The second Wyoming Outback Challenge on the North Platte River organized by Canoe Colorado took place on May 25 during Memorial Day weekend. The race starts at Hot Springs in Saratoga and runs 44 miles down the river across a quite remote area to Fort Steele (I-80 boat ramp).
High cliffs on the North Platte River above Pick Bridge – shot with Pentax Optio W30 camera mounted on a front deck of my Thunderbolt with the sticky pod and set in in an interval shooting mode
The river was big this year with the flow between 7000 and 8000 cfs at Dugway (just below the race finish). The weather was surprisingly good considering gusty winds, rain and snow showers a day before the race and not very encouraging forecast for the entire weekend.
There were two filters in the race:
- a deadline at Pick Bridge (11 miles below Saratoga) which was set up this year at 1:20
- two sweep boats are starting at Pick Bridge and paddle down river at cruising pace – any racing boats caught by them are disqualified (they are allowed to continue to the finish since there is really no other option).
The results below list all boats reaching the finish including the disqualified racers. At this time I am not sure how many boats started and if anybody dropped off at Pick Bridge.
2008 Race Results
| paddler | class / boatPick Bridge | finish time | |
| Scott Cummins Denver, CO |
solo double blade Fenn surfski |
0:57:40 | 4:05:30 |
| Mike Lesnik Helena, MT |
solo double blade WSBS X-par Missile |
0:57:43 | 4:07:51 |
| Marek Uliasz Fort Collins, CO |
solo double blade WSBS Thunderbolt-X |
0:59:45 | 4:27:36 |
| Rob Bean Fort Collins, CO |
solo single blade Spencer X-treme canoe |
1:08:05 | 5:07:55 |
| Clem McHale CO |
solo single blade Bell canoe |
1:09:05 | 5:42:00 DSQ |
| Bob Willits/John Schukei MT |
tandem double blade Fenn Mako Surfski |
0:57:41 | 4:05:50 |
| John Murphy/Steve Daniel CO |
tandem double blade Spencer tandem canoe |
1:01:15 | 4:15:00 |
| Sean DeVean/Mark Norford MT |
tandem double blade Prijon plastic tandem kayak |
1:15:17 | 5:10:55 DSQ |
Just for comparison the results from the previous year with much lower river (flow between 2000 and 3000 cfs).
2007 Race Results
| paddler | class / boat | Pick Bridge | finish time |
| Scott Cummins Denver, CO |
solo double blade Fenn surfski |
1:06 | 4:55:10 |
| Jeremy Rodgers Boulder, CO |
solo double blade JKK Supernova |
1:07 | 4:58:57 |
| Mike Lesnik Helena, MT |
solo double blade WSBS X-par Missile |
1:08 | 5:06:08 |
| Marek Uliasz Fort Collins, CO |
solo double blade WSBS Thunderbolt-X |
1:16 | 5:19:37 |
| Danielle Ballengee Dillon, CO |
solo double blade Vaihala surfski |
1:18 | 5:28:26 |
| Rob Bean Fort Collins, CO |
solo single blade C1 canoe |
1:26 | 7:10 DSQ |
I will be showing more pictures. I was shooting them every one minute during the race from the front deck of my Thunderbolt kayak.
Approaching Eagle Nest rapid. 10 miles to the finish, but more headwind.
Related posts and links:
- 2007 Wyoming Outback Challenge on North Platte River- Results and Pictures
- 3 Days on the North Platte River in Wyoming: from Treasure Island to Fort Steele
- 2007 Wyoming Outback Challenge on North Platte River
- more paddling on North Platte River at Mountain Wayfarer
- North Platte River above Seminoe Reservoir, Wyoming
-
North Platte River from Treasure Island to Pick Bridge – movie
- The Floater’s Guide to Wyoming Rivers: Paddle and Portage
-
Wyoming Atlas & Gazetteer
- river flow:Northgate, CO | Ft Steele/Dugway