October 31, 2006. Sisson Nucleus 100 multisport kayak at Douglas Lake in northern Colorado
Related posts:
|
My local paddling lakes are frozen, but Horsetooth Reservoir is still open and the South Platter River is flowing. Unfortunately, I am not ready for my usual winter paddling yet. I need a few weeks to recover from my wrist surgery which I had just before Christmas.
Meantime, I am reposting a photo story from my paddling on the South Platte River on January 12, 2008. I paddled Thuderbolt-x kayak upstream from Kersey to the Plumb Ditch Dam and back down the river. All pictures were shot with Pentax Optio W30. Rob Bean just paddled the same course on the South Platte with his Spencer X-treme canoe and a new wing paddle. He posted some pictures from this trip on Facebook. |
|
 |
14:00. I am launching my Thunderbolt kayak under the bridge at Kersey and starting to paddle upstream. Air temperature: a few degrees above freezing. Partially cloudy. River flow: 480 cfs. Snow on the ground and a little bit of ice along shores. There were some spectacular icicles a year ago on this shore. I have a tendency to shoot pictures at the same spots. |
 |
Passing old cars above Kersey. It is the same “parking lot” where in October 2007 I had a close meeting and a photo session with a young eagle. The river has developed some new channels during last year. |
 |
1 minute stop at the mouth of Lone Tree Creek. This time, the water level is too low to go any further. Perhaps, 50 geese were sitting there just a few seconds ago. No hunters. You wouldn’t notice this creek when paddling downstream. Paddling upstream reveals many river secrets. |
 |
Working hard upstream. Speed between 2 and 3 mph. 1 hour to confluence with the Cache la Poudre River. As expected there were some goose hunters there just packing their decoys. Mitani-Tokuyasu State Wilderness Area next to the Poudre used to be my favorite spot for kayak launching. However, nowadays, this area is open only during hunting season and a parking space is limited to 4 cars. Also, all trees on this shore died for some reason during last couple of years. |
 |
I believe that the South Platte is getting somewhat faster with more shallow spots above the confluence with the Poudre. Plumb Ditch Dam – the target of my upstream workout today. Two hours, almost 5 miles. I heard hunters somewhere near the dam, so I turned around and landed on a gravel bar a little bit further downstream. 10 minute stop. A cup of hot tea. And, easy paddling down the river back to Kersey. |
 |
Sunset. Beautiful light, but is getting cold. Brrrr! My speed down river varies between 6 and 8 mph. Of course, I am tired after upstream workout, however, I am hitting shallows more than when going slowly upstream. |
 |
Eagle tree. There were 6 bald eagles sitting on that tree. I saw many more eagles along the river. |
 |
16:50. A few minutes after sunset. I can hear the Kersey bridge. There is always a heavy and fast traffic on this road even on weekends. So, be careful during your launching operations. 9.7 miles paddled during this trip according to my GPS. |
|
Related posts: | |
Fog on a river may be really photogenic. Well, if it is not too dense. I rarely have occasion to paddle in fog in a dry Colorado and when it happens it is usually too cold to enjoy it.
I just returned back to my pictures shot im March of 2006 during the WaterTribe Ultimate Florida Challenge. I didn’t complete that race around Florida. However, after quitting the official race and some rest I paddled across Florida from Fort Clinch to Cedar Key.
   |
  
|
  
|
My last two nights on the Suwannee River were really cold. I believe the air temperature was dropping down to 30s. A dense fog was forming over the river making night paddling somewhat challenging. However, mornings with rising sun were beautiful and provided me with many photographic opportunities.
The above pictures were shot with Pentax Optio WP in a fully automatic mode but usually with some adjustments of exposure time. I have assigned EV compensation to the “green button”. Right now, the exposure compensation in my Pentax is at the first position available by one click to the green button. I am often underexposing when shooting in the harsh light of the middle of day as well as during sunset or dusk shooting. You can see that the image quality at low light was pretty poor from my Pentax Optio WP, but that compact and waterproof camera was easily accessible all time.
SandyBottom aka Dawn Stewart described the foggy nights on the Suwannee at the 6th position of her Scariest Moments during the Challenge.
6 – The fog (and dark and cold) on the Suwannee River, 3 nights in a row. There are often trees down and branches overhanging on the banks of the River creating what could be a very dangerous situation. There was also no moon the nights we were on the Rivers, it was very dark. Three nights in a row, on the Suwannee, in the pitch dark, the fog was so thick, that we often couldn’t even see the outline of the tree line. Even more frightening because there were constant turns on the River, sometimes as often as every 50 yds. These nights were also some of the coldest, with lows in the 30s. One night the fog was so bad, that DrKayak, RiverJohn, and I had to raft up and float, knowing we were going in the right direction because of the current, but worried if we hit a bank, we needed to be together, in case there was trouble.
I don’t remember those nights as scary, however, I experienced fog at the lower more open river than SandyBottom’s group. I had also a reference to my paddling in 2003 Texas Water Safari.
There was a dense fog at night over Guadelupe River between Dupont and Salt Water Barrier. I could see only tree tops and nothing on the water surface. I was really scared that hitting something would result in capsizing my tippy safari canoe in a gator territory. Fortunately, I didn’t hit anything in the fog. Later that night when the fog cleared, I hit a submerged log in the middle of the river below Tivoli but I didn’t capsized.
By comparison, I felt pretty safe on the Suwannee River in my stable Sea Wind canoe. I suppose I am more a river paddler than sea kayaker. I was much less comfortable when entering the Gordon Pass during night with some choppy water condition.
Related posts in fitness paddling blog:
December paddling with Sea Wind Canoe on Horsetooth Reservoir
Not much paddling in December 2007. Every year I spend a week in December in San Fracisco attending Fall Meeting of American Geophysical Union. I was shooting some cityscapes with a new Canon EOS 40D camera. After returning back to Colorado I managed to take Sea Wind canoe to the Horsetooth Reservoir before it was frozen.
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
Paddling Photography a Year Ago – December 2006: Thunderbolt Kayak and Winter
Horsetooth, Snow, Ice and Sea Wind Canoe
Paddling on Wet Sand: Discovering the South Platte River in Eastern Colorado
Happy Christmas from Frozen Colorado!
Paddling on Wet Sand: the South Platte River below Fort Morgan
Flickr’s Stats: 10 Mostly Viewed Pictures from My Photostream
I started my winter paddling season on the South Platte River in the middle of November. It was a short trip, rather a photo session. The goal was to photograph old cars on the river shore at the Patterson Ditch dam. That time I packed my “big” camera, Canon EOS 40D together with a tripod, launched my Thunderbolt-X kayak at Evans Riverside Park and paddled about two miles down river to the dam.
I spent about one hour shooting the dam and old cars protecting river banks. I was planning to start paddling back exactly at sunset, but I stayed at the dam much longer enjoying the gentle light after sunset. I paddled upstream with in a falling darkness. It was a good workout. Only once I got stacked in a sandbar. Hundreds of geese were landing on the river and ponds nearby. At the end I had some problems to find my launching spot and a pathway to my car. It seems it was much easier to paddle on the river than to carry kayak on land in the complete darkness.
It wasn’t the first time when I photographed these old cars. It must be some strange attraction. Here are my three earlier posts where these old cars were involved:
    
see Pentax Optio W60 at Amazon |
My collection of waterproof Pentax Optio cameras for paddling and outdoor photography includes three models:
Pentax Optio WP
April, 2005. I started with placing the camera in a glass of water … You can check my first impressions from paddling and shooting with Optio WP. The camera worked pretty for all training and, eventually, the Safari, though I shot fewer pictures than I hoped to. One of the pictures from the start line up was published in Adventure Sports Magazine. I shot over 1000 pictures with the Optio WP in March 2006 during the WaterTribe Ultimate Florida Challenge. Pentax Optio W10
May, 2006. Pentax Optio W30December 2007. Then, I found that I could buy the newest model Optio W30 cheaper than the W10 (less than $200 including mail rebate at Amazon). So, I ended up with the Optio W30. I paddled the entire winter shooting with Optio W30 from my Thunderbolt kayak on the South Platte River, shot animation from the Wyoming Outback Challnege and many pictures during 2008 Missouri River 340 Race. I still need to experiment with installing a filter mount on one of my Optio cameras. Pentax Optio W60May 2008. |
|
Related posts:
|
|
I posted this little photo story in December 2006. It happens again! Beaver Pond is frozen, but Horsetooth Reservoir is still open and the South Platte River is flowing as usual.
|
|
These two have invaded my paddling zone … |
|
… and claim that my paddling days are over. |
|
|
They may be right … |
|
|
for while, but … |
|
|
There is still hope! |
|
|
Water is flowing. Somewhere … |
|
Some posts from winter paddling: Winter Dusk on the South Platte RiverWinter Afternoon on South Platte River with Thunderbolt-X KayakWinter Canoeing on the South Platte River in Northern ColoradoClimbing Snowdrifts on the South Platte River with Thunderbolt KayakPaddling during Duck and Goose Hunting Season on South Platte River?My First Paddling on the South Platte River near GreeleyOn the Icy South Platte River with Pentax Optio W10 Camera and Thunderbolt KayakSea Wind, the Icebreaker – Paddling Video Clip from Northern ColoradoSea Wind on the Horsetooth Reservoir – Colorado Winter Paddling Video |
|
September 2006. Lonetree Reservoir in northern Colorado. Kayak: Sisson Nucleus 100. Camera: Pentax Optio W10 mounted with the sticky pod suction cup of the side of a kayak bow and set in an interval mode.
How many random shots do you need to select one like above? Perhaps, 30, assuming that you are not splashing water onto your camera lens.
Related posts:
Beaver Pond is still open, but I noticed some floating ice during yesterday paddling.
The picture of Thunderbolt is available for purchase from Featurepics.
