Runner treks along Colorado River to document drought, shrinking levels

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A long-distance runner is spending months trekking across the entire Colorado River to document the ongoing drought and shrinking water levels.

Mina Guli, working with the Thirst Foundation and Keep the River Running, started the journey in June at the northern end of the river and will eventually end in the Los Angeles area of Santa Monica in mid-September.

Guli sleeps in tents along the way, running about 30 miles every single day; she is joined by a videographer and photographer who will document her run and the drastic shifts in water levels as she heads downstream.

FOX5 met Guli as she stopped by the annual Water Summit at the Springs Preserve with region leaders.

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“I have waded across the Colorado that should be so high I would have had to use a packraft. I have forged my way down tributaries like the Virgin River, which should be way more full with water, but which was literally less than ankle deep. This is reality,” Guli tells FOX5.

While leaders for the Upper and Lower Basin states have spent years deciding on water usage cuts, Guli says plenty of people are suffering now.

“The family that pulled over by the side of the road, who showed me pictures of where they used to go skiing and playing in the snow at exactly this time of year-- but now, surrounded by these green mountains. We met rafters down in the deep inside the Grand Canyon, who were talking about the fact that they’re worried that they won’t even be able to get down the river next year-- and therefore, none of them will have a job. The guy who pulled over and talked to us from his red pickup truck, who said to us, ‘I used to work on my way home from working in a bakery baking cookies, because I used to work as a guide, but my job has dried up alongside the river. All of these things are not esoteric, isolated incidents,” Guli said.

Guli and the team hope to shed light on the dire drought situation, urge people to act, and also call on their local leaders to collaborate on solutions needed now.

“At what point is the boiling lobster or the frog in the boiling water just going to realize that the water is actually boiling? I’ve seen it. The water is boiling. We are at a critical juncture right now,” she said.

You can track her journey line at Keep The River Running, as well as Guli’s social media channels like Instagram and Facebook.