Crested Butte Creeks

The Crested Butte Creeks offer kayakers a chance to bounce down sharp slate bedrock in a beatiful high alpine valleys. Its more fun than it sounds. We started with the Upper East, which is the easiest of the four. This would be a cool run of it was longer. But it isn't and I didn't take any pictures because the run only took about six minutes.

On to Daisey Creek. This Creek is tiny and quite fun. It starts with about five slides in quick succession. Josh Heise checks out the site of his scary vertical pin last year (go left on the third slide).

After the into slides, the creek briefly mellows to class II before dropping off Big Wood Falls, which has a cleaner landing than it has had in years.

After Daisey, we floated on down the Slate. This is the least popular creek in the area. It actually has some good rapids, but also quite a bit of wood and a couple barbed wire fences. On a side note, on the Slate river, Heise found part of his breakdown paddle that he lost 11 months ago in his pin on Daisey. Crazy. Heise runs some of the less clean whitewater in the area.

The biggest drop on the Slate is Wicked Wanda. It is definitely runnable, but also definitely dangerous. The entrance is flippy and there is a log extending from the center of the rapid. It would probably be more appealing with more water or less wood.

On to the main event: Oh be joyful. There isn't much to say about this creek that has not already been said. I'll just add that this creek is not as easy as some people make it out to be. Yes, there are good lines, but also chances to crash badly if you get off line. It is definitely alot of fun though.

Kevin boofs the put-in drop.

Un-named slide to 8 footer:

Donnie with a great line off the big-un.

The fellas ponder the Avalanche slide (and more importantly the Beaver Dam From Hell).

Top half of the Avalanche Slide:

Top half of the bottom slide.

Ian makes the turn on the bottom slide.

There is no good gauge for OBJ, Daisey or the Slate. The Slate gauge is far downstream. For what its worth, the creeks were nice medium when the Slate was at 700-800, okay low when the Slate was at 600, and real low when the Slate was at 500. This barometer is very rough and will vary based on the time of the season (higher gauge reading needed earlier in the season). The creeks will also be higher later in the day on days when the weather is warm.

Third Gorge Lime/Rockwood

The Third Gorge of Lime Creek (aka Cascade Creek) through Rockwood is a nice wilderness day run that involves a hike in (1.5 miles), some Class IV creeking, some Class III wavetrains on the Upper A, the Rockwood Box, and then a big hike up a hill to your car. It feels like a full day even though it can be easily completed in an afternoon. I think this is a good option for accessing Rockwood earlier in the season when the Upper A is low and cold and Cascade is higher relative to the flow on the Animas. The first time I did this run, Cascade was low and pretty dull. However, when we did it in May of this year, we had about 400 in the Creek and the run was fun. The Animas was at 2200 in town, which is a very rough barometer.

The first rapid of note is the Landslide Drop, which is usually portaged. The launch/runout to this rapid is probably the most exciting part of Cascade Creek.

One of the main attractions of this run is the chance to run Rockwood at a good flow. With the Animas at 2200 in town, Rockwood was good fun. Really no Class V moves, just quality Class IV, but do not swim. It is hard to take pictures that really capture the Box, but I tried.

First Gorge Lime Creek

The First Gorge of Lime Creek is a short high alpine run that does not need a whole lot of water to run. If the creek looks too low at the put-in, the level is probably good, but could be too low. We did it in late May when the Animas at Durango was at 2400. This made for a nice medium-low flow, but this barometer is very rough, so don't quote me on it. The run starts with some small ledges. If these are scrapy but okay, the gorge below will be good.

Low-medium was a great level for Adrenaline Falls. Adrenaline is an intimidating falls with a tricky entrance. We somehow did not get a single shot of the one really photo-worthy drop on the run, but it went well. The S-turn was fun as always and then we reached the finale, Dragon's Back. Count runs Dragon's Back down the traditional right line.

Mark tried a new line. It didn't work very well, but reinforced the general concensus that a left line here equals a swim.

Rio Embudo

The two things I heard about the Embudo before I went was that you should go at lowish water your first time, and that you should have a guide. The water was not low last weekend, and we could not find a guide, but Ian, Kevin, Famous Jon and myself decided to give it a go anyway. It is a very continuous river, which makes it tough to do without a guide, but not at all impossible. We scouted a few times unnecessarily and ran a couple large rapids blind, but it all worked out alright. We had a level of 3.4 on Saturday and 3.3 on Sunday, which seemed like great solid medium levels.

This run starts mellow and gradually builds to class IV before things really kick off. Long Rapid is the first big one. It consists of about 1/2 mile of class IV-V with no chance to scout or eddy out. This is the deepest point in the Upper Gorge and very bad place to swim, which made me pretty concerned when I got beaten on rocks and swam. Very fortunately, my boat floated right to me in the eddy and I was still in business. As Ian succinctly noted, "you're a lucky m#th$rf%ck&r." The next big rapid is Cheesegrater. This is possibly the steepest rapid on the run, but one of the cleanest large drops. Famous Jon in the entrance.

Kevin in the main falls. This shot shows how steep this drop really is.

A few drops after Cheesegrater is MJ Falls, which I walked after watching bad results on the first two attempts. This rapid seemed to treat folks better with the slightly lower level on Sunday. The exit to the Upper Gorge has one more significant rapid, Carnival, which deserves a scout if you do not have a guide.

The lull between the Upper and Lower Gorges is shorter than I had imagined (couple hundred yards). We ran Slamdance blind accidentally on Saturday and intentionally on Sunday. It really sneaks up on you. After this, the Slots of Fun follow quickly. This rapid is really what gives the run its rating. It is impossible to portage completely on either side. The portage involves ferrying in the meat of the rapid, which is probably harder than just running it. I think the best way to do it is to run the first few drops then eddy left to scout the last two. The last drop is intimidating, and probably goes more smoothly with more water.

Ian in the final slot.

After slots, all that is left is Taco Garden, a somewhat manky runout. This is a great run, but not to be taken lightly. You should go planning on running Class V rapids, some blind. The scouting options are poor, and the portaging options are worse. But if you are up to it, it is hard to find a better run in the Rockies. 3.3-3.4 seemed like a great level. I would not make the drive under 3 feet. 3.5 is probably a good max for a first run. Tenths of a foot on the gauge equal significant changes in the canyon. Thanks to Atom for his hospitality. Look him up any time you head south.

Durango playboating

Animas at Durango has been over 4k for two weeks now. It will not last long but its fun while it lasts. Corner pocket is powerful and awesome at high water but the eddy disappears. Slalom boat cartwheels in the pocket.

Santa Rita come in at over 3k. The higher the better. Eddy service is a little sketchy, but the wave is great. Tim tears it up at Santa Rita.

The Sawmill waves come in at about 4k. They change dramatically with flow, but something is always in above the minimum. At the right level, there are four great waves in a row. You can surf for 15 minutes before you hike back up for more.

Uncompagre Quality Quickie

I've driven past this one many times and it was finally time to stop and give it a go. It is quick as advertised and kinda fun. Despite our good flow of 700 cfs there are still shallow rocks due to the unnatural and actively eroding riverbed. This run is a strange combination of pushy water and shallow mank. Worth a stop but don't go out of your way.

The crux- from river level, its steeper than it looks here.

Run-out to the crux.

Escalante 09

Escalante Creek had a pretty good year considering its average snowpack. Three plus weeks of good flows is not bad. Escalante is really one of the best runs in Colorado with good water. There are very few runs in Colorado that have so many good drops with so little junk. Some folks runs just the upper or just lap the gorge, but I really think the two are better together. Escalante is the best way to get warmed up for the Colorado creeking season.

Russ builds character while Jon looks on and I enjoy the scenery.


The classic rapid 57 chevy.

Old man Donnie with a great line off the falls.

Magnetic Wall from the gorge rim.

Alot of people are questioning the Robideau Creek barometer. I think its useful, but I think we need to rework the cut-offs. I would not make the drive if it was under 500cfs. Esca is done for the year but will be back next April...