![\"Morning](\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/9-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Morning view from our campsite.<\/p><\/div>\n
The instructor, Nate Ostis, was a great teacher and he obviously had a lot of personal experience both rafting and rescuing on the river. He succeeded in terrifying me of all moving water, but not to the point that I\u2019ll never raft or kayak again. He always referred to the river as a \u201clubricated mountain\u201d or people boating on the river as \u201cfalling down an avalanche.\u201d By using that language, he really changed my mindset on rivers. He has been a part of many rescues and even more recoveries so he\u2019s acutely aware of the hazards of the river.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Me in my “avalanche” gear.<\/p><\/div>\n
We spent half the time out of the water, learning knots, throwing throwbags, and talking safety. The rest of the time we spent in the water. Our first assignment in the river was to swim down some rapids! It was one of the best classes I have ever taken. \u00a0I highly recommend Nate Ostis and the River Rescue course to anyone interested in river safety.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>Demonstrating the strength of our shore-based, 2 point load sharing anchor.<\/p><\/div>\n
We had the chance to put our newfound skills to the test with one last trip down the Green River. The four of us teamed up with two weed technicians from the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge to tackle the Canadian thistle and teasel on the \u201cB\u201d section. Along the way, we discovered a whole island full of Spiranthes diluvialis, <\/i>in bloom over a month later than Jessi had originally estimated. <\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>The “B” section of the Green River.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Red Creek Rapids are nearly visible upstream.<\/p><\/div>\n
My other highlights include making it all the way out to the Book Cliffs! I\u2019ve been close several times for seed collection or weed spraying, but I finally travelled those last 10 miles to see what all the fuss is about. Additionally, one last seed collection enabled me to make it out to Nine Mile Canyon – another gem of this area.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The Book Cliffs!<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>“The Great Hunt” petroglyph panel in Nine Mile Canyon.<\/p><\/div>\n
-Dani<\/p>\n
BLM<\/p>\n
Vernal, UT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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