A group of women come together through rafting Western rivers

NOTE: This article is published through the Colorado River Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative supported by the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University. See all of our stories about how Utahns are impacted by the Colorado River at greatsaltlakenews.org/coloradoriver.

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(UPR) — There is a group of women who have come together each year for decades to raft western rivers. Zan Merrill is one of those women. “Rivers are so enchanting. They’re so all encompassing. When you’re floating down a river, your time frame changes, you’re on river, time, you can’t rush things. You have to go with the flow of the river.”

Merrill is an avid river rafter who recently helped put together an anthology called Where Are Your Men? Rafting Western Rivers With The Ladies.

This up close and personal experience on the river, paddling through ancient canyons, floating by wildlife and navigating rapids has led Merrill and many others to a rejuvenated relationship with the natural world.

“I think rivers have enabled me to see particular ecosystems a little more intimately and come to appreciate how we affect our landscape, our environment, even just by floating by.”

Merrill went on her first trip down the Grand Canyon in 1981. Learning she would be able to go only three days before departure, she swiftly packed an army surplus rubber dry bag with supplies for several weeks on the river. Since that trip Merrill has spent many days on rivers throughout the west, navigating waters and connecting with fellow rafters.

“It gives you such an appreciation for the beauty that we’re surrounded with and that just can’t help but deal with some of the environmental issues and things that we’re facing.”

The women of this anthology have largely shaped each other’s experiences on the river. Their ladies rafting group brings a unique opportunity for connection, it is also a sight to see by other rafters passing by.

One day the group sat on the banks as a man passed by curiously looking at them. “As he floated by, he looked at us, and he goes, where are your men? And of course, we just cracked up and said, ‘We left them at home. We like to run rivers by ourselves.’”

These women have built each other up by facing the challenges of a river, learning to build their own boats, and connecting with the nature around them – doing all of this together. They have found this all-ladies group to be a unique and empowering experience.

“There’s a deep respect and love that you build when you go on a trip like this, with ladies or with anybody, really, but you also connect with the things around you,” said Merrill.

Through the stories and poetry in this anthology, the bonds between these women inspired by the river are crystal clear. Merrill shares two of her own stories.

Her first one speaks to learning of her husband’s unexpected death while she was on a trip and the power of having these women by her side.

“Everybody was speechless, pretty much, when we found out that Peter had died, but I needed to get off the river and attend to the situation. And everybody pulled together and did what needed to be done to get me and my brother, who had hiked in to tell me what had happened, to get us on a boat.”

Merril’s other piece tells the story of sudden increasing water levels on the San Juan river.

“The river had gone from 1,200 CFS up to 9,000 CFS overnight. So there were no eddies, and there were a lot of Russian olive branches that were dragging in the river. And one of the girls in our group, got caught up in some of those branches, and it flipped her boat over,” Merrill said. “Thanks to everybody on the trip, we were able to get the situation under control, but it took a huge effort at the end.”

Listen to this story here.