Big Thompson 11-3/4-07

The Big Thompson has been running at a near perfect level for the past few days. I believe this has something to do with maintenance on the Colorado-Big Thompson project. Whatever the reason, the paddling is pretty damn good for November. The top 1/2 mile of this creek is full on. The top two drops look pretty terrible to me, so I decided to put in above the final big drop in the "Sluff Section". This drop probably wasn't the best warm-up rapid after a month out of my creekboat.

Me warming up.



Day 2- better:


And this rapid from above.


The Class IV section below the mank is good fun. The crux comes about a mile in. There are two options here: 1) a cool sliding diagonal move off the center boulder, or 2) a high speed piton into a pile of sharp rocks.

Carter wisely chooses option #1.


Below the crux is more pushy, fast whitewater that feels alot bigger than it looks from above.

Fall Gore

I got up to Gore some time in October when it was running about 850. I'd call this the very low side of good. Definitely still fun.


Scissors- the boof farther left of where this guy went is the way to go.


850 is getting down towards the nasty level at Tunnel, and the left sneak looked really clean. Josh #2 makes it look easy. This is a good line when there is more water than you want for the hairy ferry, but less than you want for bombing it down the middle. Or you could just run it down the middle anyway and swim in front of all your friends.

Westwater

Westwater is the classic weekend river trip. I was lucky enough to be invited on two raft-supported trips this fall (thanks Laurie and Steve). With big easy water, good play, and beautiful scenery, Westy is always a good use of a fall weekend.

View from Upper Little D- my new favorite camp.


The little D wave does not get the credit it deserves. Pictures do it no justice. The ferry is kind of hard but very makeable and the wave is one of the best in the region. 4000-4500 seems ideal because of the large shoulder on surfer's left.


The canyon is cool too- somewhere in the canyon, maybe Sock-it-to-me.

Corner Pocket

We got our fall rain event in Durango and it was great. The Animas spiked to 4000cfs overnight. At any medium level, Corner Pocket seems to be where its at. This hole offers up loops and blunts along with cartwheels of both the intentional and unintentional variety. Its really good. The photos here were taken at about 1600 cfs. It was 2500 the day before and even better.

September Rockwood Box

I moved to Durango which is going to be great during the runoff but there isn't much going in September. However, the Rockwood Box can be run down to just about nothing and its a cool canyon if you don't mind doing a little hiking.

Two unidentified kayakers do the 100% completely legal hike in.


The first rapid- its called Mandatory Thrashing I believe. However, at low levels the run is pretty mellow and there isn't really anyhing that's likely to thrash you.


Last drop in the canyon. Don't miss the takeout (hard to do).


Then all that's left is the 700 foot hike up to the car. I can't wait to do this one with alot more water.

August Gore

As usual, Gore season was awesome. A good couple months of flows (1000-1400) and warm late summer weather makes for a good time. Gore is a good run to do with a group of 20.

Safety first- Lainey does the put-in slide backwards with no helmet.


Ian touching down.


Some dude counting fishes at Applesauce.


Gore sneak.


Gore run-out.


Christine even took a brief break from talking smack to fire off Tunnel right down the gut.

Supermax montage

I don't get on my own blog very much but that's about to change. Here is a photo sequence of me in Supermax on Bailey taken some time in late July by the recently re-Coloradoed Josh Hallenbeck. The level is about 220, which I would consider the bare minimum (I've done it lower).

Low Water Big South 7-17-07

Low water Big South is still one of the best creek runs in the Front Range- especially in late July. When the level gets down to the bare mininum, the lower half offers the best bang for your buck. The low water Peterson Lake put-in.



The Prime Time log has shifted downstream this year, but you've gotta get right.



The chute/hole at the bottom of Sideways.



The gradient continues to the bitter end, including this elbow cruncher just above the take-out eddy.

High Water Bailey 7-14-07

Bailey at 700 cfs is awesome. Miles on end of big curling waves, boofs and holes.

First Fall is drop is extremely dangerous. Most of the water goes under the left wall and the hydraulic is bad...but Fred styled it:



Jace enjoying the good stuff.



The steeps is great at high water. This hole led to a couple swims recently.



Most folks who venture into Supermax at these levels just run the sneeky line on Tampax, which seems to go pretty well.



The meat line is hard, but believe it or not, this line did not result in a swim.

Low Water Black Rock 7-13-07

Black Rock at 300+ is still worth it after work. All of the rapids including Rigo are straightforward. They are all technical IV+ in nature and good fun so long as you stay upright. Ian in Black Rock- this is a good line- watch out for the undercut!



Boofing in the Narrows.

More Black Rock 7-12-07

Black Rock is still fun at 400 cfs. The water is clear and warm right now and the rapids are still filled in.

Alex hits a longboat boof after Mr. Bill in the Narrows:



If you are thinking of running Rigor Mortis, this is the time to do it. At 400 cfs, its really pretty friendly for a rapid that might rip your head off.

More Big South 7-7-07

Another great trip down the Big South and some more pictures.

At least Wierd Creek is pretty.



Ian in Taco Bobs:



Me entering Bar Room Brawl.



cool ledge after Cool World:



Top of Slideways:



The big hole at the bottom of Slideways:

Big South 7-4-07

The Big South Fork of the Cache la Poudre is a classic kayak run. The run takes paddlers through 12 miles of largely pristine wilderness with a wide variety of large rapids. There is a new gauge under the highway bridge at the takeout that has six hash marks painted on a rock. For our run, the level was just under the 3rd mark up from the bottom. This apparently corresponds to a little under 300 cfs, which is on the lower side of medium. This is a good level for both the big drops (says the folks who ran them) and for the many in between rapids.

The first two miles of the run are on Wierd Creek, which is a tributary to the Poudre. The water in this creek is released from Long Draw reservoir. Put-in on Weird Creek:



The largest rapid on the Weird Creek section is Rock Lobster. As shown in the photo, this rapid is a genuine piece of shit. It is pretty representative of the character of Weird Creek, which kinda sucks.




Soon after reaching the confluence with the Poudre, paddlers reach Starter Fluid, which does not suck. It is a fantastic rapid with a few Class IV S-turns leading into an 8 foot boof:



The character of the next couple miles is pool and drop with rapids of varying size and difficulty.

Joe- about to make contact in Bar Room Brawl:



And nailing the line at Cool World:



After the Peterson Lake (flat section), you reach the lower half, which is more continuous and has several good rapids.

Canning in progress at Pin Cushion:



Slideways is one of the last rapids and one of the best. The entrance has a 4 foot boof followed by an 8 foot boof:



The bottom of the rapid is a steep chute into a big hole. Everyone in our group punched it with no problems.



Overall, this a great run, but a long tiring day. The window for flows probably will be over soon, so get it while you can.