Here is part II of our Upper Animas trip from May.  Again, let us know what you think and we want to see you on this trip next year!!!  Also, as a reminder of what the weather was like on day 3 up there, yes that is snow on the rafts. 

What a weekend and what a trip!!!!  If you ever choose to go rafting, you have to come to Durango and hit the Upper Animas with Mountain Waters.  Sure there are other rafting companies that will take you down the same scenic river but what sets Mountain Waters apart is the food that goes along with it.  Talk about Man Food.

Lunch was pretty simple on the first day, lots of lunch meat, different breads, fresh vegetables, different flavors of mayo and an assortment of fresh fruit and cookies for dessert.   They are doing it right too.  Believe me, right at the start of 10 Mile Rapid (Class IV) and No Name Rapid (Class V) shortly to follow, you want a quick lunch and lots of energy as they require you be on your toes and you are paddling hard to get through them.

We finished the first day around 3:30pm where we picked up our food and gear from the Durango Narrow Gauge Train stop in Needleton.  Mountain Waters has an outstanding camp there with a complete commercial kitchen.  Many different grills were on hand, a large prep table, and all of the camp stoves and accessories to cook anything you want.  We changed into some dry clothes as soon as we got our tent set up.  I have a new favorite pair of shoes as well.  My Terrasoles camp shoes made my day.  They are a cozy slipper with a hard sole that I wore all night.  My feet were white and freezing when I came out of the boat, these shoes made all the difference.  That mixed with some quick soup from Wind and Willow that we fired up with our Jetboil Stove got me warmed up and ready to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening.

Dinner was far beyond any expectations.  Considering we were miles from any road, miles from the nearest cell service, and on the border of one of the most remote wilderness areas in the country, dinner was awesome.  Here was the dinner lineup.

Wind and Willow Tortilla Con Queso Soup
Grilled chicken covered with green chilies, cheese, and bacon
Steak wrapped in bacon topped with onions and mushrooms
Pesto Pasta Salad with fresh vegetables
Dutch Oven Biscuits
Grilled Poblano and Jalapeno Chilies
Fresh Garlic Bread
Garden Salad (Looked great but I avoided it for more steak)
Strawberry and Blueberry Cobbler made with Montanya Rum

I know other folks on the river were not eating anything close to this.  Finished the night with some bourbon sitting around the campfire with new friends.  I hit the tent early that was pitched just a few feet from the river early as I knew we had a big day ahead of us.

We started out day two with an awesome breakfast consisting of bacon (would you expect anything else?), scrambled eggs with onions, tomatoes, and cheese, pancakes, fresh fruit, cowboy coffee, and juice.  We had some time after to break down camp and get in a short hike before hitting the river just after noon. 

The river had come up a few hundred CFS overnight and it was so much fun because of it.  Broken Bridge rapid was the first challenge followed by a number of class III stuff.  Although we had a few minutes of hail, the rest of the day was sunny and clear.  We pulled the boats out at Tacoma and had a mile and a half hike out to Haviland Lake where the bus picked us up to take us back into town.

We did deal with a great deal of weather on Saturday and a little on Sunday and having outstanding gear made all of the difference.  Having good rain gear, footwear, tents, sunglasses,and packs will make or break your trip.  i want to say thank you to Osprey Packs for providing us the gear needed to get our equipment in safe and dry, Julbo Sunglasses for making top quality lenses and comfortable glasses that I could wear rain or shine, Terrasoles Footwear for keeping our feet comfortable, Tilley Hats for keeping the sun off our heads and Jetboil stoves for their product line that boils water for coffee, tea and soup in just a few minutes. 

Also wanted to thank Casey at Mountain Waters and their outstanding guides for giving us our best river trip of our lives to date.  We will be sure to go back and spread the word as they are very professional, knowledgeable about the history of the area, and very courteous camp hosts.

Finally we want to thank our other sponsors, Wind and Willow Soups, Wusthof knives, Johnboos cutting boards, and Montanya Rum.

Action House Media Productionswas also with us to film everything.  Tyler decided to kayak the trip instead of raft with us but he got some awesome footage of us and has proven once more that he is a long term partner of ours.  He is also a bad ass in the river as well.

Our schedule for videos is getting a bit out of control but in a good way.  We just filmed a show about martinis last night featuring Vodka 14, Dirty Sue, and Jackelope Gin.  Next week we are filming a distillery tour at Montanya Distilleries and the week after that we are filming a show on location in Farmington featuring Pasta, Sauce, and Garlic Bread.  Stay tuned for more videos. 

 Is there anything you would like to know about or see in a video?  Send suggestions to postmaster@cookmanfood.com

We first introduced Montanya Distillery just after the first of the year when we released the Platino review.  We got some great feedback and questions about what rum is doing in Colorado instead of Jamaica.  While I am not going to go back over why Silverton, CO is the perfect place to be making rum, I am going to talk about just how good Montanya’s “Oro” is and how the distillers up there know what they are doing. 

The oro rum is aged in once used Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrels giving this rum a unique flavor.  Aged spirits get their color and a great deal of flavor from the barrels that they are aged in.  Large distillers tend to use the same barrels over and over again until they no longer bring anything to their products.  Montanya avoids this by always using quality wood for their aging process.  The scent of honey is noticeable and the taste of molasses, honey, and a hint of vanilla is there.   I am finding many good products using some level of vanilla flavor and at first it was a hard taste to pull out but with the experience I have gained over the years, it just jumps out at me every time.  The golden (oro) color is also very clear and pure. 

I moved away from cheap liquor years ago. I am sort of a snob and critical with any new product that I try.  I have to say that the Oro from Montanya is a product that belongs in anyone’s bar and should be a staple in my bar for years to come.  For more information check out: http://www.montanyadistillers.com/