January 16, 2010. My lake paddling season in Colorado is opened!

I took Sea Wind Canoe for a short paddling on the Horsetooth Reservoir. I started at Satanka Cove next to the dam and managed to go to the South Eltuck Cove. Ice was melting along shores creating a narrow channel of free water. However, wind was shifting ice and some passages were closed making necessary to drag or push my boat over ice.

All the way I stayed next to the shore, so my round trip got pretty long – 6 miles. Ice canoe racing was coming to my mind. Now, I need a little bit of snow to enhance my pictures.

Related posts:
Paddling and Photographing the Horsetooth Reservoir in Northern Colorado
Cost of Paddling – Access to Local, County, State and Federal Waters
Paddling Horsetooth Reservoir in Winter Scenery
Sea Wind on the Horsetooth Reservoir – Colorado Winter Paddling Video
Launching Thunderbolt Kayak on Horsetooth Reservoir from Lory State Park
Ice Canoe Racing across St Lawrence River in Quebec City

After producing 4 parts of TITS (This is the Sea 1, 2, 3, 4) series devoted to sea kayaking, Justine Curgenven delivers This is canoeing.

“THIS IS CANOEING” is a 2-disc celebration of canoeing, showcasing top single-blade paddlers in their pursuit of remote wilderness journeys or challenging white water. Multi-award winning film maker, Justine Curgenven captures the essence of canoeing in 12 short films. From open canoe slalom races to 1,000 mile birchbark expeditions, Justine provides insights into the diversity of the sport and the influential people who tell it’s story. Immerse yourself in this globe-trotting 3 hours of adventure to world class canoeing destinations in Canada, the United States, Scotland & Wales.

I just ordered my copy from Amazon.

I have many miles of bike trails in Fort Collins and neighboring cities of Loveland, Windsor and Greeley. They allow me to follow the Poudre and Big Thompson Rivers on a bike or inline skates. On January 31, 2010 I decided for a little bit further bike exploration – the South Platte River north of Denver.

My photography destination was the output of Denver sewer. In typical winter conditions it delivers practically all water into the South Platte (up to 200cfs, see flow data).

1. More compact than my Canon DSLRs (D40 and 5D) and easier to carry on my racing boats including Thunderbolt-X kayak.
2. Providing a better image quality than Pentax Optio W10 suitable for my stock photography. Pentax is great for paddling and shooting pictures for posting on web, but these pictures are usually too noisy for commercial applications.
3. Recording RAW format, if possible, to allow me more flexibility in picture postprocessing.

Just browsing posts created in this blog in Decembers in the last three years. I see a lot of winter paddling on the South Platte River and some memories from summer trips. Late in December 2007 I was still paddling on the Horsetooth Reservoir.

The most significant event was to start paddling WSBS Thundebolt-x kayak in December 2006.

2006

Are My Paddlings Days Over?

Kayak Building as a Winter Project? Stripper, Stitch-and-Glue, Skin on Frame …

WSBS Thunderbolt Kayak in My Backyard

Winter Afternoon on South Platte River with Thunderbolt-X Kayak

12 Pictures and Reflections from Paddling with a Camera in 2006

Kayaks and Politics: Am I a Racist ?

Paddling Sisson Nucleus Kayak on Lonetree Reservoir

Cache la Poudre in Winter by Racing Canoe

2007

Neutral Density (ND) Filters for Paddling Photography

Kayaking the Aland Archipelago of the Baltic Sea in Pictures by Björn Olin

Do You Need Some Inspiration for Your Photography?

Pentax Optio W(aterproof) Cameras for Paddling and Racing Photography

Horsetooth, Snow, Ice and Sea Wind Canoe

Paddling on Wet Sand: Discovering the South Platte River in Eastern Colorado

Paddling on Wet Sand: the South Platte River below Fort Morgan

2008

3 Winter Paddling Hours on the South Platte River

Paddling in Fog on the Lower Suwannee River

Car Photography Session on the South Platte River

My Collection of Pentax Optio Waterproof Cameras

Canon PowerShot G10 with Waterproof Case for Paddling?

Thunderbolt-X Kayak Portrait

It is not easy to catch good a paddling water in the South Platte River in eastern Colorado. 5 years ago I made a series of trips on the South Platte above and below Fort Morgan. My trip reports had a common title Paddling on Wet Sand …

It seems that the South Platte has a pretty good flow this winter, so I selected 20 miles above Fort Morgan for my New Year paddling. Sunny weather with temperature above freezing (well at least before sunset), a little bit of breeze, and the river flow of ~750 cfs at Weldona.

I was joined by Rob Bean for this trip. We paddled our Kruger canoes (Sea Wind and Sawyer Loon), probably, the best boat choice for winter paddling. We started at Goodrich (hwy 144) around 12:30 and finished 5 hours later under the Rainbow Bridge at Fort Morgan.

The river was slower than I expected – much wider than between Evans and Kuner, but pretty shallow with multiple channels. It was also much nicer than you could see around Greeley. No feedlot aroma! We had three dam portages. The last one over the Upper Platte and Beaver Canal dam was pretty long, but snow on ground helped with portaging.

You can compare my pictures with those shot five years ago during my 30 mile Texas Water Safari training run. I had much lower water (~400 cfs at Weldona) and a nicer weather in May.

Connie helped us with a shuttle. We finished our trip together with a dinner at Fort Morgan’s Memories.

South Platte River at Orchad (highway 144) – preparing our canoes, Sea Wind and Loon, for launch. Almost every river bridge access here requires to go under or over barbed wire fence.

Photo by Rob. See his pictures on Facebook: South Platte Training – New Years Day 2010

A typical scenery with cottonwood trees on the South Platte River

Following Rob through one of narrower river channels

A little bit of sunbathing just before sunset.

Eagle nest. We saw several bald eagles.

Upper Platte and Beaver Canal Dam, just 1.7 miles above Fort Morgan

Dragging boats in falling darkness – a quarter mile portage along the frozen channel to find a safe place to launch our boats. The river banks were covered by ice and deep undercut snow. It was definitely more winter near Fort Morgan.

South Platte Training – New Years Day 2010 – Robert Bean’s Facebook Photos.

I live in Fort Collins in northern Colorado. Most of my paddling takes place in my local water within a short driving range. I am interested primary in flatwater paddling and race training, photography and some other outdoor activities like hiking and mountain biking. This post is written from own geographical perspective and experience.

Free Waters

There are many free paddling opportunities near Fort Collins and in northern Colorado.

1. City of Fort Collins Natural Areas
There are many lakes and ponds in Fort Collins and most of them are available for paddling. I paddle, train and photograph a lot on Beaver Pond in Arapaho Bend Natural Area (1 lap is about 1 mile). Other popular water spots include Prospect Ponds and Dixon Reservoir at Pineridge.

2. Rivers
I paddle the entire winter and early spring season on the South Platte River near Greeley. Popular river segments include Brighton – Fort Lupton, Wildcat (on St Vrain Creek) – Miliken, Evans – Kuner. Water permitting I am trying to explore other river parts downstream to Fort Morgan.

Cache la Poudre River in Fort Collins provides more challenging paddling opportunities, but only during runoff season in spring and early summer (or when significant amount of water is released from Horsetooth Reservoir). I have also paddled lower St Vrain Creek and Big Thomson River below Loveland.

3. Denver Water Reservoirs. Every year I visit very scenic Gross Reservoir and Dillon Lake. These are longer trips from Fort Collins (1/2 or entire day).

4. Lake Hattie near Laramie, WY. I used to visit it quite often, but I am not sure what is its current status or water conditions. It is a popular destination for windsurfing.

Larimer County Parks

They include Horsetooth Reservoir, Carter Lake, and Pinewood Reservoir.

Horsetooth Reservoir is one of my favorite places to paddles, especially, off the boating season )or in summer if I want to train in a boat chop). Horsetooth Mountain Park is a great area for hiking and mountain biking.

A single visit to Larimer County Parks is expensive: $7 per vehicle and $7 per boat (big power boat or kayak). Annual permits are more useful for me: $65 vehicle (Larimer County resident) and $35 paddling permit. It is “family” permit which allows 3 boats (non-motorized, non-registered boats such as canoes, kayaks, rafts, racing shells, sailboards) from the same household on the lake at the same time. So, my total is $100. They start to sell these permits on-line by December 1, so the permits are valid in practice for 13 months (December to December next year). 2010 Permits.

You can also access the Horsetooth Reservoir from Lory State Park (North Eltuck Cove). It requires to carry your boat for some distance (up to 1/4 mile at low water).

Colorado State Wilderness Areas
Numerous lakes in Colorado are controlled by Colorado Division of Wildlife. So called, Habitat Stamp is required for everybody (except children and seniors) even if you are not fishing or hunting and you just want to walk or watch birds or paddle. The habitat stamp is included in a purchase of fishing or hunting license. The stand-alone annual habitat stamp can be purchased on-line by $10.25.

I paddle regularly on Boedecker and Lonetree Reservoirs and, occasionally, on Douglas Lakes north of Fort Collins, and Dowdy Lake (Red Feathers Lakes). These are all State Wilderness Areas. Some access spots along the South Platte (e.g., Mitani-Tokuyasu near Kersey) are also SWAs.

Colorado State Parks

Most of Colorado State Parks include lakes or reservoirs, often in a scenic mountain locations. I often visit two parks near Fort Collins: Boyd Lake ($7 – daily vehicle pass or $6 off season) and Lory ($6 per vehicle, access to Horsetooth Reservoir), and, sometimes, Lake Pueblo for winter paddling.

Annual parks pass costs $60 per vehicle and covers all kayaks and canoes you carry on it. For 2010 it is valid for 12 months since the date of purchase.

National Parks and Recreational Areas

Access to National Parks is quite expensive, e.g., Rocky Mountain National Park – $20 per vehicle for 7 consecutive days. If you plan more frequent visit or visit to different park, the annual pass makes sense, especially, that it also covers all federal recreational areas.

America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass – An $80 pass available to everyone which provides access to, and use of, Federal recreation sites that charge an Entrance or Standard Amenity Fee for a year, beginning from the date of sale. The pass admits the pass holder/s and passengers in a non-commercial vehicle at per vehicle fee areas, and the pass holder +3 adults (not to exceed 4 adults), at per person fee areas (children under 16 are admitted free).

I have RMNP in my neighborhood. I also plan to visit Moab (Arches and Canyonlands Parks). Paddlewise, I am interested in Arapaho National Recreation Area with Lake Granby. Yellowstone and Grand Teton are still waiting for me.

This December I purchased Larimer County Parks annual passes ($65+$35), Habitat Stamp ($10.25) and National Parks annual pass ($80) which I already used for San Francisco Maritime Park and RMNP. So far, I’ve spent $190.25 for 2010 access passes. I am not buying Colorado State Park annual pass unless I have a chance to paddle some other parks beyond my local ones. In 2009 I had the annual pass for State Parks, but not for Larimer County Parks.

Related posts and resources:
South Platte River below Denver – GPS/photo river guide
Cache la Poudre River from Laporte to Greeley
Big Thompson River below Loveland
Colorado Lakes and Reservoirs
Paddling Kayak and Canoe in Northern Colorado

During last September paddling trip to Nebraska with Rob Bean I used my Subaru Outback to carry our two Kruger canoes along Dismal and Niobrara Rivers.

I have 58″ Yakima crossbars on Subaru and Ezee-V racks. We carried my Sea Wind (28″ beam) upside down as usual on crossbars and put Rob’s Sawyer Loon on V racks. I transport a variety of my racing boats and kayaks on these racks (see my review), but it was first time I used them for a “fat” canoe. Of course, in the case of wide boat straps need to be used instead of bungee loops which work fine for Thunderbolt kayak or Surfrigger. I should point out that Loon is much lighter and a little bit narrower than the expedition heavy Sea Wind.

All transportation went pretty well including a longer driving from Mullen to Valentine with a strong cross wind. You can see more pictures of these two Kruger boats in the Dismal River slide show. Pictures presented here were shot by Rob with his Pentax Optio W30.

2006

2007

2008