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July 11, 2006

South Canyon

South Canyon Rapids are at the entrance of South Canyon on the Colorado River, 6 miles west of Glenwood Springs. They can be accessed via car by getting off at the South Canyon exit on I-70 and Crossing the bridge to park. This is a popular place with kayakers as the rapid has a powerful eddy that allowers kayakers to access the bottom part of the rapid over and over again with ease, and one of the highlights on an all day raft trip through Glenwood. There is a nice boat ramp here on the North side of the Colorado River and this can be and is a departure site for a lot of trips. There are fishing holes along here that can be accessed via the banks but they are fairly steep and most fishing through here is done on boats via guides. South Canyon in recent years has been the setting of two major fires, the Storm King Fire which originated across the river and the Coal Seam fire which started 4 miles up South Canyon. There are Hot Springs 1 mile up on the right hand side of the road. Park and follow the trail to the west over the creek and up the other bank. These have been destroyed a couple of times over the years but keep reappearing. Two pools able to hold about 10 people. The proximity to I-70 makes for a lot of diversity.

June 22, 2006

Shoshone Rapids - Colorado River

Shoshone Rapids are a section of the Colorado River from Grizzly Creek to Shoshone power plant in Glenwood Canyon. This section is world famous for it's 2 1/2 miles of rapids in late spring and early summer, high water. There is a nice put in at the power plant but it can only be accessed via I-70 from the eastbound lanes. Westbound traffic will have to go to Grizzly Creek and turn around. The first Rapid out is Embarassment Rock, then you will go down past Big Eddie into Baptism. After Baptism you can regroup behind Eddie Out Rock. Next is Tuttles' Tumble named after a longtime Glenwood Resident. Coming up is Big Wave and then Martys' Diner, Marker Rock, into Pinball Alley a series of rocks and waves. You will go past China Wall, reinforcing the DR&GW Railroad, to Pour Over and then to what Kayakers refer to as All Day Wave because of the ability to hang out in it for long stretches. From There you will go to Blender, past Spill Over, Tombstone Rock, Wrapper Rock, to Cotton Mouth Eddie. From there you can hit Lateral Wave, Maneater, another Lateral Wave into Taco Hole. Some of these rapids get to Class 4. During peak season many rafters and kayakers will do laps, using two vehicles. Parking at Shoshone is minimal and not encouraged. This section of river parallels the Glenwood Canyon Bike path making for the opportunity for good photography.
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