov 23 - Gary drives us to San Antonio. Fly home in afternoon.
