paddling with a camera

After 9.5 miles and 4.5 hour of paddling and two portages I finally reached Evans. Paddlers from the joint club trip were just starting to paddle downriver. A variety of boats including canoes, sea kayaks, and different whitewater boats. I don't think that anybody realized that I had paddled the all way upstream ...

After a short break and early lunch I paddled dowstream too and stayed with the group for a while. I left them at the second dam (lunch break) and finished my trip about 2pm at Kersey. Nice warm day and enough water for a good trip. However, I was too tired to really enjoy the downriver part of my trip. The upstream workout was great.

My previous paddling on South Platte was above and below Fort Morgan: cleaner water, no smell from water or from feed lots. It wasn't really bad between Evans and Kersey but still noticeable at least early in the morning when I started to paddle.

I don't have good pictures from this trip (too busy paddling or too tired or too bad light). The above picture was shot by Eric Nyre somewhere above the Plumb Ditch Dam. Of course, I have a lot of pictures from my previous paddling on South Platte River.

Three years ago I participated the same way in the first joint club trip but I was able to start from Mitani-Tokuyasu SWA, so I had to paddle only 7 miles upstream (that access point is closed this year from March till August). In the last two years I paddled the WaterTribe Everglades Challenge in March or was driving home from Florida after that race.

GPS trip odometer: 18.9 miles, moving time 5:47h, stopping time 1:13h, moving speed 3.3 mph (2.4 mph upstream), max speed 8.1 mph.

River flow: Kersey 470 cfs.

Related posts:

• Goose Tracks on the South Platte River
• Kayaking on Saint Vrain and South Platte Rivers near Platteville
• Paddling during Duck and Goose Hunting Season on South Platte River?
• South Platte River map and guide (under construction)