57 Miles of Paddling on North Platte River from Treasure Island to Fort Steele, Wyoming
Saturday, April 21, 2012 – a very full paddling day on the North Platte River in Wyoming. It was a training run with Rob Bean before our incoming Canyonlands trip (down the Green River from town of Green River to the confluence and up the Colorado River to Moab).
I paddled Sea Wind canoe and Rob his Kruger boat (Sawyer Loon). The weather was sunny and beautiful, but with a strong head wind during most of the day. The head wind combined with a shallow and relatively slow river (below 1000 cfs below I-80) made our run longer and tougher than expected. We started at Treasure Island about 9am after early morning drive from Fort Collins and finish well after sunset at Fort Steele (I-80 boat ramp).
Spring was still very early along the North Platte – no green leaves, but a lot of wildlife: geese, ducks, bald eagles, herons, deer, otter, and later after sunset numerous beavers. The last memorable picture: the deer silhouette high above the river on a rocky edge against the fading sky.
Most difficult part of the trip: driving home after paddling.
GPS odometer:
57.6 miles, moving time: 10:00h, stopped time: 1:32h, overall average speed: 5 mph, max speed: 10.3 mph.
Spot live trace:
I was paddling with a Spot device and was recording a live trace. Please note that the trace is displayed on two pages for some reasons.