Students Explore Cataract Canyon and Desolution Canyon for Block One Excursion

Written by Katie Gershen ’28

Throughout block one, 12 students from the Environmental and Whitewater Perspectives course adventured to the Colorado plateau, exploring both Cataract Canyon and Desolation Canyon. The course is led by three instructors: Angelica Cronin, Joel Barnes, and Kreston Johnson. For 21 days, the group immersed themselves in the rich human and geological history of the Four Corners of Utah. “Getting the opportunity to spend a while on the river is truly a magical experience. It allows you not only to get to know your classmates really well but also to get to know the river as a friend,” noted one of the students. 

During this course, the students and faculty focused on technical rafting skills such as rowing, paddle captioning, and hydrology, making it an excellent experience for prospective river guides and beginner rafters. Students also immersed themselves in the rich knowledge that the land has to offer, providing an excellent opportunity for experiential learning and gaining a sense of place for the outdoors. Everyone of the trip experience the magic of community, interconnection, and learning firsthand!


Poem Written by Prescott College Student Who Participated in the Trip

A river is one of flowing mirrors 

Dancing a dance of familiarity

The water hums cries of power 

It seeps into cracks no sunlight would ever dare to touch 

Cradled by millions of years of beauty and hardship, it listens like no other 

engraving marks of wisdom in the landscape it inhabits 

It has lived all lives at once, simultaneously a mother and a child 

It nurtures in an innocent and reckless manner 

Creating and moving beauty beyond anything that could ever be produced by consciousness

And it continues to move through the earth, reflecting the essence of life of its shimmering surface.