Our friend Pete McBride @pedromcbride has recently written a book, Witness to Water, about his two decades of work documenting his backyard river, the Colorado, to highlight growing western water challenges. The book brings you on a source-to-sea, in-depth journey across multiple expeditions — including over a thousand miles of hiking, the last Colorado river paddle to the sea, and an intimate father-son exploration of the entire watershed, from the sky. This heartfelt story takes a personal and vulnerable look at the ups and downs behind the scenes of a story that spans seven states and two countries .
He’s grateful to friends @kevinfedarkoauthor, NYT-bestselling writer of A Walk in the Park, and Dr. Len Necefer, founder of @nativesoutdoors (@lennecefer), for their guest essays. Check it out. Info in his bio link @pedromcbride on Instagram.
Throughout the Colorado River Basin, gold medal fishing waters – like those of the Roaring Fork River near Basalt, Colorado – lure anglers and many river-related businesses.
Looking east through a dawn wildfire haze, the Grand Canyon Village sits on the South Rim (right) of Grand Canyon National Park. First protected as a game preserve by President Theodore Roosevelt, the 1,904-square-mile park was finally created in 1919. The Bright Angel Trail is seen descending 4,380 feet from the million-year-old Kaibab Formation to the 1.6-million-year-old Zoroaster Granite on the river.
A CucapÕs (person of the river) fishing boat sits abandoned in delta mudflats where ancestral fishing once supported 20,000 Native Americans. Now, 1,500 Kwapa (Cucap and Cocopah) on either side of the border depend on casinos, farming, and odd jobs for employment. Fishing is now illegal in the protected ocean water of the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve, but many test their luck with the law.
Lake Powell in 2022. As water levels recede, an exploration into the re-emerging wonders of Glen Canyon in tributaries around the Escalante — 50 mile, Willow, Bishop, Cathedral in the desert and more plus Iceberg Canyon to the South. “Nature bats last” as Native Navajo Len Necefer said while visiting (seen in many images, goatee). Eric Balken with the Glen Canyon Institute also seen in images.
Aerial of the Elk Mountains. Colorado.
A July 4th wildfire in Basalt Colorado is fought on the ground and in the air. Dry conditions created a ban on fireworks and fires. A local shooting range, despite calls to close, didn’t and tracer bullets started the massive wildfire just 1/4 mile from the tourist town which has now burned nearly 3000 acres. 500 homes are at risk. Slurry helicopters and flights are dropping retardant and water to save the town. Hotshot ground crews are working to create fire breaks. Basalt is evacuated.
A Rocky Mountain toad stretches out in the Lower Colorado River. Its water serves 30 million humans, a mere fraction of the innumerable wild fauna.
Above Shoshone Dam (left) in Glenwood Canyon at dusk with a timelapse of traffic and the railroad, where a 2010 rockslide toppled a 62-ton boulder onto the freeway and closed it for several days. The 19-mile section of river in Glenwood Canyon is famous for whitewater boating and the four-lane construction – finished in 1992 – that cost more than all of Interstate 70 from Washington D.C. to western Utah. For 2.5 miles below the 1902 dam, the most dangerous rapid on the entire river (“Upper Death”) often has its water diverted into the Shoshone Hydro Plant, creating electricity for 17,000 Colorado homes.
North Canyon inside Grand Canyon is a subtle slot canyon filled with cathedral amphitheaters and natural springs.
Maroon Bells Lake, frozen and filled with local hockey families from the Roaing Fork Valley, enjoying the cold fall.
Flying with John “Pabo” McBride
Colorado River Delta – US Mex Border – 2014 Pulse Flow
CO River — Delta – Dry and Dead. The Colorado River flowed to the Sea for six million years. Due to overallocation and climate change, it has not reached the sea for two decades.
The Mighty Colorado River is a river run dry.
Devprayag, India. Confluence of the Bagirathi and Alakanda rivers – the physical start of the Gagnes River. Aerial views of the Ganges River from Rishikesh to Utterkashi, India. Himalaya.
A dory trip through the Grand Canyon.
The Nankoweap granaries light up at night during a trip through the Grand Canyon.
Pete McBride self portrait taken at mile 600 during his 750-mile hike through the entire length of Grand Canyon National Park.
Lake Powell in 2022. As water levels recede, an exploartion into the re-emerging wonders of Glen Canyon in tributaries around the Escalante — 50 mile, Willow, Bishop, Cathedral in the desert and more plus Iceberg Canyon to the South. “Nature bats last” as Native Navajo Len Necefer said while visiting (seen in many images, goatee). Eric Balken with the Glen Canyon Institute also seen in images.
Colorado. Roaring Fork Valley. Spring Storm.
Yampa River flowing through Dinosaur National Monument during the “mega-drought” of 2021. Some call it the “Aridificaton” of the West. Extreme wildfire smoke can be seen throughout the aerials.
Yampa River flowing through Dinosaur National Monument during the “mega-drought” of 2021. Some call it the “Aridificaton” of the West. Exploring its 50 mile stretch in the park by packraft.
Moon Rise over a diminished river. The Yampa River flowing through Dinosaur National Monument during the “mega-drought” of 2021. Some call it the “Aridificaton” of the West. Exploring the winding meanders of the longest free flowing river in Colorado through the 50 mile stretch of Dinosaur National Monument by packraft.
