Watermelon Crawl
Turn the blue lines on maps into trails and acquire the packrafting skills you need to embark on bigger and better adventures on your own! And do all this one of Colorado’s most stunning rivers with a big group of badass women!
The scenery on the different sections of this river range widely from mountain forests to desert canyons. And the quality of the boating matches the scenery, with everything from wide and languorous Class I paddles to rowdy Class III+ and harder excitement (we only paddle up to Class III+ at FCG, and that depends on which sections we run and the abilities of our clients).
You’ll very likely see bald eagles, otters, bears and other wildlife, and generally not so many human beings. Sometimes, when the sections below McPhee Reservoir flow (which only happens when we have a big snowpack), you’ll have more company on the river. But the River of Sorrows never disappoints.
FOUR DAYS OF HEAVEN
Join us for this 4-day, Expedition Planning and Paddling Skills Course! We’ll spend one day training in the kayak play park on the Animas River, followed by three days in the backcountry on the Dolores River.
To do this course, you should be comfortable in Class II at a minimum. As well, you should be able to self rescue (aka “wet re-entry”) most of the time. You’ll be paddling a lot of Class III in this course.
The section of the Dolores we do is TBA depending on river levels. Please note, the Dolores River does not run below the dam every year (i.e. from Bradfield to Bedrock). It only runs when we have a big snow year, such as in 2019 and 2023. However, we are permitted to run the entire length of the river in Colorado. Thus, if we cannot run below the dam, we have other options.
These are the possible sections of rivers we will run:
- Rico to Big Rock (West Fork): 27.6 miles, Class II-III
- West Fork to McPhee Reservoir: 14.6 miles, Class II-III
- Bradfield Launch to Dove Creek Pump Station: 18.5 miles, Class II-III+
- Dove Creek to Slick Rock 28 miles, Class II-III
- Slickrock to Bedrock 49 miles Class II+
- Bedrock to Gateway 45 mile, Class II+
Regardless of which section we do, you must be a novice (Level 2) or intermediate (Level 3) boater to take this course. This is NOT a course for beginner boaters or people on the cusp of Level 2.
If you’re not sure you are experienced enough for this course, please visit our blog post, “What Level Packrafter Are You?
Why Take a Women’s Course, with Women Instructors?
Women learn differently from men. “Whether you call it ‘girl power’ or ‘feminine energy,'” says Jule Harle of Alaska Packrafting School, ladies have a different learning style. And women’s packrafting courses can offer a distinct environment where they can talk through concepts and issues more thoroughly than might happen in a mixed class or class with just men.
Want to read/listen more about how women learn differently from men? Check out our, “A Beginner’s Guide to Packrafting & Bikerafting” podcast with Jule. You’ll find it on our website or on Spotify.
“There’s a part of the brain that’s twice as big in a female that processes new experiences or manages fear through talking,” Jule says. Who knew? Well, we women did, of course. :)
River difficulty: Class II-III
Date
June 2026
Length
4 days