October 31, 2006. Sisson Nucleus 100 multisport kayak at Douglas Lake in northern Colorado
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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.
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August 18, 2006. I seldom paddle South Platte River in summer. There is usually not enough water for paddling below Greeley. The river flow is much better between Brighton and Fort Lupton, but water quality is poor since it is much closer to Denver. I needed some river practice in my Sisson kayak before the Dotsero to Hanging Lake race, so I went for a short evening paddle to Brighton. At the flow of 300 cfs at Henderon there was plenty of water in the river to paddle. The river looked pretty nice with all late summer overgrown weeds. Unfortunately, the water was, as I was afraid, stinky with a distinct sewage aroma. Nevertheless, I paddled from Brighton’s Veteran Park about 1 mile downstream to a boat chute, played a little bit in waves, and paddled back upstream. Running the chute wasn’t really fun since I was taking a big splash of that stinky water on my face. Related posts:
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A nice sunny weather and a good river flow. This time I launched my Sisson Nucleus in the afternoon at Evans River Park and paddled upstream to take a closer look at the portage over Latham Ditch Dam near La Salle. After a mile of upstream paddling I stopped under railroad bridge to take some documentary photos of an old palisade blocking passage and gathering logs and other junk. These pictures will go to my S. Platte River paddler guide. So far, I have covered about 50 continuous miles of the river from St. Vrain Creek to Masters.
The river below the dam had very little flow and was very shallow. Most of the water went right through a channel with steep banks closed by three gates. I paddled the shallow river to about 200 yards below the dam where I got finally stacked in sand. At that water level the portage was not difficult despite of some huge logs blocking access to the river. However, at higher water with flow over the dam, the landing there would be much more difficult.
I paddled about 3 miles upstream and turned around at sunset after shooting a couple of pictures. In my return way I choose different route around the dam. I paddled into channel and took off on a very steep shore between gates. Very uncomfortable at least in my tippy kayak, requiring some strength from a solo paddler, but obviously possible. It sounds like a good safari training. I did the same portage with my Spencer X-treme canoe during my birthday run down St Vrain Creek and South Platte river to Evans in April.
I finished at Evans shortly after sunset with a thin layer of ice forming on a deck of my kayak. It was nice to be able to change into dry cloths and have a cup of hot tea before driving home.
GPS trip odometer: 5.92 miles, moving time 1:49 h stopped time: 0:39 h, moving average 3.3 mph, max speed 8.5 mph. Average HRM: 131. River flow: S. Platte @ Kersey: ~850cfs. Air temperature 42-35F.