Mon - February 25, 2008

The South Platte River Sees More Racing Boats - Weekly Paddling Workout



February 24, 2008, Sunday afternoon. Finally, more boats showed up on the river. We (Jeremy - wildwater racing kayak, John - Ruahine Opus, Marek - Thunderbolt-x) launched at highway 60 east of Milliken and paddled 5 miles down the river with a portage over the Godfrey Ditch Dam to the mouth of Big Thompson River and back. A good river flow, a lot of birds, but pretty windy during our upstream leg.

Garmin outdoor fitness GPS When paddling down the river we met Rob Bean in his new Spencer X-treme going upstream. Rob had to launch earlier and paddled about 8 miles between Godfrey and Union dams.

I tried to paddle upstream the Big Thompson River - a sandy bottom, some rocks, fast current. It looked quite inviting. I turned around after the first quarter mile or so at the first fallen tree. I don't think I could go much further at the flow of 45cfs. A few years ago I was exploring the Big Thompson River below Loveland and paddled at flow as low as 75cfs but down the river.

At the same time as our workout Eric Nyre and company were attacking the South Platte at Kersey. Eric paddled about 4 miles upstream.

Spencer X-treme canoe on South Platte River
Rob Bean paddling his new Spencer X-treme canoe upstream above Godfrey Ditch Dam

Big Thompson River
Trying to paddle the Big Thompson River upstream

Godfrey Ditch diversion dam
Approaching the Godfrey Ditch Dam in our way back upstream to Milliken

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Posted at 06:09 AM    


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