Wolf Creek Waterfall

I have stopped to check out the "Tunnel of Love" waterfall on Wolf Creek Pass many times usually finding it too low or too high. The tunnel itself was sketchy when we stopped to check it out a few weeks ago. There was a log across the entrance of the tunnel that would have required a very sketchy seal launch, we had questions about the depth of the landing, and perhaps most importantly, I did not see how to stop without being flushed into the manky mank below the drop. However, there is a clean 20 footer about 50 yards downstream that we decided looked good. We roped boats down and ran a couple laps each.


Living in Colorado, I am no expert at running larger waterfalls, but I have learned that landing flat from 20 feet hurts. So, my new strategy is the controlled pencil-in, which does not look or feel as cool as boofing, but at least my back feels good. This waterfall has a bit of a tricky lead-in that makes setting up difficult, but I managed to plug it without much style on both runs.

Heise ran the best line of the day with a nice semi-boof:



And Donnie prepares to land flatter than he planned:

Wolf Creek runs very high during peak runoff due to the huge average snowpack on the pass. The 20 footer could be run pretty high and be okay. The Tunnel of Love requires a lower flow and will have a smaller window. This section is definitely alot of work for not many paddle strokes, but given the lack of clean waterfalls in Colorado, it might be worth it as a nice novelty falls.

Upper Taos Box

The Upper Taos Box is a run that I never really planned to do. It has a well deserved reputation for being full of dangerous seives. It also has some fun rapids and is set in an amazing canyon. Despite its reputation, given the chance to do a new run with a solid group (Josh Heise and Donnie Smith), I decided it was worth the drive. None of us had done this run before, so we scouted extensively so as not to end up under rocks. Suffice it to say that on a run like this on a rainy day, we had the river to ourselves.

The first rapid is NCO. At our water level (550 cfs) this rapid looked terrible. The majority of the river seives out, but I think a good right line would open up with more water. Luckily, the next major rapid, Hell Hole, looked much better with a good boof, and only minor seive issues. My boof:

At the end of a longer section of boogie water, we came to pleasure plunge.

More boogie water leads to Big Arsenic (which needed more water), but the run does not let up with Little Arsenic and Little Arsenic Jr., which are more spread out and have some places you do not want to explore. We did the long paddle out to Dunn Bridge, which really was not that bad (9 miles of easy water with current and great scenery). The hike would probably save some time.

We had 550 cfs, which seemed low. The book gives a 300 cfs minimum , but I would not make the trip under 500 cfs. I think 800-1000 would significantly clean up the rapids. This run is worth doing, but is not a place to be out of control or swimming. There are dangerous seives in every major rapid and everywhere in between. I'll definitely be back. Hopefully with a bit more water.

Upper Animas

The Upper Animas is a Colorado classic. Clear COLD water running through 26 miles of wilderness served by only a historic train. While this run has a reputation for being dangerous due to several high water flush drownings, it can be downright relaxing at lower water. At lower flows (under 2000 cfs at Durango) the in-between is Class III while the main drops remain quality Class IV. We ran the Upper A with raft support during a June cold spell when the level was 700 at Silverton and 1500 at Durango. The photos here are from that trip.

Tenmile rapid.

Other raft in No Name, which is the hardest rapid on the run (including the Rockwood Box).

The author in the entrance to No Name.

Roger in No Name.

While we were a little disapointed in the lower water for our trip, it turned out to be a pretty good thing when one of our rafts flipped in Rockwood, which would have been a big problem at high flows. Overall, this run at lower flows would be a great choice for adventurous Class III-IV types with a good roll, and I am always surprised that more people don't take advantage of it. Hopefully I will get some high water pics next year...

Crested Butte Creeks

The Crested Butte Creeks offer kayakers a chance to bounce down sharp slate bedrock in a beatiful high alpine valleys. Its more fun than it sounds. We started with the Upper East, which is the easiest of the four. This would be a cool run of it was longer. But it isn't and I didn't take any pictures because the run only took about six minutes.

On to Daisey Creek. This Creek is tiny and quite fun. It starts with about five slides in quick succession. Josh Heise checks out the site of his scary vertical pin last year (go left on the third slide).

After the into slides, the creek briefly mellows to class II before dropping off Big Wood Falls, which has a cleaner landing than it has had in years.

After Daisey, we floated on down the Slate. This is the least popular creek in the area. It actually has some good rapids, but also quite a bit of wood and a couple barbed wire fences. On a side note, on the Slate river, Heise found part of his breakdown paddle that he lost 11 months ago in his pin on Daisey. Crazy. Heise runs some of the less clean whitewater in the area.

The biggest drop on the Slate is Wicked Wanda. It is definitely runnable, but also definitely dangerous. The entrance is flippy and there is a log extending from the center of the rapid. It would probably be more appealing with more water or less wood.

On to the main event: Oh be joyful. There isn't much to say about this creek that has not already been said. I'll just add that this creek is not as easy as some people make it out to be. Yes, there are good lines, but also chances to crash badly if you get off line. It is definitely alot of fun though.

Kevin boofs the put-in drop.

Un-named slide to 8 footer:

Donnie with a great line off the big-un.

The fellas ponder the Avalanche slide (and more importantly the Beaver Dam From Hell).

Top half of the Avalanche Slide:

Top half of the bottom slide.

Ian makes the turn on the bottom slide.

There is no good gauge for OBJ, Daisey or the Slate. The Slate gauge is far downstream. For what its worth, the creeks were nice medium when the Slate was at 700-800, okay low when the Slate was at 600, and real low when the Slate was at 500. This barometer is very rough and will vary based on the time of the season (higher gauge reading needed earlier in the season). The creeks will also be higher later in the day on days when the weather is warm.

Third Gorge Lime/Rockwood

The Third Gorge of Lime Creek (aka Cascade Creek) through Rockwood is a nice wilderness day run that involves a hike in (1.5 miles), some Class IV creeking, some Class III wavetrains on the Upper A, the Rockwood Box, and then a big hike up a hill to your car. It feels like a full day even though it can be easily completed in an afternoon. I think this is a good option for accessing Rockwood earlier in the season when the Upper A is low and cold and Cascade is higher relative to the flow on the Animas. The first time I did this run, Cascade was low and pretty dull. However, when we did it in May of this year, we had about 400 in the Creek and the run was fun. The Animas was at 2200 in town, which is a very rough barometer.

The first rapid of note is the Landslide Drop, which is usually portaged. The launch/runout to this rapid is probably the most exciting part of Cascade Creek.

One of the main attractions of this run is the chance to run Rockwood at a good flow. With the Animas at 2200 in town, Rockwood was good fun. Really no Class V moves, just quality Class IV, but do not swim. It is hard to take pictures that really capture the Box, but I tried.

First Gorge Lime Creek

The First Gorge of Lime Creek is a short high alpine run that does not need a whole lot of water to run. If the creek looks too low at the put-in, the level is probably good, but could be too low. We did it in late May when the Animas at Durango was at 2400. This made for a nice medium-low flow, but this barometer is very rough, so don't quote me on it. The run starts with some small ledges. If these are scrapy but okay, the gorge below will be good.

Low-medium was a great level for Adrenaline Falls. Adrenaline is an intimidating falls with a tricky entrance. We somehow did not get a single shot of the one really photo-worthy drop on the run, but it went well. The S-turn was fun as always and then we reached the finale, Dragon's Back. Count runs Dragon's Back down the traditional right line.

Mark tried a new line. It didn't work very well, but reinforced the general concensus that a left line here equals a swim.

Rio Embudo

The two things I heard about the Embudo before I went was that you should go at lowish water your first time, and that you should have a guide. The water was not low last weekend, and we could not find a guide, but Ian, Kevin, Famous Jon and myself decided to give it a go anyway. It is a very continuous river, which makes it tough to do without a guide, but not at all impossible. We scouted a few times unnecessarily and ran a couple large rapids blind, but it all worked out alright. We had a level of 3.4 on Saturday and 3.3 on Sunday, which seemed like great solid medium levels.

This run starts mellow and gradually builds to class IV before things really kick off. Long Rapid is the first big one. It consists of about 1/2 mile of class IV-V with no chance to scout or eddy out. This is the deepest point in the Upper Gorge and very bad place to swim, which made me pretty concerned when I got beaten on rocks and swam. Very fortunately, my boat floated right to me in the eddy and I was still in business. As Ian succinctly noted, "you're a lucky m#th$rf%ck&r." The next big rapid is Cheesegrater. This is possibly the steepest rapid on the run, but one of the cleanest large drops. Famous Jon in the entrance.

Kevin in the main falls. This shot shows how steep this drop really is.

A few drops after Cheesegrater is MJ Falls, which I walked after watching bad results on the first two attempts. This rapid seemed to treat folks better with the slightly lower level on Sunday. The exit to the Upper Gorge has one more significant rapid, Carnival, which deserves a scout if you do not have a guide.

The lull between the Upper and Lower Gorges is shorter than I had imagined (couple hundred yards). We ran Slamdance blind accidentally on Saturday and intentionally on Sunday. It really sneaks up on you. After this, the Slots of Fun follow quickly. This rapid is really what gives the run its rating. It is impossible to portage completely on either side. The portage involves ferrying in the meat of the rapid, which is probably harder than just running it. I think the best way to do it is to run the first few drops then eddy left to scout the last two. The last drop is intimidating, and probably goes more smoothly with more water.

Ian in the final slot.

After slots, all that is left is Taco Garden, a somewhat manky runout. This is a great run, but not to be taken lightly. You should go planning on running Class V rapids, some blind. The scouting options are poor, and the portaging options are worse. But if you are up to it, it is hard to find a better run in the Rockies. 3.3-3.4 seemed like a great level. I would not make the drive under 3 feet. 3.5 is probably a good max for a first run. Tenths of a foot on the gauge equal significant changes in the canyon. Thanks to Atom for his hospitality. Look him up any time you head south.