Colorado 2009 - Trip Report

[jackatspa]

Great Trip!!

Me and Pops flew out of Little Rock on wednesday afternoon @ 5 got to Colorado around 9:30. We decided to make the hour drive into Canon City and spent the night. The next morning we woke up and drove down the road and went to Royal Gourge Rafting. They gave us a great guide and we were set for the day. The gourge was awesome! And the water was big We ran it twice it was so fun!! Later that afternoon me and pops decided on going to check out the towns new disc golf park. Alot of fun! even if you did have a few cacti to contend with. After throwing some disc for a while we decided to go into salida to get some food and good rest. The next day woke up drove into Buena Vista and rented a paddle and boat from CKS. We then met up with Scott and Lance to do some boating at the numbers and Clear creek. Boy was that a ride!! The numbers were awesome! Great water good size holes and a whole lot of fun to be had. then we made the journey just a little ways up the road to this giant valley between two 13,000 foot peaks. the view was awesome. and it was a great feeling. That feeling soon vanished as i was shooting down this creek bouncing off rocks and trying to maintain a good line. It was enevitable. The rock saw me and Knew i was coming. :twisted: We all Peeled into the first eddy after about the first 500 yards of the creek. There was about a vw bug sized boulder splitting the path of the water both ways. Scott ferried out and breezed through the left line. So i did the same except the big rock grabbed the stern of my boat and pinned me underneath it. It grabbed my paddle so i jerked at it a couple of time and it was no use i popped my skirt and ejected. The first thing i saw was my boat. So i grabbed it then looked up at the next rapid and said no way. Climbed up this gourge about 150 feet deep, and then started walking. I got back down and had to cross the river to get to the other side. I got down to where i could see lance in his boat i asked him ''Have you seen my boat'' and he pointed up stream. my boat was pinned up against the side of the creek against this cliff that Scott was sitting on about twenty feet up. Scott allready had a rope tied to the boat by the time i had gotten there. He then tossed the rope to Lance and I and we pulled and jerked till it came loose. we went back the next day and looked for the paddle but the creek had not gone down enough. I told the guys at CKS that i lost a paddle at the spot and told them what happened and they were like yeah it happens all the time, they just wait for the creek to come down and then go gather paddles with all the locals. they said they would wait on charging us for about a month. But other Than the Class V swim and losing a paddle everything was great.The next day we woke up and traded boats and went to the play park in Buena Vista. Nice wave/hole feature, Threw some ends and then drove back to Colorado Springs. woke up at 4:30 the next morning and flew home. Big thanks to Scott and lance for helping w/ boat retrieval and showing me the lines. Cant wait till next year.
Clear Creek here i come!!



Jack H

check out the pictures.
http://community.webshots.com/album/572 ... iD?start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lazer]

Didn't have time for many photos on the creek, but a here are a few.

Heath Day in the middle of Long Rapid on the Rio Embudo


Looking back at the walls of the upper gorge of the Rio Embudo


Scott Hanshaw flying of the putin waterfall on Oh Be Joyful Creek


Heath Day dropping the big one on Oh Be Joyful Creek


Heath's rack fabrication from the previous weekend was the bomb for my truck


Sunset over Buena Vista




See more at my webshots page.

[RandyJ]

The rest of my Embudo pics and 2-3 video clips are located here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jacksonr66/CONMBoating2009#

A few final thoughts on the trip:

• Might have just been me, but there was a quarter mile stretch of the Uncompahgre that I thought was as meaty as anything we did all week.
• Make it your goal to do the Upper Animas some day - such a special place. Recomxmended to split it up into two days. The train opens up some very nice options for cushy camping - someone (non-boater) can ride the train with your camping gear, AND run the shuttle the next day.
• Culinary award goes to the town of Crested Butte. Secret Stash Pizza, Teocalli Burrito, and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory are all tippy-top notch! Check 'em out if you're in the area.
• Ouray, CO looks to be one of the coolest towns anywhere. Stunning topography and scenery.

If I could do it over again, I think I would:
1) Man up and run Cheezegrater, re-run Slots o' Fun on the Embudo, and try the right-wall line at the top of the Rockwood Box (Animas). That drop is called Mandatory Thrashing (and I had mine there at high water back in the mid-nineties :shock: )
2) NOT straddle the cactus while portaging part of Upper Slots. Seriously.
3) Have a playboat for Royal Gorge.
4) Write down some of the quotes overheard during the week - ha ha - some funny stuff.

RJ

[L.A.paddler]

Sounds like you guys had one heck of a fun trip, all of those runs are enviable . Glad to hear none of the were to awful bad and everyone made it home safe. Thanks for the great trip reports. And I would have to say that Ouray is one of my favorite towns anywhere, just a magnificent place. The hot springs there with the veiw is hard to top.

TD

[Tmuse]

That embudo run looks great!

[Heath]

That embudo run looks great!

lookd can be deciveing, great run but very blind and continuous. also the hike out would suck!!!!!

[KAYAKN]

So whens the first timer float to these bad boys???? Come on Randy!!!!!

[RandyJ]

Adam, that's actually not a bad idea. I don't know if it could be officially sanctioned by the club like the Cossatot First-Timer's trip, but a Lower Taos Box/Upper Animas combo might be workable. Here's how it could go:

• Start at the Rio Grande, running Lower Taos Box on Day 1. It's a good warm-up run with a few big, pushy rapids toward the end. You'd need to be able to handle this run well to be able to move on to the Upper A.
• Days 2-3 would be Upper A. Would need at least a couple of ground crew to ride the train with food and camping gear + dinner and breakfast for the overnighter at Needleton - great camping at the mid-way point of the run. Next morning, ground crew puts camping gear back on train and goes back to the put-in at Silverton to run shuttle.
• Iffy, but depending on the level and individual ability, boaters could do the Rockwood Box (2-mile gorge) at the end, OR ride the train from the power station to Rockwood, OR walk the tracks to Tacoma station (take-out) after the last train has passed.
• Ideal would be Memorial Day weekend (have to work around the bike race between Durango and Silverton that weekend). Early June would be okay, too, but need to go before the Animas gets too high and the Lower Box gets too low.
• Less ambitious boaters could do the Pilar/Racecourse run at Taos and/or the Town Run in Durango.
• With ability to carry camping gear/food on the train, camping could be as Spartan (sandwiches) or as elaborate (steaks, etc.) as you'd want to make it.
• While the Upper A run is very challenging whitewater in a remote environment, the train track is right there (except in the Rockwood Box). Tracks can be used to portage the hard rapids, and the train can be hailed in case of emergency.
• Folks could head back home after the run, or hang around in CO/NM longer for more boating or sightseeing.

Couple of requirements off the top of my head:

• Full drysuit (best) or good drytop + pants-or-bibs combo. Bring all your layers; it's always cool or cold up there, especially if the sun's not shining.
• Very solid, dependable roll. Due to the continuity, combined air/water temps, and difficulty of self- or assisted rescue, swims start getting serious. Can you consistently hit 8 out of 10 rolls? Not good enough. Think 19 out of 20 or better in heavy water.

Anyway, I'm not committing here to organizing or leading a trip, but I think this would be a really fun, workable deal. The Upper A is one of my Top Five Faves of all time and is simply a great river experience. Challenging whitewater, awesome alpine camping, and scenery that's top notch.

If there's enough interest here, start making noise after the first of the year and maybe we can put something together.

[KAYAKN]

Randy,
Sounds great to me!! Give me a shout and maybe we can put something together. 1-318-423-1690. FYI, i lost everyones cell numbers, including yours. You coming to Dierks this weekend?
Adam

[L.A.paddler]

Randy, sounds like a great idea. I'm in I promise I will be in shape for this. I am working with a couple of guys this summer and will be doing a lot of flat water drills, roll practice, ect.
What about a Peadra(spelling?) run thrown in if we have time. I have always wanted to do that as well.
Adam can't make it to Dierks this weekend as we are throwing are Red Dirt Chapter cookout at a local lake. It sounds like you guys are going to have one heck of a time though , I hate to miss it. I really need to get over there and spent some time in that 3rd hole though before the water runs out.

TD

[RandyJ]

Last trip I did to the Upper Animas was Memorial Day, 1994 with Ted and Wade Colwell, Jeff Green, David Thoma, and Robert Handford. Ted and Wade's wives, Jackie and Shaune, respectively, were our "pack mules" (Ted's words, not mine, so save the comments!) that carried our camping gear on the train.

You put in at Silverton, around 9000' elevation, and go about a half mile or so, then head into the first "squeeze," looking at a beautiful snow-capped peak rising high in the distance. The squeeze progresses into a short mini-gorge with some frisky water. Soon after, things start opening up, the action lets up a little, and you get views like this....


Wade Colwell and David Thoma

A few miles later, you get to one of the three named rapids, Garfield Slide, and 2-3 miles after that comes No Name, the hardest. Seems like we scouted and ran both of these on that day. The next few miles down to the foot bridge at Needleton and its primo camping are rowdy, fun, keep-you-on-your-toes water.

So we pulled over at Needleton, got into dry clothes, and set up camp. Then Jeff Green walks up and says, in his soft-spoken Ozark twang, "Boys, you need to come and see this." He leads us back over to the foot bridge, and points at the water, which has, in the course of an hour or less, risen about a foot and changed from green to brown. Hmmmm.....

We wake up to bright sunshine and more warm temps the next day. After breakfast and packing up, we're on our way, the water is still high, and we cautiously work our way through a meaty Broken-Down Bridge rapid. From there, it's non-stop boogie water and more amazing alpine scenery till you get to the power station. A mile or two later, you come to the railroad bridge, which means it's time to scout the Rockwood Box. Here's our first look from above:

We hike on down the RR tracks and look straight down at the first big drop of the Box called Mandatory Thrashing. From high above, there are NO rocks showing anywhere in the gorge, but there actually appears to be a decent line through Thrashing, left of center.

Back at the boats, we work our way into the staging eddy above Thrashing. I go first, doing my best to remember the drop that's now coming at me at high speed, but looked so much different sitting still from 100 feet straight overhead. I head over the top of a big wave and stop - this can't be good - as suddenly as if a rope was tied to the back of my boat. I get tractor-beamed back into the big pour-over and get slammed upside down. Calmly roll up and get my eyes clear enough to see the tractor beam is still on and go back in for another round. Yeehaw! I get half-endered upside down, feel the stern hit the right cliff wall, and realize I'm free of the hole. I start to set up to roll when my paddle hits the rock and is knocked out of my hands. Wish I'd been calm enough to try a hand roll, but pulled the rip cord and came out.

Boat and paddle are collected, and I stroke for some calmish-looking water over on the left wall. Couldn't keep a grip on the wall AND the boat - didn't know what was around the corner - so I released the boat and scrambled up the bluff, soon joined by Wade, who had his problems with the big drop, too. The other three made it okay and headed downstream. Wade and I climbed up and over the top of the bluffs. Here's what that looked like - pretty much tells the story!



We make it back upstream to the RR trestle, and started our hike down to the Tacoma train station a couple of miles away. After a mile or so of hiking, Wade and I find our boats on the side of the RR tracks - wow! Back at the station, we find out that the rest of our crew found our boats sitting side by side in a big eddy in the Box. So they hike them up a big scree slope to the tracks, Thoma gashes his ankle on rock in the process, and they head back down to the river and finish their run through the Box.

We successfully evade the Sheriff, who showed up looking for trespassers on the tracks (us). Back in town, Thoma gets his ankle stitched up at the ER, then we head to Francisco's for the celebratory, could-have-been-a-lot-worse margaritas and Mexican-food dinner. We learned later that the river more than doubled in volume and hit almost 4000 cfs in Durango the next day. So we must have been riding a big surge all day.

Like I said earlier, the Upper Animas is a special place - a complete experience - the whitewater, the camping, the scenery, the train, and the Box at the end (optional). I won't wait 15 years to go back again!

[Renee H]

Nice report - WOW! The guy in the last picture looks like he is rock climbing.