Here is my low water paddling rig I am using recently on local rivers: old Seda Cyclon whitewater kayak with a fin attached and wildwater wing paddle with aluminum tips. The fin really help tracking and moving forward, although, it is a liability when dragging a kayak over obstacles. It doesn’t cause problems in shallow spots.

I am packing my Canon DSLR camera, a tripod, sometimes a second lens or flash and doing short exploratory paddling on rivers like Cache la Poudre in Fort Collins or St Vrain Creek. I am also going to shoot some diversion dams on the South Platte.

I am planning these short trips around the best time for photography, so late afternoon or early morning. After evening paddling, I am trying to shoot something at “blue hour” after sunset like the Fort St Vrain Power Station or Ft Collins downtown.

Problems with a tennis elbow prevent me from more intense paddling workouts right now.

Related posts:
Last Fall Colors on the Poudre River
Poudre River from Fort Collins to Greeley – Late Fall Paddling
Poudre River from Windsor to Greeley with High Water from Horsetooth Reservoir
Old Aqueduct over the Cache la Poudre River
Biking and Shooting along the Poudre River – Fort Collins Downtown
Kayaking on Saint Vrain and South Platte Rivers near Platteville
Shooting Paddlers – Photographic Adventures with Canoeists, Kayakers and Rafter

Where to paddle in Fort Collins in winter time when all ponds and lake are frozen? The South Platte River is usually the only open water in northern Colorado, but it is 30-40 miles of driving. However, it is possible to find short sections of our local Poudre River suitable for some paddling even if the river flow is almost nothing. One such a spot is about a quarter mile of the river above I-25 within Arapaho Bend Natural Area. You can access that section from the Strauss Cabin parking (the very east end of Horsetooth Road) through two small ponds. When these ponds are frozen the river access requires a pretty long walk (~0.5 mile).

The picture above shot in January 2007 shows another opportunity – the river above the Timnath Reservoir Inlet Dam between Lemay and Timberline Streets. Finally, I found a comfortable access to this river section from the Nix Natural Area and did some scouting with Seda kayak.

Here is the entry (fire lane gate) to Nix Natural Area from the Hoffman Mill Road (driving north on Lemay turn right just before the bridge into Poudre River Drive, and then follow Hoffman Mill Road until you pass a gravel quarry).

About 200 yards of gravel overgrown fire lane leads you to a bike trail and the river.

Then, you have about half a mile of the river with standing or slow moving water. A lovely scenery in fall colors. It may be also good for some winter paddling photography. You can paddle upstream almost to Lemay Street, but before the bridge you will encounter some shallows with a fast current. I did my paddling on October 14 with ~100 cfs of the river flow in Ft Collins. It was enough water to run through those shallow downstream. However, rocks were pretty slippery and water too cold too drag my kayak up the river.

I started my exploration of the lower St Vrain Creek in spring of 2004. I covered 7 miles of the river from highway 66 to the South Platte near Platteville. Most often, I launch at the Weld county road 19.5 just north of the Fort St. Vrain Power Station and a mile above the confluence. The best flow to paddle there is perhaps around 400 cfs, but there is still enough water to paddle at 100 cfs, especially, if you are just going downriver. You may encounter occasional log jam and one rocky and shallow spot near a high cliff before you reached the South Platte. There is a diversion dam with an easy portage about 1.5 mile above the county road 19.5.

Pictures in this post come from my recent early October paddling on the St Vrain Creek. I was testing my low water paddling rig: old Seda Cyclon whitewater kayak with an added fin and a heavy duty wildwater wing paddle. The kayak was tracking pretty well and I enjoyed upstream/downstream workout. I had enough room to pack a tripod and my Canon DSLR camera.

I finished my paddling at sunset and I was ready to shoot the nearby power station during evening blue hour. Evening Blue Hour refers to the period of twilight when there is neither full daylight nor complete darkness. It is the best time to photograph cityscape or industrial scenery with a lot of lights against the deep blue sky. The blue hour starts approximately 15 minutes after sunset and is lasting only 10 minutes, so it is really a short time window.

I see a few way to improve my picture of the power plant. Cold temperatures can add drama by making steam plumes from cooling towers visible. Some snow cover on the foreground wouldn’t hurt either. Finally, water reflections would be cool. The power plant is nicely visible from the diversion dam upstream (see a thumbnail of my 2004 picture). So, it looks like I have a plan for a winter night paddling …

A waterproof Pentax Optio W30 camera was mounted on a bow of my Sea Wind canoe with Sticky Pod suction cup and a mini ball head. The camera was set in a lapse time (interval) mode to shoot a picture every 4 minutes …

I just posted a new slide show in Fitness Paddling blog – 120 pictures selected from the four years of Missouri River 340 Race. This annual paddling race take place in July/August at full moon and runs nonstop across the state of Missouri from Kansas City to St Charles.

This year the race was postponed for a month due to flooding conditions on the Missouri River. So, instead of driving to Kansas City I had time to go through my old pictures. A lot of memories!