Some time in 2001

“What a lousy time to leave West Virginia”,…I muttered to Max, while boarding our flight to Denver. All the rivers were up, yet I was leaving. Although I am always excited to paddle out west, I always envision that it will be during the dry months back home. I guess it’s always hard to leave West Virginia, knowing that a number of my favorites are up and running.

This feeling passed quickly as soon as I set foot in the Rockies. Max Harbert and I had been talking about this trip for nearly a year. It was a year ago in June that our friend John Boysen had moved from West Virginia to Fort Collins, Colorado. Since that time we had assured him that we would be out to explore the rivers and creeks of Colorado.

From the start, we knew that we would begin our “tour de Colorado” on the Cache la Poudre river near Fort Collins. It was near John’s home, and we could spend a few nights in the city, before embarking on a week of camping. We also knew that we would finish the trip on the Arkansas river near Salida, Colorado, since the FIBARK (First in Boating the Arkansas) whitewater festival and rodeo was being held. What would lie in between those two destinations, would be purely impulsive, and dependent on mood, courage, and water level.

The first section of the Poudre would be the Upper and Lower Mishawaka sections. It was another perfect Colorado day. Over ninety degrees and all sun! And the water was—oh yes—COLD! Not many summer days in West Virginia, do you see boaters suit up in full drytop, head gaskets, and pogies. However, with this gear on, the water was just fine.

The Upper Mish is primarily a constant class three descent. It flows fast and rather shallow, with very few eddies. Scenery is a plus, as it flows through rock walls and steep canyons, all the while never leaving the road which parallels its entire length. The best attribute of the Poudre is the wide range of rapids which it contains. Sections such as the “Filter Plant” are suitable for a first time boater. “Bridges” and “Poudre Park” can be negotiated by intermediates, while the Upper and Lower Mish are good playboating for advanced boaters. Finally, for the boater who can’t get enough gradient, the “Narrows” and “Spencer Heights” sections contain serious class 5+ descents. We scouted several of these big drops, but chose to fall back on the old “I’ve only got a playboat, but if I had my other…” excuse.

We spent the first two days on the Poudre, and paddled several miles of consistent class 3 water. The biggest rapid encountered was Pine View falls at the end of the Poudre Park section. It was a powerful two-drop rapid which gains its power from the constriction of the riverbed. It would be considered by most to be a 3+ or 4- type drop. Nothing too difficult, but a few nasty pourovers to miss, and very powerful eddies. These first two days were spent playing and gearing up for the week to come. Unfortunately, Max encountered the hard side of a boulder on day two. While getting vertical on a nice splat rock, he came down face first on the rock, earning him the “Black-eye of the Week” award.

We really enjoyed Fort Collins. It is a nice boater-friendly town, with easy access to the Poudre, as well as several Class 5 creeks which run earlier in the year. The highlight of the Poudre had to be on Sunday, day two, when we pulled over to play and surf by the Mishawaka Inn. This little watering hole is situated directly on the river right bank, between the upper and lower sections. It is a popular spot for weekend live music, with its small amphitheater and outside deck. We were lucky enough to catch a free acoustic show while playing the eddy line. When doing the Upper Mishawaka section of the Poudre, it’s a good idea to check not only the water level, but also the music schedule. A put-in time of 1 p.m. is a good choice for those who want to catch the 3 p.m. show by the river side. Then, when you’ve had enough music, just paddle on down through the lower section, to the takeout.

Monday morning we headed south, ending up on the North Fork of the South Platte. This had been suggested to us by a few locals (and former West Virginia locals) we met in Golden, Colorado. This section began as a tight boulder-strewn maze, which was very similar to many eastern runs. It would be similar to the easier sections of the Cranberry or Middle Fork of the Tygart. It then mellowed to a class 3 pace, with several rodeo holes and surf waves. A dirt road parallels this stream for easy access, as it meanders through a dry desert canyon. We played until almost dark, before heading out, in search of a campsite.

Tuesday we back-tracked to Golden, to take a ride on Clear Creek. This little screamer starts high on the Continental divide, near I-70, and dumps out into the Golden Whitewater Park, before hitting its final destination — the Coors Brewery. Clear Creek has easy access for road scouting throughout its entire length. The lower section is a class 4 slalom speed descent. It feels like a 7 mile wave train, with a multitude of pourovers and holes to keep it interesting. I think we were all on edge, since we had no guide and there was a bare minimum of eddy service. After all was said and done, this was by far, my favorite run of the week. No pools, big waves, lots of moves, and fast — really fast.

Lower Clear Creek ends right in the town of Golden, in the man-made Whitewater Park. Every town needs one of these! Slalom Gates, eddy-hopping, surfing waves, and a nice rodeo hole. All complete with rock bleachers built into the side of the bank. When you finish this 100 yard long playground, you just hike back up the sidewalk for a second run. This park, built with lottery proceeds, adds a lot to the town’s atmosphere. It was hard to leave, but we had much more to explore.

We awoke Wednesday to high winds and cold temperatures. It seemed like a good travel day, as none of us appeared too eager to dawn our gear in 40 degree temperatures. As we crossed Guanella pass, we even encountered snow flakes. The towns of Aspen and Crested Butte got significant snowfall, with some creeks near the Butte (“Oh-Be-Joyful” creek and “Daisy Creek”) getting 3 inches of powder! So, what do you do on a cold and blustery summer day in Colorado?… you head to Buena Vista and hit the hot springs! Outdoor mineral springs, right on the banks of a class 4 creek. However, even the cold temperatures and high winds were not enough to keep us off the water. So we headed into Salida, for some evening surfing at the town wave.

Salida also has a man-made whitewater park at what’s called the “F Street” wave. This was probably the best wave encountered all week. A river wide 2-3 foot wave, with a foamy right side, and an ultra glassy left. A very popular destination for the town playboaters. After a long evening of surfing, we walked just two blocks to the local brewery and brick-oven pizzaria, to refuel for the next day.

Now that we had arrived in Salida, we could set up our semi-permanent home for the rest of the week. From here, we would run multiple sections of the Arkansas for five days. The FIBARK festival would be starting on Thursday, and the town would be invaded by boaters.

Our next stop on this whitewater tour was the Brown’s Canyon of the Arkansas. Brown’s was hyped as a good run with lots of play. This day was also fairly chilly, so we opted for this over the tougher “Numbers” section above it. The biggest drawback to Brown’s Canyon is the 3 or miles of class 2 water leading into the canyon. It was moving water, so it wasn’t too long before we hit the meat of the run. Brown’s is a beautiful class 3+ section of river, which feels more remote than it is. Although the main road is not far, the canyon does stray away from civilization for most of its journey. This is a fairly long section for Colorado standards, about nine miles, but only about four miles actually contain significant rapids. This run is a good one if you want to experience all the sections of the Arkansas in this area, but if you only have a few days, better water is found in the “Numbers” and “Royal Gorge” sections.

On Friday we headed north out of Salida, to the "Numbers” section. The name is derived from the unimaginative names of the rapids therein, ie. rapid number one through seven. The putin to the Numbers is the takeout for the much harder “Pine Creek” section. We scouted Pine Creek by the railroad tracks and found it to be a class 4-5 run with a class 5+ move that must be negotiated. With no sneak route, and no eddies to portage, it was no wonder that not a soul was found running this section. Even the local hairboaters seemed to shy away from this section during the peak runoff.

The Numbers, however, is a much more manageable class 4 descent. Not a pool in sight for nearly seven miles. Keeping track of which number you are currently on is nearly impossible. Number one was a long series of waves and holes, with several pinning spots strewn throughout. Numbers two and three were big, but uneventful. Four was probably the most technical, as you were forced to slalom through boulders and holes on the way to number five. This was said to be the most difficult by local boaters. Here the river is severely constricted, as it makes an s-type turn around a bend. The water forcefully pushes boaters into pinning situations on the right hand bank. We had also been told of a recent death of a kayaker in this rapid.

Many locals take out after number five to avoid paying a day use fee at the Park Service take out after number seven. We paddled on and found numbers six and seven to be more challenging than anything above. Paddling Number Six strongly reminds you that the river is in control — not you. Big holes and constant wave action throughout six and seven made the day use fee well worth paying.

Saturday came all too quickly, and we were off to the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas. This was, by far, the most visually impressive run of the week. Here the river cuts through an extremely narrow gorge, with over 1000 foot towering walls. At the apex of this run, the paddler encounters “Wallslammer” rapid. This drop lies directly beneath a bridge and tramway over 1100 feet above. As the drop bends to the left, the water forces the paddler to the right wall, where it is difficult to miss several big holes. The Royal Gorge is another long run, exceeding 10 miles in length. Like Brown’s Canyon, it has a rather slow lead in, but unlike Brown’s, it has big water drops, and several keeper holes — just ask John Boysen. John learned the unfortunate lesson that his Wavesport Big EZ is not so EZ to get out of in the middle of a monster pourover. I could hardly watch, as John tried in vain to ride this one out. The rapid that pummeled him and led to his eventually scuba session, was called Sledgehammer. All I can say about this rapid is — don’t go right! Or you’ll get Hammered! Guess we should’ve scouted.

Another big rapid on the gorge is Sunshine. However, this one we shouldn’t have scouted. John had run this section before, and had informed us that Sunshine was the only rapid to worry about (guess he forgot about da hammer). Since it seemed a good place to break, we scouted this one. Sunshine is a long class four with about three necessary moves. Threading the pourovers at the bottom is a real feat. Here I learned that re-attaching your backband support after lunch is a good idea, before trying to punch big hydraulics. While running this rapid vertically, in a stern squirt position, I had a great view of the lovely desert cliffs above. Unfortunately I did not have much of a view of the big white holes that eventually led to my roll practice of the day. However, I was not the only victim of this rapid, and nameless other boaters with me also learned a lesson here. The lesson: don’t over-think a rapid while scouting. It’s only rocks and water… get in your boat and paddle!

The Gorge run flows primarily through dry desert terrain. The only downside to the Gorge are the rafts. This is one of the most commercially available sections in the state. Get on early to avoid the traffic! Saturday was the last night of the FIBARK festival. Much different than the Cheat or Gauley festivals, the FIBARK is frequented by all the town residents, paddler and non-paddler alike. There are bands, vendors, and carnival rides for the kids. And just in case the tilt-a-whirl doesn’t give you enough spins — the F Street wave is fully lit for night surfing. This spot is always on! It’s not uncommon to see a line-up in the eddy at 1 a.m.

Sunday morning…..Last Day. We break camp and head for the Numbers. Gotta get to Denver International by 2 p.m., so there’s not time to wait for a shuttle. The Plan: Max and John would put in after number two and take out by number five, where John and I would finish numbers five through seven. However, the Park Service Ranger wasn’t too keen on the trespassing needed for our alternate access plans, so we reverted to Plan B: Max and John would put in for a speed run from numbers one through seven, while I ran shuttle and shot video. The run took a little more than an hour, and was all business, with little play. The level was down a bit from Friday, but still a fast run with big waves.

Before concluding our trip, we made one last stop at Denver’s Confluence Park. This man-made whitewater park sits downtown in the heart of Denver, on the South Platte river. The designers of this park have built four to five nice waves out of what used to be a completely flat section of river. This was done by placing a dam from river left, to mid-stream. The waves are created as the water flows down a strategically placed staircase of concrete and river rocks. Known for its poor water quality, the waves are appropriately named Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and so on. We opted for a disease-free trip, and decided to head for the Airport instead.

When paddling any another state, it’s hard not to compare it to what we have here in West Virginia. Colorado was no different. Throughout the week, we all put our “two cents” in, while comparing the two states. Certainly, Colorado’s cold, clean water is a draw for many boaters around the country. During the peak run-off, the state is a very popular destination. If the weather stays warm and sunny, the water flows are very consistent each day. However, as we found out, just one or two days of cool weather can drastically slow the snowmelt. We had planned to run the “Slaughterhouse” section of the Roaring Fork of the Colorado River, near Aspen. It is a very popular and technical class 4, and had been running at optimal levels for days. The cold weather and snow showers that entered the region on Wednesday completely shut down the snow-melt, and dried up the creek. But for the most part, you can depend on the river and creek levels being up during their peak season.

Additionally, the whitewater parks are popular and dependable destinations in Colorado. Although mostly artificial, the parks create a fun atmosphere in the middle of town. The consistent flows make the parks very reliable for several weeks each year.

Another big plus is the dry air of the western states. Dry air equals dry gear each day! You need only hang your gear for a few hours before packing it up for the next day.

But as you might expect, a flaw with Colorado boating is the short season. Although some rivers run nearly year-round (i.e. “Shoshone” section of the Colorado), for the most part, this state has a good three month boating season. Sure, it can be longer than that, but if you go early - too cold; go late - too low. Some boaters would go further and say that they only have about a 4-5 week window of good run-off. Since the run-off begins and ends at different times, in different areas, you can extend your season by travelling greater distances.

Even though I love Colorado, and will probably be back for a week next summer, it’s hard to beat the Mountain State’s year-round boating. In even the driest of years, we still have several options available, with the New, Gauley, and nearby Youghiogheny. Though we are primarily dependent on rain to fill up our streambeds, we usually seem to get our fair share (especially this summer!). Furthermore, our warm water just can’t be beat. It’s not uncommon to be in short sleeves from May through October! Try that out west! Brrrrrrr!

We never finally settled our friendly debate. It continued through-out our plane ride home, as we had a lot of spare time to kill, since the airline delayed, re-routed, and ultimately cancelled our return flight to Parkersburg, giving us instead the taxi ride from hell!

The best part of our week was the inspiration and freedom of paddling new rivers in a new place each day. Even worse than the taxi was being away from my family for ten days. But as I arrived home on June 17, on my first father’s day ever, all seemed well. My wife asleep, unable to stay up for my impending cross-country taxicab arrival. My baby boy asleep, tucked safe and sound in his crib. And, as I looked down upon him, I thought of the fun paddling trips ahead. Perhaps he too, is dreaming of paddling with his pop one day, in Colorado, West Virginia, or some other distant place. Hopefully he’ll soon be my number one paddling buddy. But if not, I guess he can always run shuttle!

It was good to be home. Even after 10 days away, the rivers were still up. The adventure was over, but shall remain in my memories forever.