I started my February trip to southern Colorado with visiting Paint Mine Interpretive Park at Calhan east of Colorado Springs. I spent there evening and next morning photographing fantastic clay and sandstone erosion formations. I added some pictures to my stock photography portfolio. I am definitely going to return back to that badlands.
Next, I drove to Salida to pick up a new kayak, Jackson Kayak Karma RG from Colorado Kayak Supply. I was surprised by amount of water flowing in the Arkansas River. I spent afternoon and next morning at Great Sand Dunes National Park hiking and photographing. My new kayak got wet its bottom at Medano Creek.
After sand dunes I drove north back to the Arkansas River with a short side trip to Crestone. I did some shooting and a little bit of paddling at Big Bend. Then, I moved upstream to Heckla Junction. According to a ranger, the river flow was around 400cfs due to a reservoir release. I saw one raft finishing a run through Brown Canyon. I did some upstream/downstream paddling to the first rapids. I didn’t have spray skirt, otherwise I would try to push further upstream.
Since that trip, I did some paddling with Karma kayak in northern Colorado on the Horsetooth Reservoir and in a bike-paddling mode on the South Platte and St Vrain rivers.
Arkansas River at Heckla JunctionPaddling upstream Arkansas River above Hecla Junction
I paddled all winter in Fort Collins and northern Colorado: Horsetooth Reservoir, South Platte River, St Vrain Creek. One day in late February I decided to check some paddling waters in southern Colorado for a change.
Paint Mine Interpretive Park
Paint Mine Interpretive Park at Calhan, ~30 miles east of Colorado Springs, Colorado
First stop: Paint Mine. Fantastic forms of clay and sandstone erosion, canyons, hoodoos and spires. The colorful clays were used by Native Americans. Water is here sometimes, but not today except a little bit of snow. This is a great place to visit and photograph. Of course, these badlands are not for paddling. Let’s drive further south.
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Man footprints on a sand dune and blue sky in Great Sand Dunes National Park
It looks pretty dry here, but actually sand dunes in Great Sand Dunes National Park are wet. And, some of them are covered by frost on winter mornings. Yes, it can be really cold here at 7500 foot elevation.
Lost in the sea of sand – a lonely hiker in in Great Sand Dunes National Park
Water must be somewhere here. Still searching …
I used to a have a photographic obsession with sand dunes 15-20 years ago. I visited and photographed numerous sandy places in the southwest from Great Sand Dunes to Death Valley. I still have some prints of sand dunes on my walls and a collection of sand samples. That was a “Velvia” period of my photography. At that time I was shooting slides, mostly Velvia film.
Medano Creek
Sunrise over frozen Medano Creek with frosty sand dunes and Sangre De Cristo Mountains
Here it is! Unfortunately frozen. Perhaps, a little bit downstream of Medano Creek it could be better. And, maybe later in a day when it is warmer.
Meanwhile, I went for a long walk upstream of the Medano Creek.
Whitewater kayak in shallow waters of Medano Creek
There is some water flowing in the afternoon. Enough to drag a kayak and shoot some pictures, but not enough for floating. It looks like paddling on wet sand works better on the South Platte River.
Jackson Kayak Karma RG
On my way to sand dunes I stopped at Salida to pick up this kayak from .
Karma RG is a crossover kayak designed for ocean rock gardens and river expeditions. It has a room to store my photography and camping gear. I did some tests on calm water: a cruising speed is about 4-4.5mph, so pretty fast for a whitewater boat, at least in comparison to my old Seda Cyclon. It is tracking pretty good with skeg down if wind is not too strong. Unfortunately, it’s quite heavy at 58lb. It’s a lot in comparison to my racing kayaks.
Sunset over shallow Medano Creek disappearing in sand
The Medano Creek is just disappearing in sand. This is a dead end. Let’s see some other places tomorrow.
