Thu - May 19, 2005

Poudre Loop - Kayaking in Fort Collins, Colorado


Finally, water appeared in the river below Fort Collins, so I could paddle the course of Poudre Loop race starting in Arapaho Bend Natural Area. The flow was near optimum for upstream paddling around 250cfs and rising. Last year I started to paddle this segment of the Poudre on May 8th.

A pleasant surprise soon after portaging from ponds to the river: a logjam under a railroad bridge above Strauss Cabin was cleared and I could paddle under the bridge despite of a strong current. In fact, I paddled all the way to the dam above ELC without getting out of the kayak. I had to catch a breath and rest for a minute or so after climbing one of the rapids. There is one more fallen tree and it is somewhat tricky to paddle upstream through loose branches. I made rather long portage around the dam, about 300 yards. The river got too shallow for upstream paddling there. In addition to the dam I did another regular portage over logjam below ELC.

It was a great evening workout. The light before sunset was great for photography. Unfortunately, I forgot to load a battery to my camera! No pictures this time.

I measured trip distance starting from and finishing at the parking lot at the end of Horsetooth Road. The time counted from launching spot at Small Bass Pond should be 10-15 minutes shorter. I reached the dam portage completing the upstream leg in 1:09h.

GPS trip odometer: 6.84 miles, moving time 1:51h, stopping time 0:12h, moving speed 3.7 mph, max speed 9.9 mph.

I am not going to organize a formal race along the Poudre Loop but as long as the river is flowing and somebody is willing to paddle with me I am ready for a training or racing run.


Posted at 10:39 PM    


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