On the "Charlotte's" first trial attempt through the canyons in the fall of 1908, Captain Browne was joined by one of the "Charlotte's" owners, Captain Irving. Armed with her powerful new capstan and a good supply of dry cordwood, the "Charlotte" was taken to the foot of the Cottonwood Canyon where her crew attached a line to a newly placed ringbolt and Browne began to line her through. She had nearly reached the head of the canyon, when the ringbolt gave way and the "Charlotte" went crashing backwards through the canyon. Captain Browne reacted quickly to the crisis, guiding the Charlotte narrowly past a pile of rocks where she would've been torn open and immediately sank.