Rocky Mountain Canoe Club
Blue Mesa Reservoir Exploratory: Sunday, Aug 10th through Thursday Aug 14th
August 10 – August 14
Note that we tend to paddle steadily without lots of breaks. Lunches are short since we often are in a race against wind and afternoon storms.
Dates: Sunday, August 10th thru Thursday, August 14th. Note: Folks can come for all or part.
Conditions: This is a flatwater outing. Expect wind and waves! Also, not much shade in the campground so a sunshade or similar equipment is recommended.
Group Size: Since this is an exploratory outing, I am thinking we should limit the number of participants, but I am not sure what that should be. And there may be a variety of craft so keeping together may be difficult but breaking into groups could help (assuming others are willing to lead). More to come on this.
Paddle Destination Suggestions:
(1) Lake Fork Canyon: This is a long canyon running southeast from the west side of the lake. Might be a good destination if its windy. The put-in would be the Lake Fork Marina.
(2) Soap Creek and West Elk Creek: There is a boat access point on the north side of the reservoir at the Pinnacles Trailhead. From there, we can paddle west to explore these canyons.
(3) Bay of Chickens (aka “Windsurfing Area”) has good day access. From there we can paddle across Cebolla Bay and explore the Cebolla Arm.
(4) Elk Creek: From there, we can paddle east toward Iola Basin. The lake is a bit narrower in this area.
(5) Steven’s Creek: There is a boat ramp here that is on the north side of Iola Basin
(6) Gunnison River into Blue Mesa: The Gunnison River east of Blue Mesa looked very moderate. There is some info on Mountain Buzz about paddling it. We could paddle into the lake itself or take out at one of the access points along the way. If folks are interested in this, let me know as it will take preparation.
(7) Silver Jack Reservoir: This is south of Blue Mesa, a much smaller reservoir about ½ of Union. I don’t expect we’ll go there to paddle, but it looks like a nice destination for another time.
(8) Morrow Point Reservoir: I have heard this is a cool place to paddle and camp. But boating access to Morrow Point Reservoir is limited, and the easiest way to get to the reservoir is by carrying your boat and gear down the 232 steps of the Pine Creek Trail. The trail follows the old railroad bed along the reservoir and offers fishing and camping. There are boat-in campsites along the north and south shores. You can get a Backcountry Permit for camping at the Pine Creek Trailhead. This is here for reference only, not part of this outing.
(9) Black Canyon of the Gunnison: Opportunity exists for hiking but will not be part of the trip as originally planned since the drives to the trailheads are longer that originally estimated (hikes on the south side of Black Canyon do not descend into the canyon and it is a 40 mile drive to these trailheads; hikes on the north side do descend into the canyon but it is a 50+ mile drive to the north side trailheads). This is here for reference only, not part of this outing.
Reservations for Camping: I expect we would want/need to get reservations. Reservations open on Mar 17th. I will monitor. Everyone will be responsible for their own reservations.
Camping: On our exploratory outing on Sunday, March 9th, we did a drive through of Lake Fork Campground which is essentially a paved parking lot. While it is convenient to Lake Fork Arm, Soap Creek and West Elk Creek it does not have much appeal as a campground for tenting, so we have nixed this idea.
We drove and checked out the other campgrounds on the north side of the lake and here is what we found:
East Elk Creek: A really lovely group campground (at $120 / night) but it is closed for nesting eagles till August 15th (and we did see eagles and a nest on our scout) so this is not an option. Also, although it sits on a pond, there is no direct water access to the reservoir.
Elk Creek: A large camping area near the visitor center. Loop B (sites 56 – 97) look like they are closest to the water. Walk-in sites 75 & 76 are the best and look to be about 150 yards from the water so hand launches from there are possible but bring wheels. Sites 75, 77, 78, 73 looked good too.
In general, the drive-in sites along Loop B seems kind of small for a tent.
Loop A sites that might work for tents are 12, 33, 35, 37, 42.
Loop D did not look tent friendly at all.
Steven’s Creek: Another camping area, close to the east end of the reservoir on the north side. There was a boat ramp in that area. It appears that these sites are first come / first serve and pay-by-cell-phone enabled. Highway noise would be a problem at any of the sites. Sites 20, 22, 27, 32, 34 are good for tents.
Meals: All meals will be on your own though a potluck happy hour would be nice.
Launching and Inspection Stations: Hand-launched and hand-powered vessels that meet Clean, Drain, Dry requirements do not need to be inspected and these watercraft are not required to launch at a boat ramp, but trailers cannot enter the water. Note that if you bring your boat on a trailer, it will need to be inspected.
Online Info: https://www.nps.gov/
US 50 Road Construction: Construction is complete!
***FYI: This is an ACA- sanctioned trip and ACA membership OR $10 event fee required. RMCC and ACA waivers required. Contact Anne to sign up. anne_fiore@yahoo.com